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HISTORY

The Claim

The 19th-century New Thought movement, including Phineas Parkhurst Quimby and Mary Baker Eddy, influenced modern Law of Attraction teachings that the mind can affect health, wealth, and happiness.

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The Short Version

The core historical connection is well supported. New Thought figures, especially Quimby, helped popularize the idea that mental states can affect health and life outcomes, and later Law of Attraction teachings draw on that tradition. The main caveat is that Mary Baker Eddy's link to the specific Law of Attraction lineage is more indirect than the claim suggests.

Caveats

  • Mary Baker Eddy is not a straightforward Law of Attraction precursor; Christian Science developed in a distinct direction from later New Thought and manifestation teachings.
  • The Quimby-Eddy relationship is historically contested, so the claim should not be read as proving a simple direct line of influence from Quimby through Eddy to modern Law of Attraction.
  • Some cited materials are low-reliability or advocacy sources; the conclusion rests mainly on stronger reference works, not blogs or social media.

The Receipts

  1. New Thought | History, Teachings, Practices, & Facts

    Britannica

  2. New Thought Movement

    Unity of St. Louis – South

  3. New Thought History

    Center for Spiritual Living St Augustine

  4. New Thought

    Wikipedia

  5. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby | Spiritualist, Healer, Philosopher

    Encyclopaedia Britannica

  6. New Thought Pioneers: Mary Baker Eddy

    Fillmore Faith

  7. Christian Scientist Mary Baker Eddy led her religious revolution from Chestnut Hill

    Newt Beacon

  8. Phineas Parkhurst Quimby

    Wikipedia

  9. Why Christian Science is not Quimbyism

    Mary Baker Eddy Library

  10. History of New Thought

    Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock

+ 14 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Law Of AttractionMary Baker EddyNew ThoughtPhineas Parkhurst Quimby

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