Only four Shakers are left in the world, all living in southern Maine. But if they can't attract converts to their celibate lifestyle and this really is the end for them, they have a plan to ensure that their legacy lives on forever.
I thought that since OSC talked about Shaker hymns in todays review article, some of you might find this interesting.
I work in Northern Virginia, where there are an awful lot of people working to preserve little bits of history, but I can't imagine being the last disciples of an entire religion.
Posts: 1281 | Registered: Feb 2001
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Oh well, one down, several thousand to go... Alas, the ones that demand celibacy are the easy ones, it's just too unnatural. Good riddance, anyway.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by jasonepowell: From the Boston Globe:
Only four Shakers are left in the world, all living in southern Maine. But if they can't attract converts to their celibate lifestyle and this really is the end for them, they have a plan to ensure that their legacy lives on forever.
Their end has been slowly approaching since they stopped being allowed to adopt children.
Posts: 1621 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Has anyone here read "A Day No Pigs Would Die" by Robert Newton Peck? He claims his family was Shaker, and they sure weren't celibate. I wonder what the reality of the history of Shaker celibacy was.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Man, I want to give this guy a copy of Jared Diamond's Collapse.
Still, his religious beliefs aren't harming anyone, and he's not forcing them on anyone. I wish this religion weren't the one dying out.
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