Spiritism (aka Espiritismo or Kardecismo in Portuguese) is a monotheistic worldview that grew out of the 19th century movement known as Modern Spiritualism. It was established in France in 1857 when French academic Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail published the founding book of Spiritism, Le Livre des Esprits (The Spirits’ Book) in French, using the pen name Allan Kardec. Spiritism is now a global movement, with the greatest concentration of followers situated in Brazil. It is a progressive body of knowledge that continues to evolve and grow, and which many eminent people have contributed to in various languages. Initially Spiritism spread quickly through Europe, where many followers championed causes including women’s suffrage, abolition of the death penalty and pacifism. It now has an estimated 15 million followers worldwide. The influence of Brazilian Spiritist Chico Xavier, a two-time nominee of the Nobel Peace Prize, led to its growth in Brazil, where Spiritism now has an estimated 6 million followers and can be considered the third largest religious group after Catholicism and Evangelicalism. As with Spiritualism, the basis of Spiritism is the belief that the invisible world is inhabited by spirit beings and that there exists within each of us a being independent of matter (a spirit or soul) that survives the body at death. Le Livre des Esprits also lays out the belief in an omnipotent immortal creator God and the validity of Jesus’ moral teachings. According to Kardec’s writings, spirits temporarily take on a perishable material envelope and death returns them to freedom. Spirits are not biologically distinct from each other but differ in degree of moral development. The human species is the most developed form in the corporeal world, therefore spirits access the ability to improve themselves morally through incarnation in human bodies, and corporeal life is a trial undertaken many times until a soul reaches perfection. Discarnate spirits comprise an invisible and constantly active population around and interacting with us. Good spirits encourage us to do good, while evil spirits encourage evil. They communicate with sounds, movements and apparitions, and via mediums through table-rapping in answer to questions, automatic writing and so forth. The labels Spiritism and Spiritualism are sometimes used interchangeably but there are philosophical and practical distinctions between the two movements. Spiritism tends to be less overtly religious than Spiritualism, and often refers to itself as a science rather than a religion. Active followers of Spiritism meet in Spiritist centres to study Spiritist texts, develop skills as mediums, organise charitable services and provide spiritual healing. Many followers of other religions, especially in Brazil, make use of Spiritist centres for spiritual treatment. In 1949 Brazilian Spiritist federations and unions met in Rio de Janeiro and signed the Golden Pact (Pacto Áureo), a commitment to remain faithful to Allan Kardec’s founding doctrine, which is still in force today. The International Spiritist Council, composed of Spiritist organisations from 22 countries around the world, was created in 1992 in Madrid, Spain to foster the union of Spiritists. In 1917, the Vatican formally forbade Catholics to participate in Spiritist sessions and Section 2116 the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: ‘All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future.’ However, in some places, in Brazil in particular, Spiritism significantly influences the practice of Catholicism. Once punished by Brazilian law and the target of violent attacks, Spiritism is now officially considered a ‘religion of public utility’ in Brazil. Most Brazilian organisations, including the military, have a Spiritist association and Spiritism is taught at the Public University of São Paulo. Spiritism is also a major component of the Afro-Brazilian religion Umbana and the Vietnamese religion Cao Đài. Spiritists have neither leaders nor dogmas. There are no universal Spiritist holy days, festivals, special rituals or dietary restrictions. However, prayer to God, emanating from the follower rather than adhering to a formula, is considered important and useful, and performing charitable work is of the highest importance.