THE UNITED SOCIETY OF BELIEVERS
IN CHRIST’S SECOND APPEARING
(The Shakers)
Early Shaker History
Ann Lee, who became the spiritual leader of the Shakers, is thought to have
been born on February 29, 1736 in Manchester, England
Lee’s family was poor; her father was a blacksmith; she had no formal education
Lee worked at menial jobs from a young age
In 1758, at age 22, Lee met Jane and James Wardley, who had established a
schismatic group of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in the 1740s.
The group was noted for erupting from silent meditation and falling into
trances during which they would shout and shake. They were variously known
as jumpers, shiverers, and shaking Quakers before finally being referred
to as Shakers
In 1762, Lee’s father arranged a marriage with Abraham Stanley, who was also
a blacksmith
Lee and Stanley gave birth to four children, all of whom died in infancy.
Lee herself nearly died during the delivery of the last child
Lee interpreted her childbirth problems as having their root in sinfulness,
her giving in to material pleasures. She attrtibuted her childrens’ deaths
to divine punishment. She identified sexual desire (“concupiscence”) as the
source of all evil and reasoned that marriage must be wrong since it was
founded on sexuality. Lee distanced from her husband and began speaking out
publicly against sexual relations.
The Shakers were persecuted in England for their departure from Anglican
faith. While in prison in 1770 Lee had a vision in which she witness the
original sin, the sexual act that was the root of all evil. She reported
that Jesus spoke to her and became one with her in body and spirit. The Wardleys
concluded that Ann Lee was indeed the second coming of Christ, in female
form, and pronounced her Mother Ann Lee
Lee was believed to have a gift of healing (fractures, infections, cancer,
etc.), visions, revelations, and speaking in tongues
The Shakers in America
In 1774 Mother Ann Lee had a revelation directing her to go to America where
the group would grow and prosper. Shortly thereafter Lee and eight followers
boarded a ship bound for America
The groups established a community in Niskayuna outside of Albany, New York.
By 1779 the group had attracted only one convert. However, the group began
proselytizing in 1780, often recruiting at Protestant revival meetings and
calling Protestants to a higher faith. The Shakers successfully recruited
many new members in the early 1780s as a spiritual revival, the New Light
Stir, swept through New England. The group also adopted children, who were
raised communally.
Members were recruited primarily from the working class and from a range
of age groups. Membership was two thirds female
Converts were attracted by a variety of factors
Solution for difficult to obtain divorces
Haven for women whose husbands had died (no life
insurance, limited jobs)
Emotional security, economic security, social support
network
Expressive religious practices
Applicants were carefully screened and instructed by elders and served
a probationary period during which they lived separately
In 1784 Ann Lee died at age 48
James Whittaker succeeded Ann Lee as Shaker leader in 1784 and Joseph Meachem
became leader in 1786 upon Whittaker’s death
Meacham transformed Shakerism by setting down rules for architecture, communal
sharing of goods, behavior and worship, thus placing individual discipline
as a cornerstone for spiritual salvation both individually and within the
wider Shaker community.
Lucy Wright was appointed by Meachem as head “in the female line” and assumed
group leadership in 1796 upon Meachem’s death
By aggressive evangelization the Shakers grew rapidly through the middle
of the nineteenth century. They ultimately established 19 of their societies
in 8 states, and total membership may have reached 6,000.
There was also considerable membership turnover, particularly “winter Shakers”
Myth and Ritual
The Shakers believed the Bible to be literally true, but also that there
were subsequent spiritual revelations. In addition, the Shakers rejected
traditional Christian concepts such as original sin, damnation, the immaculate
conception, resurrection of the body, and atonement
The Shakers also rejected the Trinity doctrine. They believed that God has
a dual (male and female) character and created all things in a dual order.
Ann Lee was regarded as the Second Coming in female form (the female element
of Christ) that other churches designated as the Holy Spirit.
The Shakers believe that sin originated with the sexual relationship between
Adam and Eve. Sexual intercourse was solely given to humans for reproduction
and our inability to use it only for this purpose made us base and animal-like.
Celibacy was regarded as a cross that Shakers bore in order to aspire to
the spirituality Adam and Eve had forfeited by engaged in sexuality. Salvation
was to be achieved by overcoming sexual desires. Spirituality was to replace
sensuality.
The Shakers sought to re-establish the primitive church based on commonly
held property, pacificism, separatism, and celibacy. They taught that the
established churches had fallen from these original values.
