From middle of 19th century until the 1940s, spiritists practices and doctrines mobilized medical thought through the dual projects of intellectual engagement and social intervention. This article examines texts written by physicians during this period (such as Nina Rodrigues and Leonidio Ribeiro), and explores the ways in which they define and analyse spiritism. The author's analysis identifies continuities and ruptures over the course of this historical period. In the 1930s, spiritism and possession cults in general served as key references for anthropological and sociological categories, signaling an important transformation in their status (Arthur Ramos is a key name). The author examines this process via an analysis of "mental hygiene", a category used by intelectuals in the 1920s and 1930s and closely linked to debates about the formation and fate of the Brazilian nation.
medicine; spiritism; religion; Brazilian social thought