Rhiannon Grant reviews this recent film, a biography of a woman who received a spiritual leading to found a new community – the Shakers. And Tim Gee reflects on the similarities and differences between Shakers and Quakers, and what he has learnt from recently having to correct various mix-ups in different parts of the media.

Powerful & Not for Everyone

Rhiannon Grant

The Testament of Ann Lee (2025, dir. Mona Fastvold) is a biography of a woman who received a spiritual leading to found a new community. It takes us from her childhood in the mills of Manchester to her death as the leader of the Shaker movement in America.

Like Quakers, Shakers are a branch of Protestant Christianity with a strong emphasis on God speaking directly to individual believers. The revelations people receive in the film are often comparable to those received by Quakers, both historically and today.

It’s a profound and, at times, disturbing film, with a deep sense of the beauty and pain of life. But although the film’s narration sometimes stands back from potential miracles, it takes spiritual experiences to be real within the plot in ways which reminded me of how Quakers speak about our leadings and concerns. It includes positive depictions of topics rarely covered in mainstream films: spiritual ecstasy, people being led by the Spirit, and the attractions of a faith community.

Ann Lee Was Never a Quaker: Here’s the Evidence

Tim Gee

Part of being a Friend who speaks with the public is needing to explain what we’re not. No, we don’t make oatmeal; no, we’re not Amish; and no, we’re not Shakers either. There are interesting stories attached to each of these misconceptions, but it’s the third one that has come to the fore recently; thanks to the recent movie The Testament of Ann Lee about the best-known leader of the Shaker movement…

Shakers, however, aren’t the same as Quakers—a misunderstanding that is apparently more common than I realized. Yes, we both have a commitment to peace, simplicity, and gender equality, but we Quakers don’t require abstinence from “fornication,” as Ann Lee calls it in the film. Quaker worship styles vary from place to place, but in sharp contrast to Shakers, Quakers in Britain (where the film begins) as well as in New York (where the film ends), for the most part, meet in serene, silent stillness.

Part of my job these last few weeks has been to correct various mix-ups in different parts of the media, including in the headlines of some well-known news brands. In my fact-finding though, I also found myself interrogating some of my own assumptions, including the idea that Ann Lee grew up as a Quaker. Through the film itself, as well as subsequent research, I discovered five pieces of evidence that point otherwise.