SHAKERS. - A derogatory term (from shake = to tremble) given to a small sect whose official name is the "United Society of Believers."

The origin of the sect goes back to an Irishwoman, Anna Lee (d. 1782), the wife of a blacksmith, who became known in England (around 1768) for certain visions and prophecies and for her claim to be the bride of the Lamb of the Apocalypse, and therefore the mother of the new Messiah and of the elect scattered throughout the whole earth. She claimed to speak 72 languages, but only those of the dead, who were to be judged by her. Having met with opposition in England, she moved to the United States (1774), settling (1776) near Niskayuna or Watervliet (New York). The new sect proved extremely active; the preachers spoke with such emotion that their bodies appeared violently agitated; from this they derived the name Shaking Quakers. The sect did not achieve great growth and has been declining for several years. The S. lived isolated from the world, in the towns situated along the course of the Hudson, near Albany and in some localities of the states of Ohio and Kentucky. Their number has never exceeded a few thousand, divided into about fifteen communities, with approximately 50 pastors. The S. are a kind of "Christian socialists"; they form small agricultural colonies in which community of goods and celibacy are practiced; they hold that the present world is evil, and that it must therefore be brought to an end as soon as possible by abstaining from marriage. They await with confidence the imminent return of Jesus Christ, in whom, however, they see only a man who became the Son of God by adoption. In 1925 they counted barely six churches and 250 members.

Their worship manifests itself in leaps and dances, during which they impart to the whole body nervous shocks, symbolizing the enthusiasm they feel at the thought of the imminent coming of Christ. They also believe that in this way they imitate David dancing before the Ark and John the Baptist in his mother's womb.

Bibliography5 works

BIBL.: F. E. Evans, Compendium of the origin, history of the United Society of Believers, New York 1859; C. Jannet, Les Etats-Unis contemporains, Paris 1876, pp. 370-71; A. White-L. S. Taylor, Shakerism, its meaning and messages, Columbus (Ohio) 1905; J. P. Mc Lean, A bibliography of Shaker literature, ibid. 1915; E. T. Clark, The small Sects in America, York 1949, pp. 144-46.

Leone Cristiani

@incollection{ec11_shakers, author = {Cristiani, Leone}, title = {Shakers}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {483--484}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/shakers} }

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