Psychology has a complicated, intertwined relationship with religion. A classic example of this complicated relationship was William James, who like many prominent Victorian-era intellectuals, got caught up in the Spiritualism movement. For some reason, both Old England and New England were hotbeds of this movement. Remnants of it still exist in New York state particularly in Lily Dale (because it was the home of the Fox Sisters). Now that Ive given you all that info, find and analyze a nice history of the spiritualism movement in the U.S.
OK, given that some of you are still struggling with the term ‘analyze’, let me be more specific. You might want to address: What is the context? What was going on in the world (U.S.) that made so many people rush to embrace spiritualism? Why do you think so many highly intelligent and prominent people, like James or Arthur Conan-Doyle, became Spiritualists? What do you think the short-term/long-term, results were of the ‘spokesperson’ for Psychology jumping into Spiritualism? These are examples of what I mean by ‘analysis’ or ‘critical thinking.’ Just think about the topic and examine it in an informed discussion.