The Shaker Experience in America : A History of the United Society of Believers / Lester D. Langley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Langley, Lester D., Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakers--United States--History.

Shakers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (575 p.)

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [2009]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Shakers, once a radical religious sect whose members were despised and harassed by their fellow Americans, have in recent years become celebrated-and sentimentalized-for their communal way of life, the simplicity of their worship, their belief in celibacy, pacifism, and equality of the sexes, and not least, their superb furniture and handicrafts. This monumental book is the first general history of the Shakers from their origins in eighteenth-century England to the present day. Drawing on written and oral testimony by Shakers over the past two centuries, Stephen J. Stein offers a full and often revisionist account of the movement: their charismatic leaders, the early years in revolutionary New York and New England, the expansion into the West, the maturation and growth of the sect before the Civil War, the decline in their fortunes after the war, the painful adjustments to society Shakers had to make during the first half of the twentieth century, the renaissance of interest after 1950, and the "forbidden topic" within contemporary Shakerism-the conflict between the two remaining villages at Canterbury, New Hampshire, and Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Stein provides many new interpretations of the Shaker experience. He reassesses the role of founder Ann Lee, emphasizes the impact of the western Shaker settlements on the course of the society's history, and describes the variety of cultural enterprises that have obscured the religious and historical dimensions of the Shakers. Throughout Stein places the Shaker experience within the wider context of American life and shows how the movement has evolved to deal with changing times. Shattering the romantic myth that has been perpetuated about the quaint and peaceful Shakers, Stein portrays a group that is factious, practical, and fully human.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Background

2. Beginnings in America

3. An Apostate's View

4. Ann Lee's Public Ministry: An Insider's View

5. The Teachings of the First Witnesses

6. The Close of the Age of the Founders

7. The Beginnings Of Communitarianism

8. The Ministration of Lucy Wright

9. Expansion Into the West

10. The Origins of Shaker Theology

11. The Creation of a History

12. The Consolidation of the Millennial Church

13. The Close of the Formative Period

14. A New Generation of Leaders

15. The Economics of Community

16. The Social Situation

17. The Spiritualistic Revivals

18. The Legacy of the Manifestations

19. The Changing Situation

20. The View From the Outside

21. The Closing of the Middle Period

22. Declining Membership and Geographical Retreat

23. The Feminization of the Society

24. The World of Finance Capitalism

25. Reconciliation With the World

26. Varieties of Religious Experience

27. The Issue of Decline

28. Waiting for the End

29. The Beginnings of a Shaker Revival

30. Controversy Among the Believers

31. The Selling of the Shakers

32. The Ecumenical Shakers

33. The Shaker Myth: A National Treasure

34. Looking to the Future

Abbreviations

Notes

Suggestions for Further Reading

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780300160857

0300160852

OCLC:

1024041842