Shakerism is a system which has a distinct genius, a strong organization, a perfect life of its own, through which it would appear to be helping to shape and guide, in no small measure, the spiritual career of the United States.
-- Hepworth Dixon, 1867
Can You Be a Shaker?
The
Shakers are ordinary people who chose to give up their families,
property, and worldly ties in order “to know, by daily experience, the
peaceable nature of Christ’s kingdom.” They are welcomed into “holy
families” where men and women live as brother and sister, where all
property is common property, and where each participates in the rigorous
daily farming necessary to both survival and their religious tenets. Besides
leading a simple but comfortably self-sufficient existence from the
fruits of their land, the Shakers are known for their innovative
inventions, architecture, crafts, and furniture.
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