What Was The Shaker Society

The Shakers, also known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, are a religious sect most known for their faith, craftsmanship and handmade furniture. They are, however, more than meets the eye. These quiet people are generous beyond their means, humble to a fault and remarkably forward-thinking as well as technologically inclined.
The Shakers were born out of frustration from Quaker reformation in England. This reformation addressed a specific practice in which followers would shake or thrash during worship. Quakers were looking to move away from that type of euphoric worship in order to change the public’s perception of them. As a result, around 1747, a small group of “shaking Quakers”, later shortened to Shakers,
decided to create their own church. Their church, they decided, would allow them to worship expressively and would often be seen “running about the room, jumping, shaking, whirling, reeling, and at the same time shouting, laughing or singing fragments of songs” (Heim 1970). The Shakers say that these emotional worship sessions often produce visions of or guidance from God.
In the new formed churches existence, the Shakers were seen as agitators and even pests due to the fact that they would often crash other churches services and just to share their own visions. It was a novice attempt at gathering followers. The disruptions were often reprimanded with fines or sometimes worse, jail time. One such follower, Ann Lee, “emerged from one period in jail having received a vision that the Shakers should go to America” (Davies 2001). In 1774, nine people, including Ann, traveled to America to form the Shakers that we, here in America, know today.
Nothing came easy for the newly disembarked Shakers. Their spiritual expression was met with intolerance from Americans who just did not understand these troublesome zealots. Their ideas of how people should live were not taken well. But by the late 1700’s, the Shakers had settled and gained a small, but growing, following that would allow them to establish about a dozen Shaker communities. It’s worth nothing that through all the backlash and criticism the Shakers received; they were able to gain a steady, but still very small following through the 1800’s. At the height of their membership, the number of followers reached about 6,000 (Streib 2008).
There are a number of key features associated with the Shakers besides the obvious expressive worship; the most well-known feature of the Shaker religion is celibacy.
Many orphaned and unwanted children were adopted into many Shaker communities.
It was a mutually beneficially situation. For the children, they could have a stable home life and learn a trade all while being homeschooled. Likewise, the Shaker community was enriched just from having the children there as well as extra hands to help with various chores and trades within the community. The children were raised until adulthood and then were given the choice on whether or not they would like to stay with the Shakers. There was never any pressure to stay and those that chose not to, were always sent off with a learned trade, a small amount of money and an open invitation to come back whenever they chose. Though they have always had a small following compared to more major sects of Christianity, this unpressured approach along with the celibacy is proving to be the Shakers downfall. Unfortunately, their membership is at an all-time
low.
Another key feature of the Shakers is that they live simply and communally.
Meaning, they all share ownership of their land, buildings, and responsibilities associated with said property; They even choose pay their own taxes, which is quite unusual since most churches in the United States choose to take advantage of the Everyone is expected to help with chores or tasks that need to be completed and there is always plenty to do in the community. Since Shakers seek a simpler life they often grow their own vegetables and raise livestock which are either eaten or raised to contribute to the community (think sheep, which are used for their wool, which is then made into yarn). Though they often opt for the simple life they are by no means akin to the Amish. They have and use electricity, they go to grocery stores and use many modern day conveniences like us, but they do so under the notion that these conveniences were created by God to free up more time for them to worship Him.
The Shaker impact in contemporary times is pretty vast. Since the Shakers embraced technology as a way to get closer to God, we are able to own and use many of their inventions. Shakers invented flat brooms, “washing machines with powered agitators, and adjustable water temperatures and soap concentrations… a rotary harrow, wrinkle-resistant fabric, a pea sheller, a revolving oven, a machine for coring and quartering apples” (Wolkomir 2001) and packed seeds for
farming.
In addition to their many inventions, the Shakers are well-known craftspeople and furniture makers. So much so, that the Shaker style of furniture is very sought after in the design world. The Shakers impact is so far-reaching that one Shaker said "I would like to be remembered as one who had pledged myself to the service of God and had fulfilled that pledge as perfectly as I can--not as a piece of furniture" (Wolkomir 2001). It should be noted that in addition to their major contribution to design, the Shakers are also amazingly talented artists and songwriters. In fact, the number of Shaker songs in existence has been estimated at around 10,000 songs.
When asked what Shakers are, where they come from, what they do, most people can’t give an answer besides “a style of furniture”. There is so much more to the Shakers than could ever be imagined. Humble, perhaps their time is still to come, perhaps they have a long journey in the modern world, and perhaps people will start to eschew the challenges of modern day in favor of the simple life. If the Shakers are truly dying out here’s hoping they won’t be remembered as furniture but as unpretentious, simple and devoted to God.