The History of Prosperity Teaching in New Thought

Introduction

The history of prosperity teaching in the New Thought movement is a story of how a small, metaphysical religious current transformed American ideas about wealth, health, and success. Emerging in the late nineteenth century as a branch of the broader ‘mind cure’ movement, New Thought authors and teachers argued that the divine Mind—accessible through positive thinking and affirmation—could manifest material abundance in one’s life. This prosperity theology, as scholar Dawn Hutchinson notes, became popular in America because its proponents often avoided the ‘New Thought’ label, instead using traditional Christian terms to appeal to mainstream audiences, including the business community (Hutchinson, 2014). By the early twentieth century, prosperity teaching had permeated not only religious circles but also self-help literature, corporate training, and popular psychology, leaving a legacy that persists today in books like The Secret and the teachings of motivational speakers. This article traces the development of prosperity teaching within New Thought, from its roots in mental healing to its institutionalization in groups like Unity and Religious Science, and examines why this idea proved so durable and influential.

Historical Context

The New Thought movement arose in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in the United States, a period of rapid industrialization, urbanization, and social change. It was part of a broader ‘metaphysical’ tradition that included Christian Science, Theosophy, and Spiritualism, all of which shared an idealistic worldview that emphasized the primacy of mind over matter (Encyclopedia.com, n.d.). Intellectual antecedents included American Transcendentalism, particularly the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who stressed the inherent divinity of the individual and the power of thought. The Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg contributed a cosmology of correspondences between the spiritual and material realms. Mesmerism and the ‘mind cure’ movement popularized the idea that mental states could influence physical health, a notion that Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802–1866) developed into a system of spiritual healing. Quimby, a clockmaker and healer from Maine, taught that illness was a result of false beliefs and that correcting one’s thinking could restore health. His ideas directly influenced Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, and Emma Curtis Hopkins, who is often called the ‘mother of New Thought’ (Encyclopedia.com, n.d.). The cultural climate of optimism, self-reliance, and the pursuit of success in Gilded Age America provided fertile ground for a philosophy that promised material rewards through mental alignment with divine law.

Main Narrative

Definition and Origins

Prosperity teaching in New Thought is the belief that God, understood as infinite Mind or Spirit, is the source of all abundance, and that individuals can access this abundance by aligning their thoughts and beliefs with divine principles. Unlike traditional Christian doctrines that viewed poverty as virtuous or as a test of faith, New Thought writers insisted that material wealth was a natural expression of spiritual health. The origins of this idea can be traced to the healing practice of Phineas Quimby, who argued that disease was a mental error and that correcting one’s thoughts could restore health. Quimby’s student Warren Felt Evans, a Swedenborgian minister, extended these ideas to include prosperity, suggesting that mental harmony could attract financial well-being. However, it was Emma Curtis Hopkins (1849–1925) who systematized and disseminated these teachings. After studying with Mary Baker Eddy and serving as an editor for the Christian Science Journal, Hopkins broke away in the 1880s to establish her own ministry in Chicago, where she trained a generation of New Thought leaders, including Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, founders of Unity, and Nona Brooks, co-founder of Divine Science (Encyclopedia.com, n.d.).

Who Popularized It

Among the earliest and most influential popularizers of prosperity teaching was Ralph Waldo Trine, whose 1897 book In Tune with the Infinite sold millions of copies and articulated the principle that ‘thoughts are forces’ and that ‘like produces like.’ Trine, though not formally tied to any New Thought organization, drew directly from Hopkins’s teachings and helped bring prosperity ideas to a mass audience. Another key figure was William Walker Atkinson, a prolific author who wrote under several pseudonyms, including ‘Theron Q. Dumont’ and ‘Yogi Ramacharaka.’ Atkinson’s books, such as Thought Vibration (1906) and The Law of Attraction in the Thought World (1906), explicitly connected mental states to material outcomes, laying the groundwork for later ‘law of attraction’ literature. In the early twentieth century, Charles Fillmore (1854–1948) and his wife Myrtle Fillmore (1845–1931) founded Unity, a New Thought denomination that made prosperity a central tenet. Unity’s magazine, Unity (later Daily Word), reached hundreds of thousands of readers with affirmations and lessons on ‘prosperity consciousness.’ Similarly, Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) founded Religious Science in 1927, and his book The Science of Mind (1926) became a foundational text, teaching that ‘the law of mind’ could be used to bring about prosperity and health.

