How Chicago Became a Center of New Thought

In the late nineteenth century, as Chicago rose from the ashes of the Great Fire to become a bustling industrial metropolis, it also became an unlikely spiritual laboratory. There, a loose network of healers, writers, and metaphysicians forged what came to be known as the New Thought movement—a mental healing tradition promising that thought could shape reality. By the 1880s, Chicago boasted New Thought publications, metaphysical colleges, and dozens of teachers, making it the movement’s de facto capital. This article traces how Chicago became a center of New Thought, examining the people, institutions, and publications that transformed a fringe idea into a global spiritual force.

Historical Context

New Thought emerged in the 1870s as a mental healing cult closely related to Christian Science (Encyclopedia of Chicago). Its roots lay in earlier currents: Transcendentalism’s emphasis on individual intuition, Swedenborgianism’s spiritual correspondences, and mesmerism’s exploration of mental suggestion. Phineas Quimby, a Maine clockmaker, developed a system of healing based on the power of the mind, influencing both Mary Baker Eddy (founder of Christian Science) and later New Thought pioneers. The movement’s core promise—that meditating on a goal could bring health, enlightenment, or wealth—appealed to a wide range of Americans, from economically precarious white-collar workers seeking to “think” their way to success to reformers who believed elevated thoughts could save a nation mired in materialism and corruption (Encyclopedia of Chicago).

Chicago’s rapid growth and diverse population made it fertile ground for such ideas. The city’s industrial dynamism and its reputation as a hub of innovation attracted seekers and entrepreneurs alike. By the early 1880s, Chicago had become a laboratory for metaphysical experimentation, with publications, colleges, and a network of teachers and healers (Encyclopedia of Chicago).

Main Narrative

Origins in Chicago

New Thought’s Chicago chapter began in the 1880s, when the city already hosted several metaphysical publications and “colleges.” These institutions, though often short-lived, created a critical mass of practitioners and students. The movement’s early leaders in Chicago included a mix of former Christian Scientists, mesmerists, and independent healers who shared a belief in the power of suggestion and the primacy of mind over matter. The city’s rapid industrialization and social flux provided a ready audience for teachings that promised personal transformation and material success.

Emma Curtis Hopkins and the Chicago Seminary

The pivotal figure in Chicago’s New Thought ascendancy was Emma Curtis Hopkins, often called the “teacher of teachers.” Between 1888 and 1895, Hopkins ran her New Thought seminary and training school at 2019 S. Indiana Avenue (Encyclopedia of Chicago). Almost every major New Thought leader came to Chicago to study with her, including Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, founders of the Unity School of Christianity (Encyclopedia of Chicago). Hopkins’s influential weekly column of New Thought Bible studies reached a wider audience, spreading her synthesis of Christian mysticism and mental healing. Her seminary functioned as a crucible, training a generation of leaders who would carry New Thought across the country and around the world.

Chicago’s New Thought Publications

Chicago’s print culture amplified the movement’s reach. The periodical New Thought (1901–1910) was one of the most important transformations of Sydney Blanchard Flower’s Hypnotic Magazine, which had evolved through several titles including Journal of Medical Hypnotism and Suggestive Therapeutics (IAPSOP). Edited by influential figures such as William Walker Atkinson, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and others, the magazine became a platform for diverse New Thought voices. Atkinson, a prolific author and editor, helped shape the movement’s intellectual foundations. Other Chicago-based publications, such as The Nautilus (founded by Elizabeth Towne, though based in Holyoke, Massachusetts) and Unity Magazine (founded by the Fillmores in Kansas City but with strong Chicago ties), disseminated New Thought ideas to a national readership. The Chicago journal New Thought itself was part of a lineage that included Hypnotic Magazine and later merged into other periodicals, reflecting the movement’s fluid and evolving nature (IAPSOP).

The International New Thought Alliance

Chicago’s central role culminated in the formation of the International New Thought Alliance (INTA) in 1914, an umbrella organization dedicated to uniting New Thought practitioners across the world (Wikipedia). INTA’s predecessor, the Metaphysical League, had roots in the Chicago movement. The alliance sponsored annual congresses and published The New Thought Magazine, fostering cooperation among diverse branches such as Divine Science, Unity, and Religious Science. Chicago’s legacy as a center of New Thought thus became institutionalized, providing a framework for the movement’s continued growth and adaptation.

Changes Over Time and Present-Day Organizations

As New Thought evolved, Chicago remained a touchstone. The movement shifted from its early emphasis on divine healing to include prosperity and success teachings, a transition reflected in the writings of figures like William Walker Atkinson and Ralph Waldo Trine. Chicago’s schools and publications trained leaders who founded major denominations, including Unity (Charles and Myrtle Fillmore) and Religious Science (Ernest Holmes, who studied New Thought in Chicago). Today, the INTA still operates, and Chicago’s historical sites—like the former Hopkins seminary—remain pilgrimage destinations for New Thought scholars and practitioners.

Why It Matters in New Thought History

Chicago’s role was not merely incidental; it was foundational. The city provided a critical mass of teachers, students, and publications that allowed New Thought to coalesce into a recognizable movement. Emma Curtis Hopkins’s seminary alone trained nearly every major leader, ensuring that her synthesis of Christian Science, Quimby’s mental healing, and transcendentalist optimism became the movement’s orthodoxy. Chicago’s print culture, exemplified by New Thought magazine, standardized and disseminated the movement’s core ideas, reaching audiences far beyond the city. The formation of the INTA in 1914, with its roots in Chicago’s Metaphysical League, gave New Thought a permanent organizational structure. Without Chicago, New Thought might have remained a scattered collection of healers and writers. Instead, it became a global spiritual movement, influencing later currents such as the human potential movement and modern self-help culture. Students of New Thought history cannot understand the movement’s rise without appreciating Chicago’s unique confluence of people, institutions, and ideas.

Primary Sources

• Emma Curtis Hopkins’s writings and weekly Bible studies (1888–1895) – Published in Chicago periodicals, these columns shaped New Thought theology.
• New Thought magazine (Chicago, 1901–1910) – Edited by Sydney Blanshard Flower, William Walker Atkinson, and others; a key record of the movement’s evolution.
• Hypnotic Magazine (1896–1901) – Predecessor to New Thought, documenting the transition from suggestive therapeutics to New Thought.
• Records of the International New Thought Alliance (1914–present) – Including conference proceedings and The New Thought Magazine.
• Charles and Myrtle Fillmore’s letters and Unity publications – Reflecting their Chicago training under Hopkins.