New Thought and Christian Science: A Comparative History

Introduction

New Thought and Christian Science, two of the most influential movements in American metaphysical religion, emerged within a few years of each other in the late nineteenth century. Both arose from a shared cultural ferment—an idealistic philosophy that privileged Mind over matter, and a desperate search for alternative healing at a time when mainstream medicine offered little. Yet despite these common roots, the movements diverged sharply, developing distinct theologies, organizational structures, and practices. This article traces their comparative history, examining the people, ideas, and institutions that shaped them, and assessing their enduring significance for the broader New Thought tradition.

Historical Context

The intellectual climate of mid-nineteenth-century America was ripe for metaphysical experimentation. Transcendentalism, with its emphasis on the divine spark within the individual, and Swedenborgianism, with its mystical correspondences between spiritual and material realms, permeated the culture. The popular craze for mesmerism and animal magnetism introduced the idea that invisible forces could influence health and consciousness. At the same time, the medical profession was still primitive; heroic treatments like bloodletting and purging were common, and germ theory was not yet widely accepted. Into this void stepped a generation of healers and thinkers who argued that the mind—or Mind—was the primary agent in healing. The New Thought movement, as it came to be called, was one expression of this impulse; Christian Science, founded by Mary Baker Eddy, was another. Both movements explicitly claimed to be scientific, offering systematic methods of healing based on spiritual laws rather than empirical medicine. As historian Jeremy Rapport notes, they “understood themselves to be premised on what they considered scientific understandings of the world and of the divine forces that they believed controlled the world” [2].

Main Narrative

Origins: Phineas Quimby and Mary Baker Eddy

The story begins with Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802–1866), a clockmaker and mesmerist from Maine who developed a philosophy of mental healing. Quimby taught that disease was rooted in erroneous beliefs and that correcting those beliefs could restore health. His methods, which he called “the science of health” or “Christian Science,” attracted a devoted following. One of his patients was Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910), who later claimed that Quimby’s teachings had healed her of a chronic condition. Eddy studied with Quimby in the early 1860s, and her testimony to his work is a crucial primary source for understanding the movement’s origins [4]. However, Eddy would later distance herself from Quimby, asserting that her own divine revelation, culminating in the publication of Science and Health (1875), was the true source of Christian Science. This dispute over intellectual indebtedness became a defining controversy in the history of both movements.

The Emergence of Christian Science

Christian Science, as organized by Eddy, was the first to institutionalize. In 1879, she established the Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston. Eddy’s theology was radical: she taught that God is divine Mind, and that matter, sin, sickness, and death are illusions. Healing, therefore, was not a physical intervention but a mental and spiritual awakening to the truth of God’s allness. The movement grew rapidly, establishing a worldwide presence and publishing the Christian Science Journal (1883) and later the Christian Science Monitor. Eddy’s authoritarian leadership and her insistence on her unique revelation set Christian Science apart from the more diffuse New Thought movement. As one encyclopedia entry notes, “Christian Science and New Thought are two movements that generally do not like to speak of each other” [1], reflecting a deep-seated rivalry over authenticity and orthodoxy.

The Birth of New Thought: Emma Curtis Hopkins and the Mind Cure Movement

New Thought emerged from the same milieu but took a very different shape. Its immediate precursors included the New England Mind Cure movement, which Quimby’s students—such as Warren Felt Evans—developed, and the independent practitioners of mental healing who proliferated in the 1870s and 1880s. The movement’s formal founder is often considered Emma Curtis Hopkins (1849–1925), a former student of Eddy who broke away in the 1880s to teach her own version of metaphysical Christianity. Hopkins taught that God is infinite Mind and that human beings are expressions of that Mind. She trained a generation of leaders who went on to found their own denominations: Charles and Myrtle Fillmore founded Unity in 1889; Malinda Cramer and Nona Brooks established Divine Science; and later Ernest Holmes developed Religious Science (now Science of Mind) in the 1920s. Hopkins’s influence was so pervasive that she earned the title “the teacher of teachers” [3]. Unlike Christian Science, New Thought was never a single organization but a loosely affiliated network of independent groups, teachers, and publications.