Historical Development

The development of prosperity teaching followed the broader evolution of New Thought from a loose network of healers to an organized movement. In the 1890s, Hopkins’s Chicago-based ‘Emma Curtis Hopkins College of Christian Science’ trained numerous future leaders, and her journal Christian Science (later Hopkins’ Magazine) published articles on prosperity. The formation of the International New Thought Alliance (INTA) in 1914 provided a unifying structure, with an annual congress and a statement of principles that affirmed the ‘inherent power of the individual’ to ‘attract to himself the things he desires.’ During the 1920s and 1930s, prosperity teaching became increasingly commercialized, as authors like Napoleon Hill, though not a New Thought member, drew on its ideas in Think and Grow Rich (1937). Within New Thought, groups like Unity and Religious Science developed specific practices, such as ‘prosperity affirmations’ and ‘tithing,’ to cultivate abundance. The movement also faced internal debates about the ethics of material desire, with some leaders emphasizing that true prosperity included spiritual and emotional well-being, not just financial gain.

How Different New Thought Groups Understood It

Although all New Thought groups shared the core principle that mind influences matter, they differed in their theological framing. Unity, influenced by Christianity, taught that Jesus demonstrated the power of affirmative prayer and that prosperity was a sign of aligning with God’s will. Charles Fillmore wrote extensively on ‘the prosperity law,’ arguing that giving and receiving were two ends of the same spiritual circuit. Divine Science, founded by Nona Brooks and Malinda Cramer in the 1890s, emphasized the immanence of God and the ‘wholeness’ of the individual, interpreting prosperity as a natural outcome of realizing one’s oneness with the divine. Religious Science, founded by Ernest Holmes, took a more metaphysical approach, viewing God as impersonal Law and Mind, and teaching that the ‘use of the law’ could bring about any good, including wealth. The New Thought Alliance’s eclectic approach allowed for these variations, but all groups stressed the importance of right thinking, gratitude, and visualization as tools for attracting abundance.

Related Concepts

Prosperity teaching is closely related to other New Thought concepts such as ‘divine healing,’ ‘the law of attraction,’ and ‘affirmative prayer.’ It also intersected with the broader American success literature of the early twentieth century, including the ‘New Thought’ inspired writings of Orison Swett Marden, who founded Success magazine in 1897. The idea that ‘thoughts are things’ became a cultural mantra, influencing not only religious seekers but also business leaders and self-help authors. The human potential movement of the 1960s and 1970s, with its emphasis on personal growth and actualization, drew heavily on New Thought’s prosperity teachings, as did the late twentieth-century ‘prosperity gospel’ of televangelists like Joel Osteen, though the latter often blended New Thought with evangelical Christianity.

Modern Legacy

The legacy of prosperity teaching in New Thought is evident in the continued popularity of books like Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret (2006), which explicitly cites New Thought sources, and in the enduring appeal of ‘positive thinking’ in American culture. The movement’s emphasis on individual agency and the power of belief has shaped everything from motivational seminars to corporate training programs. However, critics have pointed to the potential for prosperity teaching to justify economic inequality by suggesting that poverty is a result of mental failure. Despite such critiques, New Thought’s prosperity theology remains a vibrant and influential strand of American religious and self-help thought, demonstrating the enduring appeal of the idea that our thoughts can shape our reality.

Why It Matters in New Thought History

Prosperity teaching is not a peripheral aspect of New Thought but a core component that helped the movement expand beyond a small circle of metaphysical healers into a mass-market phenomenon. By framing material success as a spiritual goal, New Thought authors made their philosophy accessible to a wide audience, particularly the rising middle class and business entrepreneurs of the Gilded Age. As Dawn Hutchinson argues, the deliberate use of traditional Christian language and the avoidance of the ‘New Thought’ label allowed these ideas to infiltrate mainstream American culture, influencing the business community and popular self-help literature (Hutchinson, 2014). This strategic accommodation ensured the movement’s survival and growth, even as its distinct identity sometimes blurred. Today, students of New Thought history must understand prosperity teaching to appreciate how the movement balanced its idealistic theology with practical concerns for health, wealth, and happiness. The history of prosperity teaching also illuminates the ongoing tension within New Thought between spiritual purity and worldly success, a tension that continues to shape its evolution.

Primary Sources

• In Tune with the Infinite (1897) by Ralph Waldo Trine – A bestselling book that articulated the core New Thought principles of mental power and abundance, influencing millions of readers.
• The Science of Mind (1926) by Ernest Holmes – The foundational text of Religious Science, presenting a systematic philosophy of mental healing and prosperity.
• Lessons in Truth (1895) by H. Emilie Cady – A Unity classic that taught affirmative prayer and the principle of divine supply, widely used in Unity classes.
• Thought Vibration (1906) by William Walker Atkinson – An early exposition of the law of attraction, linking thought frequencies to material outcomes.
• Unity Magazine (founded 1891) – The periodical of the Unity movement, containing numerous articles on prosperity consciousness and practical metaphysics.
• Christian Science Journal (early issues) – Edited by Emma Curtis Hopkins, these journals contain early formulations of New Thought prosperity teachings before her split from Christian Science.