Shaker Studies
Independency of the Mind: Aquila Massie Bolton, Poetry, Shakerism, and Controversy
By Sandra A. Soule
January 1, 2010
Tags Shaker Studies
Shaker Studies, no. 2. 105 pages, 2010.
ISBN: 978-0-9796448-6-3 ($10)
This work traces the spiritual journey and accomplishments of Aquila Massie Bolton who had joined the Shakers at Union Village, Ohio after twenty-five years of spiritual seeking. His poetry praised Shakerism, but in time, he challenged the beliefs of Shaker leaders, which inevitably led to controversy and his apostasy. Soule's careful analysis sheds light on the struggles of Bolton to find a spiritual home and on how the Shakers responded to the challenges he raised to their theology and leadership.