Key Figures and Their Contributions

Beyond Hopkins, several figures shaped New Thought’s development. Charles (1854–1948) and Myrtle Fillmore (1845–1931) founded Unity in Kansas City, Missouri, emphasizing positive thinking, prayer, and practical Christianity. Their magazine, Unity Magazine, began in 1889 and remains in publication. Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) synthesized New Thought principles into a systematic philosophy in his 1926 book The Science of Mind, and his movement, Religious Science, emphasized the power of affirmative prayer and creative visualization. Nona Brooks (1861–1945) and Malinda Cramer (1844–1906) independently developed Divine Science, which stressed the omnipresence of divine love. William Walker Atkinson (1862–1932) wrote extensively under several pseudonyms, popularizing New Thought concepts for a broad audience. Ralph Waldo Trine (1866–1958) reached millions with In Tune with the Infinite (1897), a classic of New Thought literature. These figures, while diverse in their emphases, all shared a commitment to the power of Mind to transform health, prosperity, and personal well-being.

Beliefs and Practices: The Role of Mind in Healing

At the core of both Christian Science and New Thought is the conviction that Mind is the ultimate reality and that healing comes through aligning one’s thoughts with divine truth. However, they diverged in their understanding of the relationship between mind and matter. Christian Science, following Eddy, denied the reality of matter altogether, viewing it as an illusion. New Thought, by contrast, generally accepted that matter exists but is malleable through consciousness. As the Encyclopedic entry on New Thought explains, the movement shares “an idealistic theology, an optimistic worldview, and an emphasis on religious rituals that focus on personal well-being, health, and material success” [3]. Both movements employed affirmations, prayer, and mental visualization, but Christian Science insisted on a strict monism, while New Thought allowed for a more pragmatic pluralism. These differences led to intense polemics, with each side accusing the other of misrepresenting the true science of the mind.

Institutions and Publications

New Thought’s institutional life was as diverse as its theology. The International New Thought Alliance (INTA) was founded in 1914 to provide a loose federation for the various groups. Its annual congresses and publications helped standardize teaching while preserving local autonomy. Key periodicals included Unity Magazine, Science of Mind magazine (founded 1927), The Nautilus (edited by Elizabeth Towne), and Mind magazine. These publications served as both educational tools and community builders, spreading New Thought ideas across the United States and internationally. Christian Science, in contrast, maintained a centralized structure under Eddy and her successors, with the Mother Church in Boston and a network of branch churches and reading rooms. Its Christian Science Journal and Christian Science Sentinel provided doctrinal guidance and healing testimonials. The two movements’ differing organizational models reflected their theological differences: New Thought’s decentralized, democratic ethos versus Christian Science’s hierarchical, revelatory authority.

Branches and Changes Over Time

Throughout the twentieth century, both movements evolved. New Thought experienced a resurgence in the 1960s and 1970s, influencing the human potential movement and the rise of positive thinking in popular culture. Figures like Norman Vincent Peale and later Oprah Winfrey drew on New Thought concepts. Christian Science, meanwhile, faced declining membership after the mid-twentieth century but maintained a strong institutional presence. The two movements have remained distinct, though they share a common ancestry. Today, the New Thought movement includes Unity, Religious Science (now Centers for Spiritual Living), Divine Science, and numerous independent churches and study groups. Christian Science continues as a global denomination with its own unique theology. The relationship between them remains complex, marked by both mutual influence and defensive separation [1].

Why It Matters in New Thought History

The comparative history of New Thought and Christian Science illuminates the broader dynamics of American metaphysical religion. It reveals how a shared cultural impulse—the search for spiritual healing—could generate radically different institutional forms and theologies. For students of New Thought, understanding the Christian Science connection is essential because it clarifies the movement’s own identity. New Thought defined itself partly in opposition to Christian Science, embracing a more democratic and pluralistic approach to truth. The rivalry forced New Thought to articulate its principles more clearly and to justify its claims to scientific validity. Moreover, the early debt to Quimby and the Mind Cure movement is a crucial chapter in the lineage of New Thought. The movement’s emphasis on practical results, its optimism, and its focus on personal transformation all trace back to this formative period. By studying the comparative history, we gain insight into how religious movements innovate, split, and evolve in response to cultural and intellectual pressures.

Primary Sources

• Phineas Quimby’s manuscripts (ca. 1840s–1860s) – Notes and lectures on mental healing, later published as The Quimby Manuscripts (1921), revealing the foundational ideas.
• Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (1875) – The foundational text of Christian Science, articulating its theology and practice.
• Emma Curtis Hopkins, Scientific Christian Mental Practice (1888) – A key text of early New Thought, outlining Hopkins’s teachings on mental healing.
• Horatio W. Dresser, A History of the New Thought Movement (1919) – A contemporary account by a Quimby student, providing crucial testimony about Eddy’s relationship to Quimby.
• Unity Magazine (founded 1889) – The longest-running New Thought periodical, containing teachings, testimonials, and practical advice.
• Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind (1926) – The foundational text of Religious Science, synthesizing New Thought principles.