José Maurício de Mello Brito (photo), is a professional journalist in the Brazilian capital, Brasília. He’s a volunteer worker at the Comunhão Espírita de Brasília, one of the city’s main Spiritist Centres. In this interview, he speaks about his life and his involvement in the Spiritist Movement: 

How did you become a Spiritist?

My first contact happened when I was eight years old and, between 1964 and 1966, I attended the evangelisation group at the Jesus, Maria e José Spiritist Centre in the Marechal Hermes area of Rio de Janeiro – my hometown. But my main connection with Spiritism really began in 1979, when I already lived in Brasília and had the opportunity to begin studying the Teachings in a more organised, methodic and productive way at the Comunhão Espírita. 

What is your view on the structure of Spiritism, which brings together science, philosophy and religion?

I think the triad formulated by Allan Kardec was so accurate that to this day we haven’t been able to fully understand how profound his structure is. Kardec was, in fact, a precursor of the psychological sciences, which would eventually be headed by great names such as Freud and Jung. It should be noted that the Spiritist Review, ahead of its time, had on its cover the subtitle “A Journal of Psychological Studies.” And we must bear in mind that Psychology is considered a science, with a different observation criteria, just like Spiritist Science.  

As for its philosophical perspective, Kardec says in the opening of What is Spiritism?: “Spiritism is at the same time an observational science, when it focuses on the relations between the Spirits and us, and a philosophical discipline, as it addresses all the ‘moral consequences’ that stem from those relations. Here is one of Kardec’s most valuable contributions to society: a practical interest in the moral consequences of our individual behaviour. Spiritism is not a philosophical approach that asks questions for no reason. No! There is a clear goal in that knowledge-gathering process that’s done through our interactions with the Spirits. 

As for Spiritism being or not being a religion, I will stick with the thought expressed by Allan Kardec, the Codifier, in a speech to the Spiritist Society of Paris on November 1st, 1968, which says, in sum: Spiritism is a religion in a philosophical sense; but it’s not a religion in the traditional sense of the word, which implies rituals and organised priesthood; it contains, however, a moral message that links human beings between themselves and to their creator ⁽¹⁾

What are your thoughts on the Brazilian Spiritist Movement? 

I think that after a long period when it was rather tepid (from well before the pandemic), the Spiritist Movement is coming together again, with renewed energy, new leaders, new public speakers and new projects. We can’t lose the human touch and the simplicity, the attention to the children, the sick and the elderly as taught by Jesus Christ and exemplified by Kardec, as a disciple so fully dedicated to the task of restoring Christianity. The pandemic has shown us that we can continue to have our events, but meetings, congresses and seminars can be organised in a simpler and cheaper manner. That doesn’t mean we need to be mean, but we must accept that the Spiritist Movement had gone a long way off the simplicity we aimed to live by. 
And what can you tell us about the Spiritist Movement in the Brazilian capital?  

It’s doing very well, with 160 Spiritist Centres in Brasília and its metropolitan area. The local Spiritist Federation has made a concerted effort, with great results, to get all the Spiritist Centres to work more closely together. Brasília, as the country’s capital, attracts professionals from all areas of expertise, who’ve been able to contribute with their skills in various projects. We may say that we now have many “types of Spiritist Centres” in the city. 

What do you think we still lack as Spiritists? 

I honestly think that we need to be more united around the thoughts codified by Allan Kardec. More details of his private life have been coming up, thanks to continuing research. New documents, letters, books and statements have been discovered in recent years. And the small part of that research that has become public shows that he was a man of scarce financial resources,  huge economic problems, who was persecuted, often for no reason, by enemies of all kinds. And yet he persevered, trying to attend the requests of the Immortal Spirits. The effort was so overwhelming that his health suffered. But he never lost heart. Along with all the work he carried out in the codification of Spiritism, he continued to practise charity in different ways. He continued to help the poor, to give counselling and he was organising a home for the elderly when he passed away. That is an important reference for all of us, an incentive for us to get to work together with all Spiritist Centres and federations. We are still very, very far away from what Kardec envisaged for Spiritism. The world needs Jesus, it needs consolation and it needs reasoned faith. And need to organise ourselves in a more efficient way so that we can be of better service and we are able to help spread the Teachings to more people. 

⁽¹⁾ KARDEC, Allan. Revista Espírita, December 1868.