Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 100
charismatic leader and the sect thrived. Around 1912 Charles Leadbeater, at Theosophy‘s
center in India, became enamored of a beautiful Indian boy. He convinced the other
Theosophical leaders that the boy, Krishnamurti, was a reincarnation of Christ. Steiner
couldn‘t go along with that. He‘d already integrated Christ into his cosmological system, and
Krishnamurti wasn‘t part of that system. Years later, when he grew up, Krishnamurti
repudiated his role in Theosophy and became a spiritual teacher in his own right.
Steiner split with Theosophy, forming his own group, which he called Anthroposophy. He
was a charismatic leader, and most of the German section came with him, forming an
instant cult. Later he claimed to have been teaching Anthroposophy all along, and
Anthroposophical presses went so far as to change ―Theosophy‖ to ―Anthroposophy‖ in
some of his earlier books.
Anthroposophy cobbles together a hodge-podge of spiritual traditions, claiming to teach
comprehensive truths which are only partially found in other religions. At its foundation are
the concepts of reincarnation, karma, and polytheism, which derive from Hinduism. Steiner
was something of a fundamentalist Platonist, saying that the real world was all illusion, that
objects are reflections of eternal essences in the spiritual world but for Steiner the
essences weren‘t abstractions, they were living beings. He also espoused Plato‘s political
philosophy and may well have imagined himself as the philosopher-king. From the ancient
Persian religion Zoroastrianism he took dual gods of light and dark. He identified the light
god as Lucifer, and created his own trinity of Lucifer, Ahriman (the dark god), and a Gnostic
conception of Christ, usually referred to as ―The Christ Spirit,‖ who dwelt in the body of
Jesus for only three years.
As if this weren‘t enough, Steiner stirred it all together with a liberal dose of European
occult traditions: Cabbalism, numerology, Rosicrucianism and Masonry, and spiced it with
vegetarianism and the pseudosciences of astrology, herbalism, and homeopathy. Steiner
claimed to make ―exact scientific observations‖ in the spiritual world, so nothing that he said
could be discussed substantially by his followers without questioning the foundations of the
faith.
Anthroposophy Today
A pamphlet of the Anthroposophical Society in America (1993) quotes Steiner‘s statement of
the purpose of the society given in 1923: ―an association of people who would foster the life
of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of
the spiritual world.‖ This reveals the religious nature of Anthroposophy. ―The life of the soul‖
is generally considered to be a religious matter, as is ―the spiritual world.‖ His assertion of
―true knowledge‖ marks Anthroposophy as a sect it implies that other paths are not true.
Many common references identify Anthroposophy as a religious movement. Merriam-
Webster‘s Collegiate Dictionary defines it as ―a 20th century religious system growing out of
theosophy and centering on human development.‖ (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-
bin/dictionary, 12/1/02) The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy calls it ―The Christian and
occultist movement associated with Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) stressing the cultivation of
spiritual nature and the way to gain spiritual awareness of a higher world‖ (Oxford, 1994, p.
75). Encyclopedia Britannica‘s article on Steiner defines Anthroposophy as ―a movement
based on the notion that there is a spiritual world comprehensible to pure thought but
accessible only to the highest faculties of mental knowledge‖ (Britannica, 2002).
More than any other sect of occultism, except perhaps Shrine, Anthroposophists apply
themselves to activities in the outside world. The pamphlet lists the activities of
―Anthroposophy at Work‖ as Waldorf education, adult education, healing dance, medical
practice, elder care, biodynamic agriculture, the arts, banking and financial consulting,
charismatic leader and the sect thrived. Around 1912 Charles Leadbeater, at Theosophy‘s
center in India, became enamored of a beautiful Indian boy. He convinced the other
Theosophical leaders that the boy, Krishnamurti, was a reincarnation of Christ. Steiner
couldn‘t go along with that. He‘d already integrated Christ into his cosmological system, and
Krishnamurti wasn‘t part of that system. Years later, when he grew up, Krishnamurti
repudiated his role in Theosophy and became a spiritual teacher in his own right.
Steiner split with Theosophy, forming his own group, which he called Anthroposophy. He
was a charismatic leader, and most of the German section came with him, forming an
instant cult. Later he claimed to have been teaching Anthroposophy all along, and
Anthroposophical presses went so far as to change ―Theosophy‖ to ―Anthroposophy‖ in
some of his earlier books.
Anthroposophy cobbles together a hodge-podge of spiritual traditions, claiming to teach
comprehensive truths which are only partially found in other religions. At its foundation are
the concepts of reincarnation, karma, and polytheism, which derive from Hinduism. Steiner
was something of a fundamentalist Platonist, saying that the real world was all illusion, that
objects are reflections of eternal essences in the spiritual world but for Steiner the
essences weren‘t abstractions, they were living beings. He also espoused Plato‘s political
philosophy and may well have imagined himself as the philosopher-king. From the ancient
Persian religion Zoroastrianism he took dual gods of light and dark. He identified the light
god as Lucifer, and created his own trinity of Lucifer, Ahriman (the dark god), and a Gnostic
conception of Christ, usually referred to as ―The Christ Spirit,‖ who dwelt in the body of
Jesus for only three years.
As if this weren‘t enough, Steiner stirred it all together with a liberal dose of European
occult traditions: Cabbalism, numerology, Rosicrucianism and Masonry, and spiced it with
vegetarianism and the pseudosciences of astrology, herbalism, and homeopathy. Steiner
claimed to make ―exact scientific observations‖ in the spiritual world, so nothing that he said
could be discussed substantially by his followers without questioning the foundations of the
faith.
Anthroposophy Today
A pamphlet of the Anthroposophical Society in America (1993) quotes Steiner‘s statement of
the purpose of the society given in 1923: ―an association of people who would foster the life
of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of
the spiritual world.‖ This reveals the religious nature of Anthroposophy. ―The life of the soul‖
is generally considered to be a religious matter, as is ―the spiritual world.‖ His assertion of
―true knowledge‖ marks Anthroposophy as a sect it implies that other paths are not true.
Many common references identify Anthroposophy as a religious movement. Merriam-
Webster‘s Collegiate Dictionary defines it as ―a 20th century religious system growing out of
theosophy and centering on human development.‖ (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-
bin/dictionary, 12/1/02) The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy calls it ―The Christian and
occultist movement associated with Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) stressing the cultivation of
spiritual nature and the way to gain spiritual awareness of a higher world‖ (Oxford, 1994, p.
75). Encyclopedia Britannica‘s article on Steiner defines Anthroposophy as ―a movement
based on the notion that there is a spiritual world comprehensible to pure thought but
accessible only to the highest faculties of mental knowledge‖ (Britannica, 2002).
More than any other sect of occultism, except perhaps Shrine, Anthroposophists apply
themselves to activities in the outside world. The pamphlet lists the activities of
―Anthroposophy at Work‖ as Waldorf education, adult education, healing dance, medical
practice, elder care, biodynamic agriculture, the arts, banking and financial consulting,
