Publications
Shaker Visions of the Divine: Essays on their Sacred Art and Scripture
By Jane F. Crosthwaite
January 1, 2022
Tags Shaker Studies
Shaker Studies, no. 18. 242 pages, 2022.
ISBN: 978-1-937370-30-5 ($65)
In the mid-nineteenth century, both Shaker sacred texts and gift drawings were rich with theological arguments for the millennial vision of a heaven celebrating the Heavenly Father and Holy Mother Wisdom and of a communal society embodying its teachings in celibacy and peace. This richly-illustrated, full color volume, explores these Shaker visions of the divine.
Jane Freeman Crosthwaite first encountered the Shakers when preparing a course on women in American religious history for a class at Mount Holyoke College. Mother Ann Lee, her teachings, her followers, and their musical, scriptural, and artistic ventures in theological expression became the focus of numerous seminars, lectures, and articles in the years to follow. Most notably, she and Christian Goodwillie edited Millennial Praises: A Shaker Hymnal which brought together the early, theologically-rich hymn texts with the scattered musical records.
Now retired from teaching courses in religion and ethics (and delivering a number of baccalaureate addresses), Professor Crosthwaite has tucked away a teaching award from Mount Holyoke, inclusion in The Princeton Review’s 300 Outstanding Teachers, a Distinguished Alumni Award from Wake Forest University, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, from Queens University of Charlotte.
