Sweet Land of Liberty: What is the Fourth of July to the Spiritualist?

A few years ago during the Fourth of July service at a Spiritualist Church I attended, the concluding hymn was “My Country Tis of Thee”. Most of the older individuals attending thought it was quaint and nostalgic, but I noticed a few of the younger people attending seemed uncomfortable with singing a song that seemed to glorify nationalism in the setting of a Church. 

After asking a few different people how they felt about the song choice, I realised that most people attending were unaware about the historical context regarding why these songs are included in most Spiritualist hymnals, why the American flag is put in Spiritualist churches, and why special prayers and services are designated for days like the Fourth of July. 

American Spiritualism was born in an age of radical reform, and virtually all of the early Spiritualists were involved in Reform movements: Abolitionism, Women’s Rights, Prison Reform, African-American rights, Labor Reform, Animal Rights, Vegetarianism, Temperance, Anti-War Movements, Child Welfare, Rights for the Disabled, Native American rights, Healthcare Reform...the list goes on. 

During this age of massive change, civil war, and instability, Spiritualists looked to the Spirit World for advice on how to progress not just as individuals, but also as a nation. 

Andrew Jackson Davis (not to be confused with the President Andrew Jackson) is often referred to as the “John the Baptist” of the Spiritualist movement, in that his visions and mystical teachings regarding natural philosophy, mediumship, and the Spirit World predated the arrival of the Spiritualist Movement by only a few years. Similar to how the prophetic and mystical teachings of John the Baptist predated the advent of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. 

The early American Spiritualists embraced the teachings of Davis, and used his Harmonial Philosophy, as he called it, as part of the religion of Spiritualism. This philosophy taught that the cosmos operated on principles of natural law, and that these laws were in accordance with harmony, justice, and liberty. 

These principles in the teachings of Davis are not just ethical guides, but are considered active energetic forces of nature, emanating from the Divine Intelligence through the spheres of the cosmos, and enveloping all the created universe. 

These Harmonial teachings are at the heart of the Spiritualist Reformer’s vision of the United States; through honest and heartfelt dedication to improving society, assisting others, working for justice and equality, Spiritualism could transform this world, socially, and spiritually, creating a peaceful, just, and harmonious society that mirrored the paradise of the Spirit-World, the Summerland. That is to say, heaven can literally be created right here and now on earth, not just in the afterlife. 

These early Spiritualists, living in one of the most tumultuous times in American history, had no illusions that America was, or is, the greatest nation in the world. They did not see the flag and old patriotic songs as honoring a Great Republic, but instead reinterpreted them as symbols of progress towards creating a new Harmonial Republic, where equality, liberty, and peace were finally achieved for all people. 

American Spiritualists felt that they were given a glimpse of the Spirit World, a look into the heavenly spheres, and what they saw gave them hope that the "sweet land of liberty" in the old songs could become a living reality.