Communal Utopias and the American Experience Religious Communities, 1732-2000

(Hardback)

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American communalism is not a disjointed, erratic, almost ephemeral part of our past, but an on-going, essential part of American history. This important study begins with an examination of America's first religious utopia at Ephrata, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1732 and traces successive utopian experiments in the United States through the following centuries. The author demonstrates that the utopian communal story is an integral facet of the Puritan concept of America as a city upon a hill and a beacon light for the world where the perfect society could be built and where it could flourish. After discussing the Ephrata Cloister (1724-1812), the author turns to the dozen or so Shaker communities that spread utopian communalism from New England to the Ohio Valley frontier in the antebellum years. Next, he examines the various Separatists, as well as the Oneida Community. He traces the history of the Hutterite utopias from Russia to the Great Plains and Canada between the Civil War and World War I. In a chapter on California counter culture communities, he analyzes the Theosophist communes at Pint Loma and Temple Home. Finally, he discusses modern religious utopias ranging from the Koreshian Unity at Estero, Florida, to Zion City near Chicago, Dorothy Day's Catholic Worker Movement, the Sufi Utopia in the Berkshire Mountains, and the Pandanaram Settlement in Indiana.

Reviews

[I]mproves upon previous reference books in its coverage and currency.-The Journal of American History
[S]utton has fulfilled his purpose in alleviating us of the fragmentation in the field....This is an important contribution in many fields. The history of religious studies in North America benefits tremendously; as does any cultural/historical field of study. I can recommend this book to everybody with an interest in religious studies, the culture and historical geography of the United States/North America, and those with interests in communal communities.-Studies in Religion
A worthy cataloguing of better-known and rare secular utopias, this volume belongs on the shelf of every university, college, and community library.-Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
Icaria historian Robert Sutton has authored a welcome addition to the growing number of books that summarize America's utopian and communal experiences. Although many books on communalism have been published recently, Sutton is concerned that most have either told fragments of the whole story--accounts of individual groups--or were directories that stress only highlights. Sutton achieves his purpose of presenting a compact single volume that recounts the best best known and, arguably, the most influential American religious communities....This volume will have considerable value for students, general readers, and scholars seeking to fill in the gaps of their own knowledge. For anyone seeking to understand the history of religious communes in the United States, especially its major groups, the book is recommended highly.-Utopian Studies
Sutton a leading student of the French Icarian movement, has written a concise study of religious utopias in the US from the establishment of the Ephrata Cloister in the 18th century to various intentional communities of the 20th century....Sutton has produced a readable and important study....Recommended.-Choice
"Improves upon previous reference books in its coverage and currency."-The Journal of American History
"Sutton has fulfilled his purpose in alleviating us of the fragmentation in the field....This is an important contribution in many fields. The history of religious studies in North America benefits tremendously; as does any cultural/historical field of study. I can recommend this book to everybody with an interest in religious studies, the culture and historical geography of the United States/North America, and those with interests in communal communities."-Studies in Religion
"[I]mproves upon previous reference books in its coverage and currency."-The Journal of American History
"[S]utton has fulfilled his purpose in alleviating us of the fragmentation in the field....This is an important contribution in many fields. The history of religious studies in North America benefits tremendously; as does any cultural/historical field of study. I can recommend this book to everybody with an interest in religious studies, the culture and historical geography of the United States/North America, and those with interests in communal communities."-Studies in Religion
"A worthy cataloguing of better-known and rare secular utopias, this volume belongs on the shelf of every university, college, and community library."-Nova Religio The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions
"Sutton a leading student of the French Icarian movement, has written a concise study of religious utopias in the US from the establishment of the Ephrata Cloister in the 18th century to various intentional communities of the 20th century....Sutton has produced a readable and important study....Recommended."-Choice
"Icaria historian Robert Sutton has authored a welcome addition to the growing number of books that summarize America's utopian and communal experiences. Although many books on communalism have been published recently, Sutton is concerned that most have either told fragments of the whole story--accounts of individual groups--or were directories that stress only highlights. Sutton achieves his purpose of presenting a compact single volume that recounts the best best known and, arguably, the most influential American religious communities....This volume will have considerable value for students, general readers, and scholars seeking to fill in the gaps of their own knowledge. For anyone seeking to understand the history of religious communes in the United States, especially its major groups, the book is recommended highly."-Utopian Studies

Author Bio

ROBERT P. SUTTON is Professor of History at Western Illinois University. He is the author of Immigration of the Icarians to Illinois (1987), and the translator of Etienne Cabet's Voyage en Icarie into English (1996).