110:
God put them radically out of the mainstream. In reality Shaker women largely conformed to nineteenth century expectations of domesticated femininity and left much of the financial aspect to Shaker men, but their official equality and leadership roles aroused suspicion. Shakers appeared for the time to be radical on women's issues, and the elevation of Mother Ann Lee as a crucial part of the Second Coming outraged mainstream
Christians as being blasphemous.
132:
106:. In it he exclaimed such a reconstruction event would cause poverty to disappear. Other individual Shakers proclaimed messages of joy or disaster were given to them by God or spirits. Even if none of this had official acceptance some blamed Shakerism and took these events to mean the Shakers had occult aspects that inspired domination or damnation of the lands they settled.
109:
The
Shakers were also among the first groups to refer to God as Father/Mother or to alternatively refer to God as Mother sometimes while referring to God as Father at other times. They viewed God as a duality containing God the Father and a feminine Holy Spirit. This dualist and half-feminine view of
239:
This decline led even ex-Shakers to view them in relatively positive terms. This began in the 1860s, as toward the end of her life Mary Dyer had difficulty making friends among apostate
Shakers. They viewed her as too harsh, and her son never reconnected with her, furthering the discomfort with her.
113:
They also tended to believe in racial equality and harmony although in ways that may be regarded as condescending today. For example, songs said to be "inspired by
American Indian spirits" tended to involve stereotyped pidgin English like "Me love Mother and she love me, Quille ose van da wahaw me!"
219:
in 1822. She also got a group together to enter the
Enfield Shaker Community to take her children back, but this effort failed. For one, her husband Joseph remained devout to the community and criticized her in strong terms. Only one of her five children ever left the Shakers and he never became
37:. At their peak in popularity in the first half of the 19th century in the United States, the Shakers had approximately 4,000 to 6,000 members. As of 2021, the Shakers currently have at least three active members; few to no extant religious or ethnic groups have fewer members than the Shakers.
211:, with her husband and family. However two years later she left, blaming them for alienating her from her children. Despite that her husband and her family decided to stay. After that she did tours and wrote tracts against the Shakers. The main writings she did were
259:. Robert S. Liichow links it more to real or perceived New-Age cults. Lastly, some find the term "Shaker" itself a pejorative one and that the proper term is "The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing," although as with the
236:, their influence was significant due to their skills at seed businesses and their general productivity. However, technology and culture changed so by the 1970s membership had been reduced to a scattering of elderly women and men.
91:
and create a better world grew more pronounced." The Shaker convert
Frederick W. Evans in 1888 wrote an essay, based more on his enthusiasm than mainstream Shakerism, called a
271:
200:
as it is of other groups. In the case of apostate
Shakers there are strong similarities between their tracts and those written by ex-nuns or ex-Mormons.
311:
411:
54:
401:
232:
During the twentieth century the
Shakers went into significant decline, so hostility to Shakerism did as well. Although never a large
99:
92:
179:
76:. People who formerly resided in Shaker communities even wrote anti-Shaker tracts as some former, or allegedly former, nuns did.
153:
64:
The main current writer on anti-Shakerism compares allegations against them as similar to other celibate religious groups like
252:
157:
118:
CD) Still these beliefs caused them the most violence as it encouraged them to harbor fugitive slaves or
American Indians.
406:
396:
339:
297:
142:
161:
146:
342:
The
College of Arts and Sciences, The University of New England, Fall 2001, archived on October 4, 2007 from
426:
275:
241:
366:
267:
233:
208:
308:
100:
84:
204:
355:
327:
431:
382:
245:
315:
192:
A strong source of literature hostile to a religion or group comes from former members or
207:
whose anti-Shaker efforts ran from 1815 to 1852. In 1813 she had joined the Shakers of
80:
65:
50:
240:
As the group declined further most viewed them as being, at worst, sexually repressed
420:
279:
221:
131:
88:
73:
197:
193:
343:
17:
45:
Perhaps most significant to the hostility towards Shakers concerned their
46:
260:
69:
68:
monks and nuns, although there are also similarities with hostility to
34:
58:
220:
close to her. By the 1850s her anti-Shaker views seemed extreme, in
256:
397:
University of New England article on research on Anti-Shakerism
224:
at least, and she died as a largely forgotten figure in 1867.
125:
340:
Faculty Research and Scholarship Newsletter, Volume 1, n 2
248:. A more common view saw them as quaint or even idyllic.
