Emma Curtis Hopkins: The Teacher of New Thought Leaders

Emma Curtis Hopkins (1849–1925) stands as the pivotal figure in the emergence of the New Thought movement, a spiritual tradition that emphasized the power of the mind to shape reality and the innate divinity of every person. Called the “teacher of teachers” and the “mother of New Thought,” Hopkins instructed or ordained nearly every prominent leader who founded a major New Thought denomination, including Charles and Myrtle Fillmore of Unity Church, Ernest Holmes of Religious Science, and H. Emilie Cady, author of Unity’s cornerstone text Lessons in Truth. According to scholar Charles S. Braden, Hopkins influenced the development of New Thought “more than any other single teacher,” and modern historians increasingly recognize her as the movement’s true founder. This article explores her life, her break from Christian Science, her innovative teachings, and her enduring impact on the spiritual landscape of America.

Historical Context

The New Thought movement arose in the mid-19th century from a confluence of intellectual and spiritual currents: Transcendentalism, with its emphasis on the divine within the individual; Swedenborgianism, which taught correspondences between the spiritual and material worlds; and mesmerism, a popular practice of magnetic healing that suggested the mind could influence the body. These ideas merged with the optimistic, self-reliant ethos of Jacksonian America and the growing feminist movement, creating fertile ground for new religious expressions.

The most direct precursor was Christian Science, founded by Mary Baker Eddy. Eddy’s system of spiritual healing, based on the absolute unreality of matter and the allness of God, attracted thousands of followers in the 1880s, including Emma Curtis Hopkins. However, Hopkins would eventually diverge from Eddy’s authoritarian structure and develop a more inclusive, intellectually expansive approach that became known as New Thought. This context—a mix of metaphysical experimentation, women’s rights activism, and a hunger for practical spirituality—shaped Hopkins’s career and the movement she catalyzed.

Main Narrative

Early Life and Education

Josephine Emma Curtis was born on September 2, 1849, in Killingly, Connecticut, the oldest of nine children in a Congregationalist family. Her father, Rufus Curtis, was a farmer and miller; her mother, Lydia Phillips Curtis, instilled in her a strong religious sensibility. Hopkins attended local schools and became a teacher herself, a common profession for educated women of her era. In 1874, she married George Hopkins, a schoolteacher, and they had a son, John, born in 1875. The marriage later ended in divorce, a personal trial that likely deepened her spiritual seeking.

Christian Science Years

In 1881, Hopkins experienced a healing through the methods of Christian Science, which she had encountered through a practitioner. Intrigued, she heard Mary Baker Eddy speak in 1883 and soon traveled to Boston for instruction. Eddy recognized Hopkins’s talents and appointed her as the first full-time editor of the Christian Science Journal in September 1884. Hopkins served in this unpaid role for about a year and a half, but theological differences and financial pressures led to a rupture. Eddy asked her to leave, and Hopkins resigned from the Christian Science Association in October 1885. This split proved pivotal: Hopkins began to develop her own more inclusive interpretation of metaphysical healing, one that emphasized the individual’s direct access to divine wisdom without the need for a single authoritative church.

Move to Chicago and Teaching Career

In early 1886, Hopkins moved with her son to Chicago, a city bustling with reform movements, women’s clubs, and religious innovation. There she quickly established herself as a lecturer and healer, attracting a devoted following. In 1887, she founded the Emma Hopkins College of Metaphysical Science (later known as the Christian Science Theological Seminary), which trained practitioners and ministers in her methods. She also began publishing a journal, The Christian Science, which later became The New Thought. Hopkins’s teaching emphasized the triune nature of God as Father-Mother-Son, the reality of divine wholeness, and the power of affirmative prayer. She ordained hundreds of students, many of them women, giving them authority to teach and lead—a radical act in an era when women rarely held religious office.

Key Teachings

Hopkins’s theology synthesized elements of Christian Science, Transcendentalism, and her own mystical insights. She taught that the material world is an illusion and that the only reality is Spirit. The human mind, she argued, is a reflection of the Divine Mind, and by aligning one’s thoughts with divine truth, one could experience healing, prosperity, and peace. She introduced the concept of the “high mysticism”—a direct, intuitive union with God that transcended intellectual understanding. Her teachings also incorporated a strong feminist dimension: she asserted that women, as much as men, embodied the divine nature and could serve as spiritual authorities.

