Religion Sparks Reform

Non Traditional Religion: New Philosophy offering an alternative to

traditional routes
Ann Lee Stanley:
Young cook in Manchester, England
1770- had a vision she was Christ reborn and
that Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden due to
sexual lust
1774- traveled to America with 8 followers and
founded a church in Albany
The Shakers:
Named after the ecstatic dances that were part
of their worship
Honored Mother Ann as the 2nd coming of
Christ after she died
Withdrew from the world they said was
profaned and formed disciplined religious communities
Shaker Beliefs
They embraced the common ownership of
property
Rejected alcohol, tobacco, politics, and war
Repudiated marriage and sexual pleasure
Said that God was a dual person - both male
and female - Mother Ann was gods feminine side
Shaker Communities
Governed by male and female Elders - but
there was a division of labor aside from that
They founded 20 communities, mostly in New
England, New York and Ohio, with economies based on
agriculture and crafts, and were self-sustaining and comfortable
To increase their numbers, due to their
rejection of sex, they used mostly adoption
Women outnumbered men 2 to 1, and they had
total racial acceptance (both blacks and whites)
The communities died out by the 1900s due to
a lack of orphans in the 40s and 50s

 Utopian Communities
John Humphrey Noyes
Inspired by Shaker socialism, he dreamed of a
community with new ideas of sexuality and gender roles
Turned to perfectionism after being dismissed
as a pastor with crazy beliefs
Introduced Community Marriage where
everyone was married to everyone to prevent women being held as
property
Established a perfectionist utopian community
in Oneida, New York
Brook Farm Utopia
Founded by George Ripley and his wife Sarah
in Massachusetts, near Boston
Experimented with communal living, based on
socialism conceptualized by Charles Fourier
Inspired by ideals of Transcendentalism
Balanced leisure and labor - everyone chose
what profession they wanted to do, and got paid the same wage as
everyone else.
All levels of schooling were open, and the
school system was overseen by Mrs. Ripley