Divine Science
Encyclopedia
The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought
movement. The group was founded originally in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer
. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of Spiritual Science.' Two months later Cramer changed the name of her school to the 'Home College of Divine Science.'" during the dramatic growth of the New Thought Movement in the United States
.
The church's founders were Malinda Cramer and Nona L. Brooks
, with Fannie Brooks James, Alethea Brooks Small and Kate Bingham also playing decisive roles. Both Phineas Parkhurst Quimby and Emma Curtis Hopkins
, noted New Thought leader of the day, were a direct influence. Nona Brooks was introduced to Hopkins' teachings through a student of Hopkins in Pueblo, Colorado. After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the death of Malinda Cramer the headquarters moved to Denver.
very important, and emulates the work of Jesus
Christ, who in the New Testament
cures many people. The Denver Church's founder, Nona Brooks, stated, "The whole of Divine Science is the practice of the Presence of God
. Truth comes through the Bible, Affirmative prayer
, contemplation and meditation and the practice of the presence of God here and now."
, Oakland
, Boston, Portland
, Spokane
, Saint Louis
and New York
. By 1925 churches had opened in Los Angeles
, San Diego
, Sacramento
, Topeka
, Washington D.C., Cleveland
, Illinois
, and Iowa
. Today, Divine Science has churches in Denver (the founding church), Washington D.C., Greater St. Louis (three churches), Roanoke, Virginia
(two churches), San Antonio, Texas
, Pueblo, Colorado
, South San Jose Hills, California
, and other locations.
According to published data, there were 7,000 members in 1935 and 7,107 in 1953, but subsequent figures are not available. In recent years, Divine Science, with few site-based churches, has expanded its presence through cyber-ministries and e-mail ministries. Northwoods Resources in Wisconsin provides many materials online. In addition, "Symphony of Love" in Santa Fe issues a weekly e-mail lesson free of charge, and has an international outreach. Symphony of Love is a group member of the Divine Science Federation, the denominational headquarters, and the INTA: International New Thought Alliance
. In addition, there is a Web-based ministry in New York State focusing on the teachings and legacy of Emmet Fox
, a Divine Science minister who preached at the First Church of Divine Science
in New York City. His became the largest church audience in the U.S. during the Depression, and held weekly services for 5,500 at the New York Hippodrome
until 1938, and after that at Carnegie Hall
.
and Myrtle Fillmore
founders of Unity Church
, and Ernest Holmes
and Fenwicke Holmes
, both of whom were ordained Divine Science ministers who would go on to found Religious Science
.
|isbn=9004106960|oclc=35229227}}
New Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
movement. The group was founded originally in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer
Malinda Cramer
Malinda Elliott Cramer was a founder of the Church of Divine Science, a healer, and an important figure in the early New Thought movement.- Biography :...
. "In March 1888 Cramer and her husband Frank chartered the 'Home College of Spiritual Science.' Two months later Cramer changed the name of her school to the 'Home College of Divine Science.'" during the dramatic growth of the New Thought Movement in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The church's founders were Malinda Cramer and Nona L. Brooks
Nona L. Brooks
Nona Lovell Brooks , described as a "prophet of modern mystical Christianity", was a leader in the New Thought movement and a founder of the Church of Divine Science.- Biography :...
, with Fannie Brooks James, Alethea Brooks Small and Kate Bingham also playing decisive roles. Both Phineas Parkhurst Quimby and Emma Curtis Hopkins
Emma Curtis Hopkins
Emma Curtis Hopkins organized New Thought and was a primary theologian, teacher, writer, feminist, mystic and prophet who ordained women at what she named the Christian Science Theological Seminary of Chicago...
, noted New Thought leader of the day, were a direct influence. Nona Brooks was introduced to Hopkins' teachings through a student of Hopkins in Pueblo, Colorado. After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the death of Malinda Cramer the headquarters moved to Denver.
Beliefs
Divine Science defines itself as "an organized teaching pertaining to God and the manifestation of God in Creation." It holds that its foundation truth is "that limitless Being, God, is Good, is equally present everywhere, and is the All of everything." It defines God as "pure Spirit, absolute, changeless, eternal, manifesting in and as all Creation, yet also transcending Creation" and that evil is therefore neither necessary nor permanent and has no reality within itself, but has existence only so long as human beings support it by believing in it. Like other New Thought churches, Divine Science considers healingHealing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
very important, and emulates the work of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ, who in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
cures many people. The Denver Church's founder, Nona Brooks, stated, "The whole of Divine Science is the practice of the Presence of God
Presence of God
Presence of God is a term used in Catholic theology and devotion.In theology, it refers to the belief that God is present by His Essence everywhere and in all things by reason of His Immensity...
