Abstract
Scholars who study intentional communities seem to agree that these experiments last longer if they are undergirded by a strong underlying philosophy or religion. The communities discussed in this chapter are all of the religious-spiritual variety, and all of them had a relatively long life. The Shaker commune is the only community discussed in this chapter with active membership today. While the association reached a peak of 5,000 members in 1830, it still endures with a membership of seven.
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© 2004 John W. Friesen and Virginia Lyons Friesen
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Friesen, J.W., Friesen, V.L. (2004). Religious Communities. In: The Palgrave Companion to North American Utopias. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4039-8223-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4039-8223-0_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-30640-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-8223-0
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