Spiritualism in Germany: The reception of the American Spiritualist Andrew Jackson Davis in the long 19th century. From republicanism, to free religion, and science

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The project explores the nexus between intellectual programmes and their protagonists, which are typically treated separately or contrasted with one another in established historiography: spiritualism versus science, spiritualism versus Christianity, and spiritualism versus political conflict, such as the 1848 revolution in Germany. The project focuses on the works of Andrew Jackson Davis (1826-1910), one of the most cited authors of American Spiritualism, and their incorporation into German debates about religion, science, and social reform. Conventionally, spiritualism is placed at the fringes of the history of religion and is typically represented in contrast to established religion, science, and society. This has consequences for the historical analysis of spiritualist practices and beyond. First and foremost, such connotations systematically marginalise the contents of spiritualist thought in the 19th century or (re-)introduce the same in an isolated manner. Moreover, the related protagonists of the 19th century, or certain aspects of their work, are either marginalised in historical writings, or they are wholly discarded as not progressive or as anachronistic by the respective patterns for explaining the development of modernity. The obvious connections between spiritualism and free religion (German Catholics, Friends of the Light/Protestant Friends) are not even made from the vantage point of a history of religions. It is important to emphasise that the protagonists of the Davis reception to be explored did not only make important contributions as scientists, such as the Leopoldina president Nees von Esenbeck or the co-founder of the discipline of stomatology, Georg von Langsdorff. Nees as well as the later Gregor Konstantin Wittig were also central actors of the German Catholic movement in Prussia. Moreover, the political and revolutionary positions held by Nees and Langsdorff around 1848 seem to be of central importance as well. The project will therefore explore the various intellectual, personal, and organisational connections between spiritualism, science, and politics. This exploration rests on the premise that essential impulses for the scientific, cultural, and political discourse came from this environment. Existing narratives about the 19th century and its epistemes will be critically examined with regard to this relationship between religions, science, and politics.