The shaker were probably best know for their celibacy and industriousness. single men and women did not marry . Married couples who joined the religion had to live apart. In the Shaker community ,male,female live in separate communal house. They had strict rule regarding behavior between the sexes ,such as never shaking hands and or touching each other any way . They ate worked, and slept in separate quarters .when conversation between a man and a woman was necessary it was done in the company of others . At their almost daily meeting for conversation and singing , male and females sat opposite each other . Even when they danced and whirled around during worship , men and women always kept their distance