Introduction
The shakers involved a small group of protestant religious denominations founded in England in the mid-1700s. It was a dissident cluster of friends in society. It was derived from the word shaking Quakers because their assemblies included dancing and singing. A confident woman called Ann Lee, who was believed to have been filled with revelations and visions of God, used to join them. Ann’s power made some believers acknowledge it while others did not. This stirred up enmity and fury, resulting in some leaving the country to seek safety. Shakers were often incarcerated since they disturbed other people’s peace. Others were persecuted for their beliefs forcing Ann and other followers to immigrate to America for security. The shakers’ faith is hard to systematize since all congregants participate and are allowed to prophesy and all predictions are regarded inspired. Their principles included an intense work ethic, simple living, and craftsmanship.
The Shakers’ worship style was charismatic, and their services included prophecies and speaking in tongues. During their meetings, they danced and shook regardless of gender, education, or class. They accepted anyone to preach or prophecy and trusted that anything said by another church member was from God. The music part of their worship was vital because revelations could take place through new songs. Spontaneous tongue speaking and ecstatic dancing were later developed and standardized into dances and hymns, which they performed regularly (Daum 200). They sang carols, danced, shook, testimonials, a brief sermon, and silence.
The shakers community was guided by certain principles, including celibacy, communal goods, equality of sexes, oral confession of sin, withdrawal from the non-believer’s world, and pacifism. In their congregations, they believed that God could use anyone to prophesy and preach. Society respected them for their intense work ethic, craftsmanship, and simplicity. They honored all details spoken by any of their members regardless of their gender or other racial nature. The followers of this doctrine believed that Ann’s revelations led them to the foretold millennium in the New Testament. The society was known to be self-sufficient and had isolated themselves to carry out their practices effectively without influence from the world. The design of their furniture was simple but elegant, and they trusted that it reflected their spiritual power of prayer and conviction. The religion is believed to be cultic with its weird beliefs and more of a designer rather than a denomination. The embrace of technology helped them to perfect their efficiency, thus, giving them more time to worship.
Who are the Shakers?
Believers of the shaker’s doctrine lived together in communities where two men and two women ruled. They strictly celibate according to their beliefs, with males and females living in separate dormitories. They only came together during the day to work and worship. The result was also segregated to reduce the sexual temptations that could occur, thus deviating them from their God as they believed (Freeman 130). There was suspicion among outsiders due to their emphasis on the family matter since it is the primary social unit. The rest of the society, who were not followers, respected their simplicity, craftmanship, productivity, and self-reliance.
What is their Belief?
The group called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, although the world had labeled them as shakers due to their ecstatic dancing. The religion did not believe in bearing children or marrying. They abstained from marriage and any sexual relations because of their religious reasons. They grew and maintained their faith by recruiting new members. The elder adopted children, cared for them, and trained them in their doctrine but left them to choose their beliefs when they reached 21 (Mullis 99). In American history, it is the most enduring practicing religion thus far (Mullis 98). The shakers practiced economic, sexual, social, and spiritual equality for all members seventy-five years before the emancipation of enslaved people (Mullis 97). The denomination required them to give up their property, families, and worldly ties (Logan E12414). They did that to experience the peaceful nature of the kingdom of Christ. On the other hand, they lived together as brothers and sisters, holding all property in common. They spent their days in the rigorous task of transforming earth into heaven.
When Ann Lee arrived in America, she spread the gospel, and by 1840, more than 16,000 followers lived in nineteen communal villages (Mullis 98). Their peaceful and prosperous tales lives impressed the utopians of the world. However, the shakers were neither social nor materialistic but had divine aspirations. Their goal was to unify in the belief that Christ had come again (Logan E12414). They trusted that Christ first showed up as a person of the mother of Ann and afterward in whomever the savior consciousness awakened. Thus, it was the responsibility of the believers to stay pure in the kingdom and to perfect everything that Ann said or did.