Major Books

Hopkins’s most significant work, High Mysticism, was published in 1923 and remains a classic of New Thought literature. In it, she laid out her mystical theology and practical methods for spiritual realization. She also wrote numerous articles and pamphlets, including Scientific Christian Mental Practice (1895), which outlined her healing techniques. These writings influenced not only her direct students but also the broader metaphysical movement through its periodicals and textbooks.

Organizations Founded

Beyond her college, Hopkins helped organize the Illinois Metaphysical Association in 1890 and was a key figure in the early New Thought conferences that led to the formation of the International New Thought Alliance (INTA) in 1914. Her students went on to found major denominations: Charles and Myrtle Fillmore established Unity School of Christianity in 1889; Ernest Holmes founded Religious Science (now Centers for Spiritual Living) in 1927; Nona Brooks and Malinda Cramer co-founded Divine Science in the 1890s. These organizations all trace their roots to Hopkins’s teaching.

Controversies and Historical Debates

Hopkins’s relationship with Mary Baker Eddy remains a subject of debate. Some see her as a rebel who democratized Eddy’s teachings; others view her as a heretic who diluted Christian Science. Additionally, the question of who “founded” New Thought has been contested, with many pointing to Phineas Quimby, a mental healer whose ideas influenced Eddy and others. However, as scholar Kevin Shopf argues in his 2018 thesis, Hopkins is the organizational and theological founder of New Thought, because she created the institutional network and articulated the core theology that the movement adopted. This view challenges earlier histories that credited Quimby, who never organized a movement or wrote a systematic theology.

Relationships with Other Figures

Hopkins’s influence extended through her personal mentorship. Charles and Myrtle Fillmore attended her classes in Chicago and later applied her principles in founding Unity. Ernest Holmes, though he never studied directly with her, acknowledged her as a major inspiration. H. Emilie Cady, a physician and student of Hopkins, wrote Lessons in Truth under Hopkins’s encouragement, which became a foundational text for Unity. Hopkins corresponded with and encouraged many other women healers and teachers, creating a network that spread across the country.

Timeline

• 1849: Born in Killingly, Connecticut
• 1874: Married George Hopkins
• 1881: First healing experience using Christian Science methods
• 1883: Met Mary Baker Eddy
• 1884: Became editor of the Christian Science Journal
• 1885: Resigned from Christian Science
• 1886: Moved to Chicago
• 1887: Founded Emma Hopkins College of Metaphysical Science
• 1890: Helped organize Illinois Metaphysical Association
• 1923: Published High Mysticism
• 1925: Died in Killingly, Connecticut

Legacy

Hopkins died on April 8, 1925, but her legacy endured through the movements she inspired. Unity, Religious Science, and Divine Science collectively claim millions of members worldwide. Her emphasis on women’s spiritual authority paved the way for female ministers and leaders in American religion. Her teachings on affirmative prayer and the power of thought influenced the human potential movement of the 20th century and contemporary self-help culture. Today, scholars and practitioners alike recognize Emma Curtis Hopkins as the central figure who transformed a scattered collection of healing practices into an organized, influential spiritual movement.

Why It Matters in New Thought History

Emma Curtis Hopkins matters because she gave New Thought its institutional form and theological coherence. Without her teaching and ordination, the movement might have remained a loose collection of individual healers. Instead, she created a network of trained ministers and a curriculum that spread across the United States. Her decision to ordain women was revolutionary and set a precedent that distinguished New Thought from many other religious traditions. Moreover, her inclusive theology—which welcomed elements of mysticism, feminism, and practical metaphysics—provided a flexible framework that could adapt to different contexts, allowing Unity, Religious Science, and Divine Science to flourish as distinct expressions of a common vision. For students of New Thought history, Hopkins is not a footnote but the central architect of the movement’s identity.

Primary Sources

• High Mysticism (1923) – Emma Curtis Hopkins’s magnum opus, outlining her mystical theology and practical teachings.
• Scientific Christian Mental Practice (1895) – A manual of healing techniques that influenced many practitioners.
• Articles in the Christian Science Journal (1884–1885) – Hopkins’s early writings as editor, showing her evolving thought.
• Letters and correspondence – Available in the Emma Curtis Hopkins Collection at the New Thought Archives, these reveal her relationships with students and colleagues.
• The Christian Science (later The New Thought) periodical – Edited by Hopkins in Chicago, this journal disseminated her teachings.