Puerto Rican Espiritismo shares many similarities in its origins to Cuban Espiritismo. The religious movement encountered many setbacks in its early years in Puerto Rico. Those who were caught practicing it were punished by the government and ostracized by the Catholic Church. Allan Kardec's books made their way into the country and were received well by the educated class. The movement did not despite all the roadblocks, which had been set up to prevent its spread in the country. There were two divisions within Puerto Rican Espiritismo. The first division was a middle class movement, which utilized the Kardecian methods in an attempt to enhance the development of the country. The other division applied towards to lower classes in both the rural and urban settings. This division is known as "Indigenous Espiritismo" and is synonymous to Puerto Rico and is the most popular in the country.