Ann Lee, the most influential leader of the religion, lost four children when they were young. Ann claimed this was a message from God revealing that sex was evil. Ann argued that people needed to abstain from preparing for heaven. The shakers’ faith was gender-equal, which was reflected when Jesus was seen as a male, the leader of the first church, and Ann Lee was the second God’s manifestation as female (Halperin). Their conviction was based on obedience via historical dispensations, including the mosaic law, following God in the new kingdom, the way of the cross, and the circumcision of Patriarchs.
How Shakers Influence their Furniture Design
Shakers believed that their God dwelt in the quality of their craftsmanship and the details of their work. They believed that if the world were to be redeemed, their religion would accomplish it through the dedicated work of their hands. The devotion that no longer went to the homes and families was redirected to the things they made (Freeman 130). They constructed meticulous houses and workshops where they lived and worked. The yards were renowned worldwide for their reliable goods, and their farms provided plenty for their own needs and extra for the poor. The followers of the shakers’ religion rejected excessive ornament since they believed it encouraged sin. The shaker furniture makers focused on overall proportions and form. They developed creative solutions, including asymmetrical drawer provisions. The furniture made by the shaker’s community is beautiful, unostentatious, and functional. Some of their inventions today involve the clothespin, circular saw, and modern broom.
How Shakers Belief is Reflected in Architectural Designs
The shakers’ designs were reflected in the furniture they made due to the distinctive style they developed. Their dedication to the ideals of asceticism led them to perform their duties wholeheartedly (Brown and Saro). Anything they made was itself an act of prayer and conviction. The furniture style is clean, simple, minimalist, functional, practical, and elegant. Many designers have maintained the stylishness because it is sophisticated, giving it a class. Mushroom-shaped wooden knobs and straight tapered legs characterized its practical design.
In earlier days, the shakers’ furniture artisans majored in their designs’ integrity, honesty, and simplicity. They believed that excess decoration or application of ornament would annoy God due to the pride that can arise from it. Even today, the kind of furniture imitated from the shakers’ community is simple but elegant. The believers of this religion embraced technology resulting in efficiency. The expertise adopted saved time that belonged to God as they had believed. The process of manufacturing their goods was fastened; therefore, they could have more hours worshipping and dancing to fulfill God’s will. Shakers were among the first to try mass production in America (Coşgel 310). Today’s furniture designers can work efficiently due to the design that was invented by the shakers. The cabinet fittings are trendy, and they make rooms more appealing. Many people fit them in their houses because it is down to mixing durability and versatility.
Conclusion
The shakers’ doctrine was governed by unique values that were strictly adhered to by the followers. It was strange how the religion did not believe in marriage or children bearing, but it existed for a very long time. They never forced anyone to believe what they practiced, but they had a majority of believers. Every member was valued, and the rest believed the prophecies of the members. Their faith believed in communal property ownership, craftsmanship, and self-reliance. They earned respect from the community due to their commitment to their worship.
Works Cited
Brown, Miranda, and Saro Lynch-Thomason. “Songs of The Shakers: A Workshop on 19th-Century Songs About Love And Community,” 2018.
Coşgel, Metin. “An Economic Approach to Religious Communes: The Shakers.” Standard Of Living. Springer, Cham, 2022. 309-321.
Daum, Meghan. “One Year Later.” The Quality of Life Report. University of Texas Press, 2021. 299-302.
Freeman, Elizabeth. “Shakers, Not Movers: The Physiopolitics of Shaker Dance.” Writing About Time: Essays on American Literature, 2019, 130.
Halperin, Emilio Isaac. Design and Place: How Culture and Location Influence and Improve Design. Diss. University of Oregon, 2018.
Logan, Dana W. “Shaker Dance and The Religious Production of Spectacle.” Religion Compass, vol. 15, no. 9, 2021, p. E12414.
Mullis, Eric. “Dance History: The Rolling Deep.” Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019, pp. 97-118.