Sylvia Celeste Browne (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Shoemaker; October 19, 1936 – November 20, 2013) was an American writer and self-proclaimed medium and

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...

. She appeared regularly on television and radio, including on '' The Montel Williams Show'' and ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

'', and hosted an hour-long online radio show on Hay House Radio. Browne frequently made pronouncements that were later found to be false, including those related to missing persons. In 1992, she pleaded no contest to

Early life

Sylvia Browne grew up in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, the daughter of William Lee and Celeste (née Coil) Shoemaker. Her father held several different jobs, working at times in mail delivery, jewelry sales, and as a vice president of a freight line. Although Browne was raised mostly as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, she was said to have an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

mother, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

maternal grandmother,

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

father, and relatives from all these faiths. Browne said that she started seeing visions at the age of three, and that her grandmother, who she said was also a

medium, helped her understand what they meant. Browne also said her great-uncle was a psychic medium and was "rabid about UFOs".

Career

Browne started working as a

in 1973. In 1986, she founded a

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

Christian church in Campbell,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, known as the Society of Novus Spiritus. She was also head of the Sylvia Browne Corporation and Sylvia Browne Enterprises. In a 2010 interview, Browne's business manager said that her businesses earned $3 million a year. Browne said she observed

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

and

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s. She also professed the ability to speak with a

spirit guide A spirit guide, in Spiritualism, is an entity that remains as a discarnate spirit to act as a guide or protector to a living incarnated individual. Description In traditional African belief systems, well before the spread of Christianity ...

named Francine, and to perceive a wide range of "vibrational frequencies".

Books

Browne authored some 40 books on

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

topics, some of which appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Many of these books were acknowledged as resulting from collaborations with other writers such as Lindsay Harrison and Chris Dufresne.

Television and radio

Browne was a frequent guest on American television and radio programs, including ''

'', '' The Montel Williams Show'', '' That's Incredible!'', and '' Coast to Coast AM''. During these appearances, she usually discussed her purported abilities with the host and then performed readings for audience members or callers. On certain occasions she was paired with other guests, including skeptics, often leading to debate about the authenticity of Browne's psychic abilities. Browne hosted her own hour-long online radio show on Hay House Radio, where she performed readings and discussed paranormal issues. Browne appeared in a 1991 episode of '' Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories''. In the segment "Ghosts R Us", she portrayed herself in a recreation of events that purportedly took place in a haunted Toys R Us store. Browne also appeared as herself on the CBS television

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' in December 2006.

False predictions

Browne made many public pronouncements which were subsequently proven false. Among the more notable incidents were the following: * In 2002, Browne informed the parents of 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, who had disappeared earlier that year, that he had been kidnapped by a dark-skinned

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

man with dreadlocks and was now deceased. Hornbeck was found alive in 2007; his kidnapper was Caucasian and short-haired. In June 2008, the UK television network

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

was sanctioned by

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

for re-airing the episode of ''The Montel Williams Show'' featuring Browne's original prediction. * In November 2004, Browne told the mother of kidnapping victim Amanda Berry, who had disappeared nineteen months earlier: "She's not alive, honey." Browne also said that Berry was "in water", and that she had had a vision of Berry's jacket in the garbage with "

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

on it".
Republished
May 7, 2013 Berry's mother died two years later believing her daughter had been killed. Berry was found alive in May 2013. * On ''

'' in 2003, Browne predicted that she would die at age 88. She died in 2013, at age 77.

Psychic detective cases

In 2000, '' Brill's Content'' examined ten recent ''Montel Williams'' episodes that highlighted Browne's work as a psychic detective, spanning 35 cases. In 21 cases, the information predicted by Browne was too vague to be verified. Of the remaining 14, law enforcement officials or family members stated Browne had played no useful role.Gomes, Joseph (November 27, 2000) ('' Brill's Content''), as reported in In 2010, the '' Skeptical Inquirer'' published a detailed three-year study by Ryan Shaffer and Agatha Jadwiszczok that examined Browne's predictions about

missing person A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as Life, alive or Death, dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accide ...

s and murder cases. Despite her repeated claims to be more than 85% correct, the study reported that "Browne has not even been mostly correct in a single case." The study compared Browne's televised statements about 115 cases with newspaper reports and found that in the 25 cases where the actual outcome was known, she was completely wrong in every one. In the rest, where the outcome was unknown, her predictions could not be substantiated. The study concluded that the media outlets that repeatedly promoted Browne's work had no visible concern about whether she was untrustworthy or harmed people. Among the predictions examined in the study were the following: * In 1999, Browne said that six-year-old Opal Jo Jennings, who had disappeared a month earlier, had been forced into slavery in Japan. Later that year, a local man was convicted of

