1. Replacing personnel. Any group or society must replace personnel when they die. leave, or become incapacitated. This is accomplished through such means as immigration, annexation of neighboring groups of people, acquisition of slaves, or normal sexual reproduction of members. The Shakers, s religious sect that came to the United States in 1774, are a conspicuous example of a group that has foiled to replace personnel. Their religious beliefs commit the Shakers to celibacy; to survive, the group must recruit new members. At first, the Shakers proved quite successful in attracting members and reached peak of about 6,000 members in the United States during the 1840s. However, as of 1999, the only Shaker community left in this country was a farm in Maine with seven members (Swanson 1999).
2. Teaching new recruits. No group can survive if many of its members reject the established behavior and responsibilities of the group Thus, finding or producing new members is not sufficient. The group must encourage recruits to learn and accept its values and customs. This learning can take place formally within schools (where learning is a mani- fest function) or informally through interaction