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Mary Burt Messer's life and works demonstrate how spiritual consciousness and academic and political pursuits can be combined. A social worker, professor of sociology, writer of books on sociology, politics and religion, Christian Science healer and poet, Messer argued for the unifying vision between her spiritual convictions and her political and social outlooks. Her story shows how the voice of the spiritual healer can contribute to academia and sociology.

Life
Mary Burt Messer (1881–1960) was a multi-faceted woman who contributed significantly to various fields, notably as a social worker, activist, professor of sociology, author, Christian Science healer, and poet.

She was born into a family of pioneers known for their intellectual, geographical, and spiritual pioneering, most notably her maternal grandfather, John Wesley North. Her ancestry traced back to Puritan Separatist Elder William Brewster, who was an early Pilgrim settler in the Plymouth Colony.

Her primary focus was to drive reforms on a spiritual level. While she faced tension between her spiritual convictions and her political and social pursuits, she remained committed to integrating them. She believed in the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, which highly influenced her works. This influence surfaced in her pursuit of social work, women's rights, and advocacies related to modern family.

She played a significant role in the National Woman's Party (NWP). In the years leading up to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, Messer hosted events for the "Prison Special" – a tour that brought suffragists who had been imprisoned for their political protests to speak across the nation.

Messer not only focused on political activism, but also on educating people on issues related to the family and modern womanhood. Moving to California in 1923, she worked as an instructor at the University of California, Berkeley, Extension, where her courses were quite popular.

Research
Mary Burt Messer was renowned for her research which merged diverse domains such as sociology, feminism, Christian Science healing, and activism for women's rights. She had an underpinning conviction that spiritual healing and socio-political reform were interconnected. This philosophy was succinctly expressed in her work 'The Science of Society', where she stated, "It is indissolubly connected with its outcome of healing, widely known today in its individual aspect; its vast potential of collective application not yet suspected by the world" (Messer 1959, 3)

Messer's teaching and research work were particularly insightful and informative on the topic of divorce. This subject had seen a significant increase in the United States and her input on this was widely taken into account by both mainstream press and religious organizations. An example is seen in a The New York Times article titled "Science and Society Take Up Divorce Evil" where Messer’s research was used to investigate the causes leading up to the disintegration of the American family.

A trailblazing feminist thinker, Messer was also noted for creating and teaching a course on family life at the University of California. She utilized her platform to define and discuss the evolving tone of relationships, particularly focusing on women and their emerging influence in society. Her work and ideas positioned her as an early and important voice in her academic field, meriting renewed attention for her contributions to the sociological treatment of family and individual relationships in the modern era.

Influence
Mary Burt Messer made a significant impact in her field, amalgamating her spiritual convictions, academic pursuits and political outlook, despite the existent tensions among these areas. She was a Christian Science healer and a sociologist, whose work significantly influenced the academic study of the family and women's rights. She strongly advocated for the applicability of spiritual healing on an individual basis, a belief that was indissolubly connected with her social activism and scholarly work.

Moreover, she held a view that the thought of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science religion, had a critical place and reforming influence in scholarship. Messer saw a connection between healing and societal transformation, which she pursued through her work on topics like divorce, women's history, and a feminist call to action for societal advancement, areas in which there was little or no precedent for discussion in academic settings. Mary Burt Messer's work blends spirituality with academic and political pursuits, showing how religious thinkers can impact the scholarly domain with a spirit of healing. As an early voice in the field of sociology, particularly family studies, and given her feminist activism, Mary Burt Messer has a significant place in the history of academic work in these domains, and deserves renewed attention.