Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. List of Figures x
4. List of Tables xii
5. Preface xiii
6. Acknowledgments xix
7. Part 1: A New and Strange Religion: The Age of the Founders, 1747-1787
8. 1. Background 3
9. 2. Beginnings in America 10
10. 3. An Apostate's View 15
11. 4. Ann Lee's Public Ministry: An Insider's View 18
12. 5. The Teachings of the First Witnesses 25
13. 6. The Close of the Age of the Founders 32
14. Part 2: The Gathering and Building of the Church: The Establishment Of The United Society, 1787-1826
15. 7. The Beginnings Of Communitarianism 41
16. 8. The Ministration of Lucy Wright 49
17. 9. Expansion Into the West 57
18. 10. The Origins of Shaker Theology 66
19. 11. The Creation of a History 76
20. 12. The Consolidation of the Millennial Church 87
21. 13. The Close of the Formative Period 106
22. Part III: Too Much of the Wind, Fire, and Earthquake: The Maturation and Revitalization of the Society, 1827-1875
23. 14. A New Generation of Leaders 121
24. 15. The Economics of Community 133
25. 16. The Social Situation 148
26. 17. The Spiritualistic Revivals 165
27. 18. The Legacy of the Manifestations 184
28. 19. The Changing Situation 200
29. 20. The View From the Outside 215
30. 21. The Closing of the Middle Period 222
31. Part IV: In The Van of an Advancing Host: The Transformation of the Society, 1876-1947
32. 22. Declining Membership and Geographical Retreat 242
33. 23. The Feminization of the Society 256
34. 24. The World of Finance Capitalism 272
35. 25. Reconciliation With the World 304
36. 26. Varieties of Religious Experience 320
37. 27. The Issue of Decline 337
38. Part V: I Almost Expect to be Remembered as a Chair: The Rebirth of Shakerism, 1948 to the Present
39. 28. Waiting for the End 358
40. 29. The Beginnings of a Shaker Revival 370
41. 30. Controversy Among the Believers 384
42. 31. The Selling of the Shakers 394
43. 32. The Ecumenical Shakers 409
44. 33. The Shaker Myth: A National Treasure 422
45. 34. Looking to the Future 432
46. Abbreviations 443
47. Notes 445
48. Suggestions for Further Reading 521
49. Index 525