American Refuge
The Impact of European Religious Societies on Immigration and Settlement Patterns in America
© 2005 Rickie Lazzerini
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Other Religious Groups

     The following religions are unrelated to each other or any other group. Their religions are original and specific to their own sects. These groups include the Shakers and the Janssonists. The Shakers are the most well known of the two groups, and is the only group in this section that is still in existence today. The origin of the Shakers is ambiguous. Many believe that the sect originated from the seventeenth-century French Prophets who migrated from France to England in 1705. When they arrived in England they attracted some followers, including Quakers near Manchester. It is believed that the two belief systems were merged, fusing Quaker teachings with ritual dances of the Prophets. From the dancing, the group became known as the Shaking Quakers, or more simply the Shakers. This is the most popular explanation of the origin of the Shakers, but is often debated because of lacking historical documentation. Regardless, the Shakers continued to gather followers and soon gained resentment from the local Manchester population. The Shakers denounced the established church for allowing too many secular influences, and they refused to observe the Sabbath. They often proselytized in the streets and were subsequently arrested for public disturbances. In 1758, Ann Lee joined the Shakers. She had lost four children in childbirth or early childhood and believed those deaths were a punishment from God for her sexual indiscretions. She became very active in the Shaker church and introduced the sect to celibacy. She claimed to have had a vision from God in 1770, while she was in jail. God told her that the evil of humanity rested in sexual relations. She was also told to lead the Shakers to America.

     In the summer of 1774, Anne Lee and eight others left for America and established the community of Niskayuna (now Watervliet), in New York. Despite the fact that the Shakers were celibate communists, their small congregation grew. The Great Awakening, which saw a general religious revival in America, helped the Shakers attract new members. The Shakers spread into Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. The death of Ann Lee in 1784 did not bring weakness to the group; rather it helped them remain strong. In death, Lee became even more important because the Shakers believed she was the female side of God. Some even saw her as the second coming of Christ. After the death of leaders Ann Lee and James Whittaker, the American Joseph Meacham, assumed leadership of the Shakers. Under his leadership the Shakers spread from New England to the mid-west with the help of the religious revival in Kentucky. The Shakers reached their height in the mid-19th century. After that point, conversions lessened and Shaker villages began to disappear.

Location	Population 1823	Population 1883	Population 1900
Alfred, Maine	~200	88	39
Canaan, New York	-	57	-
Canterbury, New Hampshire	200(+)	158	106
Endfield, Connecticut	~200	103	92
Endfield, New Hampshire	200(+)	144	68
Groveland, New York	-	41	-
Hancock, Massachusetts	~300	35	16
Harvard, Massachusetts	~200	54	36
Narcoossee, Florida	-	-	6
New Gloucester, Maine	~150	-	-
New Lebanon, New York	500-600	283	125
North Union, Ohio	-	27	-
Pittsfield, Massachusetts	-	48	-
Pleasant Hill, Kentucky	400-500	203	34
Portland, Maine	-	27	-
Sabbath Day Lake, Maine	-	43	41
Shirley, Massachusetts	~150	40	12
South Union, Kentucky	300-400	99	55
Tyringham, Massachusetts	~100	-	-
Union Village, Ohio	~600	165	44
Watervliet, New York	200(+)	136	90
Watervliet, Ohio	~100	46	15
West Union, Kentucky	200(+)	-	-
Whitewater, Ohio	-	65	49
Total	~4,000	1849	855

Table 5: Population Distribution of Shakers (9)

     
      The Shakers' population continued to decline throughout the 20th century. Today, the few remaining Shakers can be found at the Sabbath Day Lake village in Maine. Although the Shakers still exist, their belief of celibacy and failure to convert enough new members to their church has caused them to decline heavily. Unless drastic measures are taken, the Shakers are likely to meet the same fate as the many other extinct religious communal societies.

     The last of the religious societies to be examined in this paper are the Janssonists of Sweden. The Janssonists were a group of Swedish immigrants who came to the United States, like many other groups, to escape persecution for their beliefs. The religion can be traced back to Olaf Olson. Olson converted to Methodism in 1825, and became interested in Devotionalism. Devotionalism was a Christian belief of living pietistic lives and purifying the church. Olson became a leader of the Devotionalists in Helsingland. The Devotionalist belief coincided with mainstream Christianity, so they were able to remain members of the established church as well. Eric Jansson, the leader who would eventually bring his followers to the United States, also became interested in Devotionalism. Jansson believed that the Lutheran doctrine of sanctification was wrong and the faithful had no sin. In 1840, he began to preach to the Devotionalists of the Osterunda Parish. He visited Olson and the Devotionalists in Helsingland frequently, and moved there in 1844. He became very popular among the Helsingland Devotionalists and gained an estimated following of 1,500 to 4,000 people. Jansson's growing popularity alarmed the clergy and brought persecution upon the group. The Lutheran Church viewed the Janssonists and the Devontionalists as heretics. Jansson was arrested more than once for organizing several book burnings. During one detainment, some followers helped him escape and flee to the mountains of Norway. Jansson and his followers went to Copenhagen where they boarded a ship to New York.

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    Once in America,  Jansson obtained land in Henry County, Illinois and established the Bishop Hill Colony. Between 1846 and 1849, 1,200 Janssonists left Sweden for Bishop Hill. The town became a communal agricultural township led by Jansson. During its fifteen year existence, the community was economically successful and became the major commercial center between Rock Island and Peoria. In 1850 Jansson was murdered when he attempted to stop the marriage of his cousin to a non-community member. The man his cousin wanted to marry, John Root, shot and killed Jansson at a courthouse in Cambridge, Illinois. The community continued to prosper after Jansson's death, but financial mismanagement and the Civil War led to the dissolution of the colony in 1861, with the community's property being divided among the members. Unfortunately, the untimely death of their leader and an economic downturn led to the failure of the community. Today, part of the original village of Bishop Hill is a National Historic Landmark owned by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

     Despite the many differences of these religious groups, they share some significant characteristics. They all left Europe for America in flight of religious persecution. They all established colonies that were separate from mainstream society and they were all led and motivated by their religious convictions. Out of the nine religious groups examined in this paper, six still exist today. Why did some fail and some persevere? The success of these six communities rests of the delicate balance between religious conviction, number of followers, and economy. When the equilibrium between these factors becomes compromised, the communities enter a state of decline. The Janssonists and the Zoarites both fell victim to economic failure. The Amana Colonies also faced economic failure, but they changed the nature of their communal society to overcome it. Their survival rested upon their ability to adapt. Loss of membership is another obstacle that these groups faced. The Rappites and the Shakers both suffered the effects of celibacy. The Rappites repealed celibacy decades before the end of the colony, but the effects felt by those years of celibacy led to a smaller following and a decline in faith later on. The practice of celibacy also threatens the survival of the Shakers. Twenty-five Shaker colonies have been reduced to only one, which is struggling to survive because of a severe lack of new converts. The extinct colonies did not survive because they failed to keep their faith, population, and economics in balance.

     Of the groups that remain today, location has become a key factor in their survival over the past century. The Amish, Mennonites, Brethren, Hutterites, Amana Colonies, and the Shakers all live in rural societies that maintain a certain distance from mainstream society. With the country's rapid development, however, it has become increasingly difficult for these religious societies to distance themselves from mainstream society. By living in rural areas, such as the Mid-West, and by living agricultural lives, the remaining colonies have been able to maintain the balance of faith, population, and economics. Freedom, land, and seclusion, the reasons that the groups were originally attracted to America, remain the reasons why the groups have persevered since their arrival.

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