In some religions, celibacy is encouraged for everyone, even married couples.
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Celibacy was also part of the Shaker's efforts to build a more unified community by suppressing all individuality. At the core of this concept was the ideal of simplicity in all things -- dress, food and living arrangements. Thus everyone wore old-fashioned clothes of similar plain cut, women kept their hair severely simple, and (in most communities) the two genders lived in large dormitories (Gifford 1989). Though they expressed an unspoken love of beauty in their music and the quality of their furniture, neither was created solely for beauty (Andrews 1972). The music was used to reinforce the importance of God over the individual and the furniture was designed to be functional and non-intrusive, so as not to detract from the work or worship occurring in the rooms containing those furnishings (Stein 1992).
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Of course, this might explain why there are only 7 Shakers left today. While I admire many advocates of religion, there are times when I wish the parents of some of the more colorful fundamentalists had practiced celibacy.
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