Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1995, page 65
possibility of individual choice and divine forgiveness over the wrath of God and
predestination repeatedly shook New England Calvinism to its very foundations.
In the authors‟ view, Matthias‟s religion --like that of his more successful contemporary
fellow prophet, Joseph Smith --was a reactionary response to changes that threatened
what little stability he had known in his life. But while it may be tempting to think that
Matthias was unique to his time, Johnson and Wilentz remind us that such extremist
prophets have had “a long and remarkably continuous history in the United States they
speak not to some quirk of the moment or some disguised criminal intention, but to
persistent American hurts and rages wrapped in longings for a supposedly bygone holy
patriarchy. It is easier to forget about these things than to understand them, for they do not
match what we prefer to think are the main currents of our uplifting, optimistic national
creed. But while most of us (like Matthias‟s contemporaries) move on to other stories, the
virile charismatic prophets of apocalypse are receiving their visions and gathering their
followers at Zion, taking their place in an American spiritual history whose last chapter is
not yet written.”
If the response of Matthias and his like to social change was reactionary, there have been
other prophets whose goal was nothing less than revolution. Such a visionary was John
Humphrey Noyes, the subject of Klaw‟s book, who about ten years after the demise of
Matthias‟s Kingdom established a community based on “Bible Communism” in upstate New
York. The Oneida community, the most successful of the many early 19th-century Utopian
experiments, lasted for about 30 years and involved hundreds of people.
In the atmosphere of freedom created by the disestablishment of religion in New England
and the replacement of Calvinism by the more optimistic view of human nature propagated
in popular revival movements, some people went so far as to maintain that an earthly state
of perfect sinlessness was possible (not unique to the time, such views have had a long
history on the fringes of established religion). Noyes was converted to Perfectionism while a
divinity student at Yale. After his dismissal from seminary as a result of his claimed
sinlessness, Noyes continued to refine his views and was soon proclaiming his unique
version of earthly perfection to a growing band of followers. A community was established in
Oneida, New York, in which all property, even to basic articles like pocket watches, was held
in common.
In what became the best known aspect of life at Oneida, the communistic ideal was
extended to sexual relations through the practice of “complex marriage.” All the men and
women of the community were free to engage in heterosexual relations with whomever they
pleased. Special pairings were discouraged and conceptions carefully planned for the benefit
of the community. The use of male continence (a technique similar to that taught by New
Age “tantric” groups) as a contraceptive method was apparently very successful, with few
unplanned conceptions occurring during the 30 years that complex marriage was practiced.
The required male self-control created a focus on female sexual pleasure remarkable for its
time, as was the degree to which men and women shared equally in community tasks. The
success of the community‟s commercial ventures (Noyes had nothing against money making
so long as the wealth was equally shared) produced a strong financial base which enabled
the community to prosper where many experiments in communal living had foundered.
In many ways Oneida seems to have been exceptional in the degree to which it avoided the
pitfalls of most cults established around an authoritarian figure. Community members‟
accounts describe life there in positive, even glowing terms. Despite its scandalous sexual
practices, Oneida was held in high regard by most of its contemporaries, and periodical
threats of raids by outraged upholders of public morality never materialized.
But there seems to have been a darker side to life at Oneida. The diaries of some members
disclose turmoil inside the community even during its most prosperous years. While the
possibility of individual choice and divine forgiveness over the wrath of God and
predestination repeatedly shook New England Calvinism to its very foundations.
In the authors‟ view, Matthias‟s religion --like that of his more successful contemporary
fellow prophet, Joseph Smith --was a reactionary response to changes that threatened
what little stability he had known in his life. But while it may be tempting to think that
Matthias was unique to his time, Johnson and Wilentz remind us that such extremist
prophets have had “a long and remarkably continuous history in the United States they
speak not to some quirk of the moment or some disguised criminal intention, but to
persistent American hurts and rages wrapped in longings for a supposedly bygone holy
patriarchy. It is easier to forget about these things than to understand them, for they do not
match what we prefer to think are the main currents of our uplifting, optimistic national
creed. But while most of us (like Matthias‟s contemporaries) move on to other stories, the
virile charismatic prophets of apocalypse are receiving their visions and gathering their
followers at Zion, taking their place in an American spiritual history whose last chapter is
not yet written.”
If the response of Matthias and his like to social change was reactionary, there have been
other prophets whose goal was nothing less than revolution. Such a visionary was John
Humphrey Noyes, the subject of Klaw‟s book, who about ten years after the demise of
Matthias‟s Kingdom established a community based on “Bible Communism” in upstate New
York. The Oneida community, the most successful of the many early 19th-century Utopian
experiments, lasted for about 30 years and involved hundreds of people.
In the atmosphere of freedom created by the disestablishment of religion in New England
and the replacement of Calvinism by the more optimistic view of human nature propagated
in popular revival movements, some people went so far as to maintain that an earthly state
of perfect sinlessness was possible (not unique to the time, such views have had a long
history on the fringes of established religion). Noyes was converted to Perfectionism while a
divinity student at Yale. After his dismissal from seminary as a result of his claimed
sinlessness, Noyes continued to refine his views and was soon proclaiming his unique
version of earthly perfection to a growing band of followers. A community was established in
Oneida, New York, in which all property, even to basic articles like pocket watches, was held
in common.
In what became the best known aspect of life at Oneida, the communistic ideal was
extended to sexual relations through the practice of “complex marriage.” All the men and
women of the community were free to engage in heterosexual relations with whomever they
pleased. Special pairings were discouraged and conceptions carefully planned for the benefit
of the community. The use of male continence (a technique similar to that taught by New
Age “tantric” groups) as a contraceptive method was apparently very successful, with few
unplanned conceptions occurring during the 30 years that complex marriage was practiced.
The required male self-control created a focus on female sexual pleasure remarkable for its
time, as was the degree to which men and women shared equally in community tasks. The
success of the community‟s commercial ventures (Noyes had nothing against money making
so long as the wealth was equally shared) produced a strong financial base which enabled
the community to prosper where many experiments in communal living had foundered.
In many ways Oneida seems to have been exceptional in the degree to which it avoided the
pitfalls of most cults established around an authoritarian figure. Community members‟
accounts describe life there in positive, even glowing terms. Despite its scandalous sexual
practices, Oneida was held in high regard by most of its contemporaries, and periodical
threats of raids by outraged upholders of public morality never materialized.
But there seems to have been a darker side to life at Oneida. The diaries of some members
disclose turmoil inside the community even during its most prosperous years. While the
