The shakers were probably best known for their celibacy and industriousness. Single men and women didn't marry. Married couples who joined the religion had to live apart. In the shaker community,males and females lived in separate communal house. They had strict rules regarding behavior between the sexes, such as never shaking hands or touching each other in any way. They ate,worked, and slept in separate quarters. When conversation between a others. At their almost daily meetings for conversation and singing,males and females sat opposite each other. Even when always kept their distance.