Allan Kardec (Taken from Qu'est-ce que le Spiritisme? - Préambule)
Translated from the original French

What it reveals

• It reveals new and more profound concepts with respect to God, the Universe, the Human Being, the Spirits and the Laws which govern life itself.

• Furthermore, it reveals what we are; where we have come from; where we are going; what is the objective of our existence; and what is the reason for pain and suffering.

What it comprises

• By bringing new concepts about the Human Being and everything that surrounds it, Spiritism touches on all areas of knowledge, human activities and behavior, thus opening a new era for the regeneration of Humanity.

• Spiritism can and should be studied, analyzed, and practiced in all the fundamental aspects of life, such as: scientific, philosophical, religious, ethical, moral, educational, and social.

What it teaches 

• God is the Supreme Intelligence, first cause of all things. God is eternal, immutable, immaterial, unique, omnipotent, supremely just and good.

• The Universe is God's creation. It encompasses all rational and non-rational beings, both animate and inanimate, material and immaterial.

• In addition to the corporeal world inhabited by incarnate Spirits, which are human beings, there exists the spiritual world, inhabited by discarnate Spirits. 

• Within the Universe there are other inhabited worlds, with beings at different degrees of evolution: some equal, others more or less evolved than earthly Man.

• Spirits are the intelligent beings of creation. They constitute the world of the Spirits, which pre-exists and outlives everything.

• Spirits are created simple and ignorant. They evolve intellectually and morally, passing from a lower order to a higher one, until they attain perfection, where they will enjoy unalterable bliss.

• Spirits preserve their individuality before, during, and after each incarnation.

• Spirits reincarnate as many times as is necessary for their spiritual advancement.

• Spirits are always progressing. In their multiple physical existences, they may sometimes become stationary but they never regress. The speed of their intellectual and moral progress depends on the efforts they make to attain perfection.

• Spirits belong to different orders according to the degree of perfection they have attained: Pure Spirits, who have attained maximum perfection; Good Spirits, whose predominant desire is towards goodness; and Imperfect Spirits, characterized by their ignorance, their tendency towards evil, and by their inferior passions.

• The Spirits' relations with Human Beings are constant and have always existed. The Good Spirits attract us towards goodness, sustain us in life's trials, and help us bear them with courage and resignation. The Imperfect Spirits induce us towards error.

• Jesus is the Guide and Model for all Humankind. He taught and exemplified the purest expression of God's Law: love one another.

• The morality of Christ, as contained in the Gospels, is the guidance for the secure progress of all Human Beings. Its practice is the solution for all human problems and the objective to be attained by Humankind.

• Human Beings are given free-will to act, but they must answer for the consequences of their actions.

• Prayer is an act of adoration for God. It is found in the natural law and is the result of an innate sentiment in every Human Being, just as the idea of the existence of the Creator is innate.