Lawrence Foster

Historian whose comparative work examines Mormon plural marriage, Shaker celibacy, and Oneida complex marriage.

history · religious studies · sociology

Degree: PhD, American History, University of Chicago
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University of Chicago, Ph.D., 1976, American History,
Lawrence Foster — Curriculum Vitae
Georgia Institute of Technology · as of 2026-10-02
Original · Archived
Affiliation: Professor Emeritus, School of History and Sociology, Georgia Institute of Technology
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Professor Emeritus
Lawrence Foster — Ivan Allen College faculty profile
Georgia Institute of Technology · as of 2026-10-02
Original

Positions

How did Joseph Smith practice plural marriage, and how should it be understood?

Foster interprets Mormon plural marriage alongside Shaker celibacy and Oneida complex marriage as experiments in religious and social revitalization. His comparative approach asks why participants adopted these systems and how they worked in terms of the participants’ own goals.

Lawrence Foster, Religion and Sexuality: The Shakers, the Mormons, and the Oneida Community (University of Illinois Press, 1984).

By trying sympathetically to understand these extraordinary experiments in social and religious revitalization
Preface excerpt reproduced in the publisher’s “About the Book” section · Original · Archived

Corrections