An Outsider’s Perspective on the Religious Practices of the Shakers

An Outsider’s Perspective on the Religious Practices of the Shakers

In the late 1700’s a new religious group called the Shakers was formed. The Shakers believed that the second coming of Christ had already happened and were led by a woman named Ann Lee. They lived in a way that was very different in comparison to your average 1700 American society. First off, they purposely secluded themselves by choosing to live somewhere in the middle of the woods or at least very far away from civilization. Also, the way they lived within their communities was strange. Each member owned the house they lived in equally. The males and females lived on opposite sides of the house, however they worked and ate together. To add to their strange way of living, they were celibate1. However, at the same time, they could be considered a Utopian society. Men and women were equals, there was no ownership, and there were no families or relationships or children. Also, the Shakers were very religiously based which is the basis of many Utopias. However, many people did not support the Shaker way of living. Although the Shakers claimed to abide by Bible in the most literal way possible and to be followers of Christ, they in fact were not as religious as they claimed and were there criticized for their hypocritical actions.

The Shakers claimed to be a sect of Christianity. They even went as far as to claim to be the ultimate Christian Church. They were a religious community. They worshiped god by singing and dancing in his honor. Their whole community was based around the Bible and following the word of the Bible. Therefore, one would assume that they followed the Bible to the T and did not disregard it in any way, shape or form. However, they were highly criticized for their interpretation of the Bible and the way they lived by it.

There is no doubt that the Shakers lived in a way that deviated from the social norm way of living. However their devotion to god super...