The Shakers referred to mainstream Christianity as the Antichrist under the
leadership of Joseph Meacham, who outlined four dispensations for salvation
based on obedience. The "first light of salvation" was God's promises to
the patriarchs, procured by obedience illustrated through circumcision. The
second dispensation was the law of Moses and it was gained through obedience
to those laws. Christ's first appearance as man was the third dispensation,
blessing those who followed the way of the cross. The fourth and final dispensation
would be when God would come to earth to build the new kingdom and destroy
the Antichrist.
According to the Shakers, Christ heralded the first Christian Church and
Ann Lee heralded the second Christian Church. They believed that the new
millennium had already begun in 1747 with the beginning of the Wardleys'
ministry.
In contrast to the rest of the week, the sabbath was a day of spiritual ecstasy.
Rituals included “gathering up the good,” “shaking out evil,” rolling, jerking,
barking. Women were also the main source of the ecstatic experiences
and divine signs that the Shakers considered a vital part of the relationship
with God,
Beginning in the late 1830s and extending to about 1850 the Shakers experienced
a spiritual revival, the Era of Manifestations. During this time there
was frequent communication with the spirit world. Spirits came to earth with
visions, most often giving them to young Shaker women. A variety of visitors
appeared during the rituals (Mother Ann, Indians, the Devil, Alexander the
Great, Napoleon, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin. Spiritualism declined
after 1850.
Organization
The headquarters for the Shakers was the society at New Lebanon, New Hampshire.
The church was led by two “elders” and two “elderesses,” with a single elder/elderess
serving as head of the church. Church leaders appointed the elders for each
Shaker “family.”
Church leaders appointed their own successors and claimed a direct line of
succession back to Mother Ann
The establishment of new societies was regarded as a step toward the conversion
of the world to the Kingdom of God
Shaker societies were organized into “families,” independent groups of approximately
100 members. Some members continued to live outside these societies as “First
Order Shakers”
Families were governed by two elders and two elderesses, who lived separately
from members and possessed absolute authority over members and family affairs
Elders typically appointed deacons to handle community work activities and
trustees to carry on business with the outside world. Trustees were required
to travel in groups of at least two, limit their time away from the community,
and avoid unnecessary conversation with outsiders.
Societies supported themselves through the sale of food products and furniture.
No Shaker products were patented as a result of their opposition to monopolistic
practices. No Shakers were paid for their labor.
All property was held in common
Manual labor by all members, including leaders, was regarded as a moral commitment
Dwellings were simple, organized and austere (no rugs, pictures, ornamentation)
Men and women were completely separated (slept on different sides of houses,
ate at separate tables, entered through separate doorways, worked in separate
groups, were prohibited from touching, were not permitted to be alone with
a member of the opposite sex). Work was divided along gender lines, with
women performing inside work and men outside work. Married couples who joined
were separated.
Each person was assigned a “brother” or “sister” to help with mundane tasks
(sewing, heavy tasks)
“Union meetings” were held several times where rows of brothers and sisters
sitting across from one another would engage in impersonal conversation about
community life.
Daily routine was tightly organized and ritualized
Challenges and Controversies
When Ann Lee began preaching against marriage and sexuality, there was an
intense response. The group was condemned in England for sorcery, heresy
and blasphemy. The Shakers were attacked by mobs and Lee was jailed, surviving
only because a follower was able to smuggle her food and water
After the group migrated to the U.S., they were suspected of being British
sympathizers. Virtually all the group leaders were imprisoned in 1780.
After their release, the leaders were repeatedly assaulted by mobs and beaten
severely on numerous occasions.
As new societies were established they encountered severe frontier environmental
conditions, Indian attacks, persecution and mob violence
Shakers generated opposition as a result of their refusal to participate
in public life, vote, or bear arms.
The Shakers also aroused opposition by invading the sanctuaries of other
clergy during church services and denouncing the clergy
Conflicts with former members created an unfavorable image for the Shakers.
Members leaving Shaker societies were returned their original proper and
a monetary allowance. Some former members insisted on remuneration for their
labor and instituted lawsuits. The Shakers experienced a great many lawsuits
but were almost always legally vindicated. Eventually they replaced the covenant
with new members with a formal contract.
The Shakers membership peaked around the Civil War and declined rapidly thereafter
as membership declined and societies were closed. In 1965 the Shakers stopped
accepting new members
Factors in the Shaker Decline
Once the high recruitment rates declined
the membership became largely middle-aged and older.
Most children brought up in the community left
when they became adults
Handicraft production was replaced by industrial
production
Advances in transportation and communication increased
the difficulty of maintaining separation
Changing cultural attitudes toward sexuality
Economic mismanagement and lawsuits
Ecstatic rituals were slowly modified and then
abandoned. worship services were taken up with the singing of hymns,
testimonials, a short homily, and silence.