The Shakers: Two Centuries of Spiritual Reflection

The Shaker tradition, from its origin in late eighteenth-century England to its flowering in nineteenth-century America, long has been of interest to students of sociology and American religious history. Yet, few attempts have been made to relate Shaker theology and spirituality to the mainstream of Western mystical experience. In presenting this collection of Shaker texts, Robley E. Whitson contends that Shakerism has been generally misunderstood and, consequently, undervalued as a source of useful insights into the divine-human relationship.