Swedenborg and the Intellectual Roots of New Thought

Introduction

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), an eighteenth-century Swedish scientist and mystic, is seldom mentioned in standard histories of New Thought. Yet his ideas—particularly his emphasis on direct spiritual experience, the primacy of consciousness over doctrinal faith, and the correspondence between the natural and spiritual worlds—permeated the intellectual soil from which New Thought emerged. Through Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Swedenborgian minister Warren Felt Evans, Swedenborg’s thought entered the stream of American metaphysical religion, shaping the movement’s core teachings on mental healing and the power of thought. This article traces that often-overlooked lineage, from Swedenborg’s visions to the institutional forms of New Thought in the twentieth century.

Historical Context

New Thought arose in the mid-nineteenth century as a reaction to both orthodox Calvinism and the materialism of the age. It drew on a variety of sources: transcendentalism, mesmerism, Christian Science, and the philosophy of Phineas Quimby. Into this fertile mix came the writings of Swedenborg, which had been circulating in America since the late eighteenth century. Swedenborg’s claim that the Lord had opened his eyes to see heaven and hell, and his insistence that the Bible should be interpreted spiritually rather than literally, resonated with Americans seeking a more experiential faith. As historian Horatio Dresser noted, New Thought pioneers were interested in tracing the connection between their ideas and the new age out of which they had sprung. Swedenborg’s influence, though often indirect, was part of that connection.

Main Narrative

Swedenborg’s Life and Spiritual Awakening

Born in Stockholm in 1688, Swedenborg was a prolific scientist and inventor before his spiritual awakening at age fifty-six. He claimed to have been appointed by the Lord to reform Christianity, and that his eyes were opened to freely visit heaven and hell and converse with angels and spirits. His theological works, such as Heaven and Hell and Arcana Coelestia, presented a systematic cosmology in which the natural world corresponds to the spiritual world, and human consciousness is the point of contact. These ideas, though rooted in Christian mysticism, were framed in the rational language of the Enlightenment, appealing to those who sought to reconcile reason and faith.

Early American Reception

Swedenborg’s works began appearing in America in the 1780s. According to a 2020 dissertation, his theology was an influential presence in early America, with advocates demonstrating a desire for reconciliation between Enlightenment reason and Christian Scripture, while opponents highlighted the subjective nature of his biblical exegesis. The Swedenborgian Church of North America was founded in 1784, and by the early nineteenth century, Swedenborg’s ideas had entered the intellectual mainstream, influencing figures like Emerson.

Transcendentalism and the Inner Light

Ralph Waldo Emerson, though not a Swedenborgian, was deeply impressed by Swedenborg’s concept of correspondence and the idea that the divine is present in the natural world. Emerson included Swedenborg among his ‘Representative Men.’ Through Emerson and other Transcendentalists, Swedenborg’s emphasis on inner light and direct intuition became a cornerstone of American metaphysical thought. This emphasis on consciousness over doctrine directly anticipated New Thought’s central claim that thought shapes reality.

Warren Felt Evans: The Bridge to New Thought

Warren Felt Evans, a former Methodist minister who became a Swedenborgian, is perhaps the most direct link between Swedenborg and New Thought. Evans published several books in the 1860s and 1870s that combined Swedenborgian ideas with mental healing, including The Divine Law of Cure (1884) and Mental Medicine (1872). He argued that disease was rooted in false belief and that spiritual healing could restore health. Evans is often considered a forerunner of New Thought, and his work influenced later figures such as Emma Curtis Hopkins. As noted in a study of Swedenborg’s influence, Evans belonged to a Swedenborgian church and was a key conduit of Swedenborg’s ideas into the New Thought movement.

Swedenborg, Buddhism, and the Wider Metaphysical Current

Swedenborg’s influence extended even to those who popularized Buddhism in the West. Wakoh Shannon Hickey’s research demonstrates that Albert J. Edmonds, Herman Carl Vetterling, and D.T. Suzuki all engaged with Swedenborg’s writings. Edmonds, a Swedenborgian minister, wrote about parallels between Swedenborg and Buddhism; Vetterling translated Swedenborg into German and wrote on comparative religion; and Suzuki, the great Zen popularizer, wrote a book on Swedenborg in 1910. These connections illustrate the breadth of Swedenborg’s impact on the broader metaphysical and comparative religious currents that fed into New Thought.

From Swedenborg to New Thought: Continuity and Transformation

While Swedenborg himself did not teach mental healing, his ideas provided a philosophical foundation. The New Thought movement, as it coalesced under Phineas Quimby, Emma Curtis Hopkins, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, Nona Brooks, Malinda Cramer, and Ernest Holmes, adapted Swedenborg’s emphasis on the primacy of consciousness. Quimby’s ‘science of health’ drew on the idea that mind is the cause of disease and health. Emma Curtis Hopkins, often called the ‘teacher of teachers,’ used Swedenborgian concepts of correspondence and divine mind in her classes. The Fillmores founded Unity, which incorporated Swedenborgian ideas of the inner Christ. Ernest Holmes’s Religious Science, with its ‘Science of Mind,’ similarly echoed Swedenborg’s belief in the unity of the divine and human mind. The International New Thought Alliance, founded in 1914, codified these principles, which owe a debt to Swedenborg’s pioneering vision.

Why It Matters in New Thought History

Swedenborg’s importance to New Thought history lies in his articulation of the fundamental principles that the movement would adopt: the reality of the spiritual world, the correspondence between inner and outer, the power of thought, and the possibility of direct divine communication. By understanding Swedenborg’s influence, we see that New Thought was not merely a product of Quimby’s healing practice or Christian Science, but part of a broader metaphysical tradition that reached back to the Enlightenment. For students of New Thought, Swedenborg’s works offer a rich intellectual heritage, and his life story exemplifies the transformative power of spiritual experience that lies at the heart of the movement.

Primary Sources

• Emanuel Swedenborg, Heaven and Hell (1758) – Swedenborg’s most famous work, detailing his visions of the afterlife and the correspondence between spiritual and natural realms.
• Emanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia (1749–1756) – A multivolume spiritual exegesis of Genesis and Exodus, foundational to Swedenborgian theology.
• Warren Felt Evans, The Divine Law of Cure (1884) – A key work connecting Swedenborgian thought to mental healing, influential on early New Thought.
• Warren Felt Evans, Mental Medicine (1872) – Another Evans text that applied Swedenborgian principles to health and healing.
• Horatio W. Dresser, A History of the New Thought Movement (1919) – A contemporary history that documents the movement’s early years and philosophical debts.
• Wakoh Shannon Hickey, “Swedenborg: A Modern Buddha?” (2010) – An academic article that uncovers Swedenborg’s influence on Buddhist popularizers and New Thought intermediaries.