Thespiritual church movement is an informal name for a group of loosely allied and also independentSpiritualist churches andSpiritualist denominations that have in common that they have been historically based in theAfrican Americancommunity.
Many of them owe their origin to the evangelical work ofLeafy Anderson, a black religious leader of the early 20th century who was born inWisconsin and in 1913 founded the Eternal Life Christian Spiritualist Association. In 1920, she relocated toNew Orleans, Louisiana, where she demonstratedmediumship by bringing messages from herspirit guideBlack Hawk, a historical war leader of theNative AmericanSauk tribe, who had lived near where she was born.[1]
Although the churches founded by Anderson are often associated with New Orleans, the spiritual church movement has always been national in scope. It spread quickly throughout America during the 1920s, and one impetus for its diffusion was that in 1922, theNational Spiritualist Association of Churches expelled or made unwelcome all of its black members.[2] This led to the formation of a national group called the Colored Spiritualist Association of Churches, and within a few years there were Black Spiritualist churches inChicago,Detroit,Philadelphia, and many other cities.[2][3] During the decade precedingWorld War II, the Spiritual churches ofNew York City were well documented in print and film.[4][5]
At the present time,[when?] the spiritual church movement encompasses primarily churches which are influenced byProtestantChristian worship styles, especiallyBaptist andPentecostal praise music, as well as churches that contain a great deal ofCatholic imagery, including the veneration ofsaints.[6][7]
It is common usage to distinguish spiritual church movement churches from other, often less explicitly Christian, Spiritualist churches, by the use of the name "Spiritual" rather than "Spiritualist" in their titles. This naming convention is found in mid-20th-century books such asHow To Conduct a Candle Light Service by Mikhail Strabo and Rev. Adele Clemens of Divine Harmony Spiritual Church.[4] It is also notable in the names of Christian Spiritualist denominations within the Spiritual Church Movement, such as:
Pentecostal Spiritual Assemblies of Christ Worldwide, founded in 1938 (whose motto is "Pentecostal by Birth, Spiritual by Lifestyle, Apostolic by Experience, and Christian by Demand. A Spiritual Church... On a Spiritual Foundation... Walking in the Supernatural..."),[9]
^abcBaer, Hans A. (1984).The Black Spiritual Movement: A Religious Response to Racism. University of Tennessee Press.ISBN978-1572331464.
^Yronwode, Catherine (2013).The Art of Hoodoo Candle Magic in Rootwork, Conjure, and Spiritual Church Services. Missionary Independent Spiritual Church.ISBN978-0-9836483-6-9.
^abStrabo, Mikhail; Clemens, Rev. Adele (1943).How To Conduct a Candle Light Service. Guidance House.
^The "March of Time" newsreel clip, "Harlem's Black Magic," 1937, contains footage of African American Spiritual Church, occult shop, and spiritual advisor signage in New York City; a copy is located at the Black Media Archive, as Episode 256:[1]; church signage includes "Meetings Here Every Wednesday Night -- Spiritual-Pontifical Lectures and Demonstrations -- No Charge -- All Welcome -- By Prof. F [?] Wilson [?] -- Books on Sale - Incense," "Madame Bess - Special Good-Luck Powers," "Professor Payango DeVasso -- Metaphysician and Spiritual Advisor," "Church of the Guiding Apostle," "Sister Mignonette -- The Church Is One Foundation," "Bishop Payango DeVasso - Chapel of the Holy Spirit - Holy Ghost Branch," and "Chapel of the Sacred Spirit - Holy Ghost Branch - Bishop Payango DeVasso"