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

and murdering Jennings. In 2003, an autopsy of Jennings' remains found that she had died within hours of her abduction. * In 2002, Browne said that Holly Krewson, who had disappeared in 1995, was working as an exotic dancer in a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

nightclub. In 2006, dental records were used to positively identify a body found in 1996 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

as Krewson's. * In 2002, Browne said that Lynda McClelland, who had disappeared in 2000, had been taken by a man with the initials "MJ", was alive in Orlando,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and would be found soon. In 2003, McClelland's son-in-law David Repasky, who had been present at Browne's reading, was convicted of murdering McClelland; her remains were found near her home in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. * In 2004, Browne said that Ryan Katcher, a 19-year-old who had disappeared in 2000, had been murdered, and his body could be found in a metal shaft. In 2006, Katcher's body was found in his truck at the bottom of a pond, where he had drowned. In a 2013 follow-up article, Shaffer reviewed more recent predictions by Browne, as well as predictions whose outcomes had been earlier classified as undetermined but were now largely resolved. According to Shaffer, Browne was mostly or completely wrong in 33 cases and mostly accurate in none.

Sago Mine disaster

On January 2, 2006, an explosion at Sago mine in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

trapped several miners underground. The following day, Browne was a guest on the radio program ''Coast to Coast AM'' with George Noory. At the start of the broadcast, it was believed that twelve of thirteen miners trapped by the disaster had been found alive and, when Noory asked Browne if the reported lack of noise from inside the mine might have led her to think the men had died, she replied, "No; I knew they were going to be found." Later in the program, it was discovered that the earlier news reports had been in error; Browne said, "I don't think there's anybody alive, maybe one ... I just don't think they are alive", adding, subsequently, that she "didn't believe that they were alive ... I did believe that they were gone."

Popularity

Browne cultivated a large following. In 2007, she had a four-year waiting list for readings by telephone. That same year, hundreds of people joined Browne on a cruise, each paying thousands of dollars for psychic readings. Many of her books became staples on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Browne attracted media attention seven years after her death, when social media users claimed that a prediction in her books (''End of Days'' and ''Prophecy: What the Future Holds For You'') referred to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

(she claimed "a severe pneumonia-like illness" would spread "around" 2020). News coverage of the alleged similarity appeared in March 2020, and was picked up by celebrities with large social media platforms such as

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

. Investigator Benjamin Radford and others dismissed the one-paragraph prediction as too generic, and actually more akin to the 2003

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the ...

epidemic, than to COVID-19. Radford said that as Browne had produced predictions by the thousands, "the fact that this one happened to possibly, maybe, be partly right is meaningless."

Criticism

Browne was frequently condemned by skeptics. Robert S. Lancaster maintained an exhaustive record of her inaccurate predictions and criminal activity, and described her pronouncements relating to missing children as "incredibly offensive". Jon Ronson, who called Browne "America's most controversial psychic", wrote that she was often "psychically wrong" and made "a fortune saying very serious, cruel, show-stopping things to people in distress".

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

noted that she was "often criticized for her predictions"; Browne also garnered disapproval from others who claim to be psychics.

James Randi

Browne's most vocal critic within the skeptical movement was James Randi, a retired stage magician and investigator of paranormal claims; Randi claimed that Browne's accuracy rate was no better than educated guessing. On September 3, 2001, Browne stated on ''Larry King Live'' that she would prove her legitimacy by accepting the

James Randi Educational Foundation The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) is an American grant-making institution founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. As a nonprofit organization, the mission of JREF includes educating the public and the media on the dange ...

's One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge to demonstrate supernatural abilities in a controlled scientific test. By April 2003, however, Browne had not contacted Randi to make testing arrangements. On May 16, 2003, in another appearance on King's show, Browne said she had not taken the test because Randi refused to place the prize money in

escrow An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transact ...

. Randi responded by mailing a notarized copy of the prize account status showing a balance in excess of one million dollars; Browne refused to accept the letter. In late 2003, despite challenge rules that money could not be placed in escrow, Randi announced that he was willing to do so for Browne; she did not accept or acknowledge this offer. In 2005, Browne posted a message online that she had never received confirmation of the prize money's existence, despite Randi's claim that he had a certified mail receipt showing Browne's refusal of the package. In 2007, on CNN's ''

Anderson Cooper 360° ''Anderson Cooper 360°'' (commonly shortened to either ''AC-360'' or ''360'') is an American television news show on CNN and CNN International, hosted by CNN journalist and news anchor Anderson Cooper. Current segments include ‘Reality Check ...

'', Browne's business manager Linda Rossi stated that Browne would not be taking Randi's challenge "because she has nothing to prove to James Randi".

John Oliver

In a 2019 segment of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's '' Last Week Tonight'',

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...

criticized the media for promoting Browne and other psychics and enabling them to prey on grieving families. Oliver said, "When psychic abilities are presented as authentic, it emboldens a vast underworld of unscrupulous vultures, more than happy to make money by offering an open line to the afterlife, as well as many other bullshit services."

