Segregation in Spiritualist Churches: Part II

In the early 1930s the topic of segregation was brought up again during the National Spiritualist Association convention, however, this time the proposal actually received more support from the delegates to the convention than it had in the 1920s. The proposal called for complete segregation in all Spiritualist Churches chartered with the NSA, including churches in states without mandatory segregation laws. The resolution passed.

 The General Assembly of Spiritualists, which was chartered as the New York State Auxiliary since the late 1800s, responded to this proposal by issuing a statement condemning these policies as being immoral and against the very foundation of Spiritualist principles, and motioned to disaffiliate with the National Association, and to incorporate as their own independent association.

The General Assembly of Spiritualists had a particularly unique legal advantage at the time, New York State had officially recognized the General Assembly in 1914 as legal Spiritualist denomination, independent from the National Association. This allowed them to offer charters, open churches (even outside New York State), ordain ministers, and conduct business completely independently of the National Association.

This separation from the NSA, caused most New York Spiritualists to sever ties with the National Association and become full members in the newly independent General Assembly. In Rochester most Spiritualist Churches at the time remained with the General Assembly.

Plymouth Spiritualist Church however was largely divided on the issue: one faction wishing to remain with the General Assembly, and another faction wishing to recharter with the National Association. After a complicated legal battle the church rechartered with the National Association, causing a large portion of the membership to leave Plymouth in order to remain in the General Assembly, and in protest over the policy of segregation.

A first hand account of these events was recorded by Arthur Ford in his autobiography, Nothing So Strange. Arthur Ford was a very famous Medium and Lecturer, and was also a member of the General Assembly of Spiritualist Churches:

"Only once have I come to issue with the Spiritualists' national organization and that was over a matter that would never be raised in these days. 

Many years ago an opinionated gentlemen with marked racial bias got himself into a position of national leadership and used such authority as he had, augmented by the pressure of like-minded friends, to move against the membership of Negros. 

Along with other leaders of the New York State delegation, I made a strong stand for an interracial fellowship.

The altercation was taken to a national meeting and for a time we lost, but before long popular sentiment supported us and the question was settled once and for all. Not many denominations came to this stand as quickly and unequivocally. Today the Spiritualist movement is both interracial and international."

As Ford summarized the policy of segregation was so massively unpopular that it was actually overturned fairly quickly. Now, as back then Spiritualist Churches are more known for their openness and inclusiveness.

However, despite the reversal of the segregation policy, the General Assembly and the National Association have been separate ever since.

The separation between the two denominations also allowed the spirituality of the two organizations to change over time. In Rochester, this created a community of Spiritualists and Spiritualist Churches that express their approaches to Spiritualism in different and unique ways.