. Truth comes through the Bible, Affirmative prayer
Affirmative prayer
Affirmative prayer is a form of prayer or a metaphysical technique that is focused on a positive outcome rather than a negative situation. For example, a person who is experiencing some form of illness would focus the prayer on the desired state of perfect health and affirm this desired intention...
, contemplation and meditation and the practice of the presence of God here and now."
Churches and outreach
After its foundation in 1888, by 1918 there were Divine Science churches in Denver, Seattle, Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Boston, Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, Saint Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. By 1925 churches had opened in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Washington D.C., Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Today, Divine Science has churches in Denver (the founding church), Washington D.C., Greater St. Louis (three churches), Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
(two churches), San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
, South San Jose Hills, California
South San Jose Hills, California
South San Jose Hills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,551 at the 2010 census, up from 20,218 at the 2000 census.- Description :...
, and other locations.
According to published data, there were 7,000 members in 1935 and 7,107 in 1953, but subsequent figures are not available. In recent years, Divine Science, with few site-based churches, has expanded its presence through cyber-ministries and e-mail ministries. Northwoods Resources in Wisconsin provides many materials online. In addition, "Symphony of Love" in Santa Fe issues a weekly e-mail lesson free of charge, and has an international outreach. Symphony of Love is a group member of the Divine Science Federation, the denominational headquarters, and the INTA: International New Thought Alliance
International New Thought Alliance
The International New Thought Alliance is an umbrella organization for New Thought adherents "dedicated to serving the New Thought Movement’s various branches, organizations and individuals".- History :...
. In addition, there is a Web-based ministry in New York State focusing on the teachings and legacy of Emmet Fox
Emmet Fox
Emmet Fox was a New Thought spiritual leader of the early 20th century, famous for his large Divine Science church services held in New York City during the Great Depression.- Biography :...
, a Divine Science minister who preached at the First Church of Divine Science
First Church of Divine Science
The First Church of Divine Science, also called The Church of the Healing Christ, was founded in New York City, New York, in 1906. Affiliated with the Divine Science denomination of the New Thought movement, the church has been home to many notable ministers and attendees, including Emmet Fox.-...
in New York City. His became the largest church audience in the U.S. during the Depression, and held weekly services for 5,500 at the New York Hippodrome
New York Hippodrome
The Hippodrome Theatre, also called the New York Hippodrome, was a theatre in New York City from 1905 to 1939, located on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. It was called the world's largest theatre by its builders and had a seating capacity of...
until 1938, and after that at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
.
Influences
Many New Thought leaders have been associated with Divine Science, including Charles FillmoreCharles Fillmore (Unity Church)
Charles Sherlock Fillmore , born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, founded Unity, a church within the New Thought movement, with his wife, Myrtle Page Fillmore, in 1889...
and Myrtle Fillmore
Myrtle Fillmore
Mary Caroline "Myrtle" Page Fillmore was co-founder of Unity, a church within the New Thought movement, along with her husband Charles Fillmore. Prior to that time, she worked as a schoolteacher....
founders of Unity Church
Unity Church
Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement and is best known to many through its Daily Word devotional publication...
, and Ernest Holmes
Ernest Holmes
Ernest Shurtleff Holmes was an American writer and spiritual teacher. He was the founder of a Spiritual movement known as Religious Science, a part of the greater New Thought movement, whose spiritual philosophy is known as "The Science of Mind." He was the author of The Science of Mind and...
and Fenwicke Holmes
Fenwicke Holmes
Fenwicke Lindsay Holmes was a religious author and brother of Ernest Holmes, widely recognized for being an important factor in the establishment of Religious Science and the founding of the United Centers for Spiritual Living...
, both of whom were ordained Divine Science ministers who would go on to found Religious Science
Religious Science
Religious Science, also known as Science of Mind, was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes and is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. In general, the term "Science of Mind" applies to the teachings, while the term "Religious Science"...
.
See also
- Huna
- Jewish ScienceJewish ScienceJewish Science is a Judaic spiritual movement comparable with the New Thought Movement. Many of its members also attend services at conventional synagogues....
- Joseph MurphyJoseph Murphy (author)Joseph Murphy was New Thought minister ordained in Divine Science and Religious Science and author.Murphy was born in Ireland, the son of a private boy's school headmaster and raised a Roman Catholic. He studied for the priesthood and joined the Jesuits...
- Law of Attraction
- New ThoughtNew ThoughtNew Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
- PanentheismPanentheismPanentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it...
- Seicho-No-IeSeicho-No-IeSeicho-no-Ie, sometimes rendered Seicho-no Iye , is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the Shinshūkyō in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II...
Further reading
|location=Leiden, Netherlands |publisher=Brill PublishersBrill Publishers
Brill is an international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands. With offices in Leiden and Boston, Brill today publishes more than 134 journals and around 600 new books and reference works each year...
|isbn=9004106960|oclc=35229227}}