Legitimation mechanisms as third-dimension power practices: the case of the Shakers

Abstract

Using source material on the Shakers, an American communitarian religious group with a theocratic system of government, the article charts the sociopolitical development of a religious sect from charismatic to traditional authority. While focusing upon these forms of authority, the article also examines the techniques used by the power holders to establish and maintain the legitimacy of the system (theological justifications, procedures of succession, internal regulations, spiritual ‘manifestations’, etc.), which are interpreted in terms of three-dimensional power practices. The two theoretical perspectives, Weberian and Lukesian, respectively, are combined to facilitate examination and explanation of theocratic mechanisms of 0power.