tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955844379699946887.post1931440610433140122..comments2024-03-13T16:33:53.563+00:00Comments on <b>Dr Tony Shaw</b><br>: Hancock Shaker Village, MADr Tony Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07565448709541046337noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955844379699946887.post-56086887812289475112014-07-08T19:13:38.499+01:002014-07-08T19:13:38.499+01:00It's a beautiful place altogether, and we spen...<b>It's a beautiful place altogether, and we spent the whole day there. But yes, there's something very odd about a religion that has such a built-in self-destruct button. There were plenty of guides there to answer questions, but of course the important questions often only occur to you in retrospect.<br /><br />Ann Lee seems to have been uncomfortable about sex anyway, and after several infant deaths it's perhaps not surprising that she gave up on it completely. We'll never know how many Shakers joined due to similar circumstances, or simply because they were asexual anyway. What interests me is how much (if any) serious (and of course relatively recent) research has been made into sex and the Shakers. I can see claims online that there <i>were</i> pregnancies among the Shakers, and indeed it would amaze me if there hadn't been any. But were the guilty parties excommunicated, and how much did the Deacons cover up? I suspect (perhaps totally wrongly) that they may have destroyed incriminating diaries on the death of Shakers, but what of Shakers who left the community – did they say nothing afterwards?<br /> <br />This is something I'll have to get round to looking into. At the moment I've just begun Flo Morse's short book <i>The Story of the Shakers</i> (1986), although I suspect – fascinating though I'm sure it is – that I won't find answers to such questions in it.</b>Dr Tony Shawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07565448709541046337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8955844379699946887.post-80420016352094741322014-07-08T12:35:55.766+01:002014-07-08T12:35:55.766+01:00I suppose any society which enforces celibacy is d...I suppose any society which enforces celibacy is doomed to extinction at some point. Beautiful stone barn though. David Binghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09520734437016132336noreply@blogger.com