Fraud conviction

During the late 1980s, the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

and local authorities began investigating Browne and her businesses over several bank loans that resulted in "sustained losses" to banks. In 1992, Browne and her then-husband Kenzil Dalzell Brown were indicted on several counts of investment fraud and

grand theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...

. The Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California found that the couple had sold

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

in a gold-mining venture under false pretenses. In one instance, they told a couple that their $20,000 investment would be used for immediate operating costs. Instead, the funds were transferred to an account for their Nirvana Foundation for Psychic Research. Browne ultimately pleaded no contest to

securities fraud Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information.grand larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

in Santa Clara County on May 26, 1992. She and her husband each received one year of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

, and Browne was also sentenced to 200 hours of

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

Personal life

Browne married four times. Her first marriage, from 1959 to 1972, was to Gary Dufresne. The couple had two sons, Paul and Christopher. She took the surname Brown upon her third marriage and later changed it to Browne. Her fourth marriage took place on February 14, 2009, to Michael Ulery, the owner of a jewelry store. In March 2011, the Society of Novus Spiritus, the Gnostic Christian church founded by Browne, announced that she had suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on March 21 while in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, and requested donations on her behalf. Browne died on November 20, 2013, aged 77, at Good Samaritan Hospital in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. She was interred at Oak Hill Memorial Park.

Publications

* 1990: (with Antoinette May). ''Adventures of a Psychic''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 1999: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''The Other Side and Back: A Psychic's Guide to Our World and Beyond''. New York, NY: Signet. * 2000: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''Life on the Other Side: A Psychic's Tour of the Afterlife''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2000: ''God, Creation, and Tools for Life''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2000: ''Astrology Through a Psychic's Eyes''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2000: ''Meditations''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2000: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''Blessings from the Other Side''. New York, NY: New American Library. * 2000: ''Soul's Perfection''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2001: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''Past Lives, Future Healing''. New York, NY: New American Library. * 2001: ''The Nature of Good and Evil''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2002: ''Prayers''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2002: ''Conversations with the Other Side''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2003: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''Visits from the Afterlife''. New York, NY: New American Library. * 2003: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''Book of Dreams''. New York, NY: Signet. * 2003: ''Book of Angels''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2004: ''Mother God: The Feminine Principle to Our Creator''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2004: ''Lessons for Life''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2004: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''Prophecy: What the Future Holds for You''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2005: ''Contacting Your Spirit Guide''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2005: ''Secrets & Mysteries of the World''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2005: ''Phenomenon: Everything You Need to Know About the Paranormal''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2005: (with Chris Dufresne). ''Animals on the Other Side''. Cincinnati, OH: Angel Bea Publishing. * 2006: ''If You Could See What I See: The Tenets of Novus Spiritus''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2006: ''Exploring the Levels of Creation''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2006: ''Insight: Case Files from the Psychic World''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2006: ''The Mystical Life of Jesus''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2006: ''Light a Candle''. Cincinnati, OH: Angel Bea Publishing. * 2006: (with Chris Dufresne). ''Christmas in Heaven''. Cincinnati, OH: Angel Bea Publishing. * 2007: ''Father God''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2007: ''Spiritual Connections''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2007: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''Psychic Children''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2007: ''Secret Societies''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2007: (with Chris Dufresne). ''Spirit of Animals''. Cincinnati, OH: Angel Bea Publishing. * 2007: ''The Two Marys''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2008: ''Temples on the Other Side''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2008: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''End of Days''. New York, NY: Dutton. * 2008: ''Mystical Traveler''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2009: ''All Pets Go to Heaven: The Spiritual Lives of the Animals We Love''. New York, NY: Touchstone. * 2009: ''Psychic Healing: Using the Tools of a Medium to Cure Whatever Ails You''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2009: ''Messages from Spirit: An Open-at-Random Book of Guidance''. Pittsburgh, PA: St. Lynn's Press. * 2009: ''Accepting the Psychic Torch''. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. * 2009: (with Lindsay Harrison). ''The Truth About Psychics: What's Real, What's Not, and How to Tell the Difference''. New York, NY: Touchstone. * 2010: ''Psychic: My Life in Two Worlds''. New York, NY: HarperOne. * 2011: ''Afterlives of the Rich and Famous''. New York, NY: HarperOne.

References

External links

* *
The Society of Novus Spiritus
the Gnostic Christian church founded by Browne. *
Ask Sylvia!
', Browne's HayHouse radio talk show. {{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Sylvia 1936 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century apocalypticists 21st-century apocalypticists 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers American Christians American female criminals American members of the clergy convicted of crimes American people convicted of fraud American people of Jewish descent American psychics American self-help writers American spiritual mediums American spiritual writers American white-collar criminals American women non-fiction writers Angelic visionaries Burials at Oak Hill Memorial Park Female religious leaders Founders of new religious movements Modern gnostics American women religious leaders American women founders Writers from Kansas City, Missouri