203:
The most significant Shaker apostate writer was likely
309:Jeannine Lauber: Exploring the modern-day Shakers
356:Wainwright Ch 11. The Transformation of Society.
213:A Brief Statement of the Sufferings of Mary Dyer
94:Shaker reconstruction of the American Government
272:The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
87:, beliefs concerning God coming to destroy the
8:
263:, that issue appears largely to have ebbed.
33:refers to negative attitudes concerning the
255:that still hold Shakers as an example of a
160:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
27:Overview of discrimination against Shakers
412:Review of a book about Mary Marshall Dyer
180:Learn how and when to remove this message
290:
7:
158:adding citations to reliable sources
402:Shakers at Religious Movements site
251:There remain small elements of the
25:
318:The Independent, December 8, 2009
130:
282:that denounces Shaker beliefs.
253:Christian countercult movement
1:
369:(LDS Church ed.), section 49.
266:As part of its open canon of
330:Busted Halo, April 13, 2010
448:
217:A Portraiture of Shakerism
328:The last of the Shakers
244:who at least made nice
367:Doctrine and Covenants
268:Doctrine and Covenants
209:Enfield, New Hampshire
83:views drew ire. Under
407:Shaker documents site
196:. This is as true of
114:(notebook from their
228:Anti-Shakerism today
154:improve this section
122:Apostate literature
314:2012-02-23 at the
205:Mary Marshall Dyer
190:
189:
182:
16:(Redirected from
439:
386:, ISSN 0582-9348
383:Shaker Quarterly
370:
364:
358:
352:
346:
337:
331:
325:
319:
306:
300:
295:
274:retains an 1831
185:
178:
174:
171:
165:
134:
126:
105:
102:
21:
447:
446:
442:
441:
440:
438:
437:
436:
417:
416:
393:
378:
373:
365:
361:
353:
349:
338:
334:
326:
322:
316:Wayback Machine
307:
303:
296:
292:
288:
230:
186:
175:
169:
166:
151:
135:
124:
97:
53:, and views on
43:
28:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
445:
443:
435:
434:
429:
427:Anti-Shakerism
419:
418:
415:
414:
409:
404:
399:
392:
391:External links
389:
388:
387:
377:
374:
372:
371:
359:
347:
332:
320:
301:
289:
287:
284:
229:
226:
188:
187:
138:
136:
129:
123:
120:
116:Golden Harvest
85:Joseph Meachem
66:Roman Catholic
51:millenarianism
42:
39:
31:Anti-Shakerism
26:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
444:
433:
430:
428:
425:
424:
422:
413:
410:
408:
405:
403:
400:
398:
395:
394:
390:
385:
384:
380:
379:
376:Other sources
375:
368:
363:
360:
357:
351:
348:
345:
341:
336:
333:
329:
324:
321:
317:
313:
310:
305:
302:
299:
298:Adherents.com
294:
291:
285:
283:
281:
277:
273:
269:
264:
262:
258:
254:
249:
247:
243:
237:
235:
227:
225:
223:
218:
214:
210:
206:
201:
199:
195:
184:
181:
173:
163:
159:
155:
149:
148:
144:
139:This section
137:
133:
128:
127:
121:
119:
117:
111:
107:
103:
96:
95:
90:
86:
82:
77:
75:
71:
67:
62:
60:
56:
52:
48:
40:
38:
36:
32:
19:
381:
362:
350:
344:the original
335:
323:
304:
293:
280:Joseph Smith
265:
250:
238:
234:denomination
231:
216:
212:
202:
191:
176:
170:January 2022
167:
152:Please help
140:
115:
112:
108:
93:
78:
63:
44:
30:
29:
354:Joan Kidd,
222:New England
98: [
89:Anti-Christ
81:millenarian
18:Anti-Shaker
421:Categories
286:References
276:revelation
242:eccentrics
246:furniture
198:Shakerism
194:apostates
141:does not
312:Archived
101:Wikidata
47:celibacy
432:Shakers
261:Quakers
162:removed
147:sources
70:Mormons
35:Shakers
79:Their
74:Masons
59:gender
41:Issues
104:]
257:cult
215:and
145:any
143:cite
57:and
55:race
278:of
156:by
72:or
423::
270:,
61:.
49:,
183:)
177:(
172:)
168:(
164:.
150:.
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
