United Society of Believers (Shakers) (1747 - Present) - Religious Group
Religious Family: CommunalReligious Tradition: Unclassified
Description: The United Society of Believers was founded in 1747. In the 1950s, Mother Ann Lee, who had received visions from God after the death of her 4 infant children, began to assume control of the Quakers previously influenced by James Wardley and his wife. The group, popularly called Shakers for their ecstatic dance in worship, came to America in 1774 after suffering persecution in England. The group is pacifistic and celibate; the only remaining Shakers live in the Sabbathday Lake Village in Maine.
Official Site: https://www.maineshakers.com/
United Society of Believers (Shakers), Members (1925 - 1943)1
United Society of Believers (Shakers), Ministers & Churches (1925 - 1943)1
United Society of Believers (Shakers), Trends (1925 - 1943)1
| YEAR | MEMBERS | MINISTERS | CHURCHES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 250 | 6 | |
| 1929 | 192 | 6 | |
| 1935 | 144 | 8 | 5 |
| 1937 | 72 | 5 | |
| 1940 | 100 | 4 | |
| 1943 | 70 | 3 | |
Sources
1 All data on clergy, members, and churches are taken from the National Council of Churches’ Historic Archive CD and recent print editions of the Council’s Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. The CD archives all 68 editions of the Yearbook (formerly called Yearbook of the Churches and Yearbook of American Churches) from 1916 to 2000. Read more information on the Historic Archive CD and the Yearbook.
Membership figures are "inclusive." According to the Yearbook, this includes "those who are full communicant or confirmed members plus other members baptized, non-confirmed or non-communicant." Each denomination has its own criteria for membership.
When a denomination listed on the Historic Archive CD was difficult to identify, particularly in early editions of the Yearbook, the ARDA staff consulted numerous sources, including Melton’s Encyclopedia of American Religions and the Handbook of Denominations in the United States. In some cases, ARDA staff consulted the denomination’s website or contacted its offices by phone. When a denomination could not be positively identified, its data were omitted.
