Fifth Grade
Worksheets
What Is Spiritism?
Ghosts might seem scary, but one gregarious ghost actually helped people. He had a catchy theme song, too. He did have one weakness, however. He was allergic to pineapple! Children loved the idea of talking to friendly ghosts, so the television show called Casper the Friendly Ghost became a great success. The idea of talking to spirits isn't just for kids, though. People who are involved in Spiritism believe that spirits can communicate with them.
Many people like idea of contacting the invisible world. One curious man in the nineteenth century decided to study spirits scientifically. Allan Kardec wanted to know whether spirits existed. He wondered whether we can really communicate with them. He developed a system of beliefs called Spiritism. Some people think that Spiritism is a religion. Others didn't call it a church because it had no buildings or religious services. They called it a science.
Allan Kardec was born on October 3, 1804. He didn't seem like the kind of person who wanted to talk to ghosts. He enjoyed science. He liked facts, so he studied chemistry, astronomy, physics, and mathematics. When he was in his fifties, he became very curious about a new fad called spirit tapping. It sounded strange, fascinating, and unbelievable.
