Quakers

"Quaker" redirects here. For the food company, see Quaker Oats Company.

For the Greek movement for independence also known as the Society of Friends, see Filiki Eteria.

Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Symbol used by Friends' service organizations since the late 19th century
Theology	Evangelical, Liberal, Orthodox
Distinct fellowships	Friends World Committee for Consultation
Associations	Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends International, Central Yearly Meeting of Friends, Conservative Friends, Friends General Conference, Beanite Quakerism
Founder	George Fox
Origin	Mid-17th century England
Separated from	Church of England

Heritage-listed Quaker meeting house, Sydney, Australia

Quakers, or Friends, are members of a family of religious movements which collectively are known as either the Friends Church, or the Religious Society of Friends. Friends' central doctrine is the priesthood of all believers., a doctrine which is derived from the Biblical passage 1 Peter 2:9. Most Quakers view themselves as a Christian denomination. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional conservative Quaker understandings of Christianity. Over the last 25 years, a minority of Quakers in the Western world, have started to question some of the traditional Christian beliefs and practices of the Religious Society of Friends, and as a result, this has caused great controversy inside of both Britain Yearly Meeting, and Friends General Conference.

The first Quakers, Early Friends, lived in mid-17th century England, and the Early Quaker movement arose from the Legatine-Arians and other dissenting Protestant groups. The Valiant Sixty, and others, broke away from the well established Church of England and set out to convert others. Many of the early Quaker ministers were women, who travelled both around Britain and overseas to America, preaching. Quakers based their message on the idea that Christ has come to teach his people himself: stressing Christ's direct relationship with a universal priesthood of which everyone is a part. These Early Quakers emphasized a personal and direct religious experience of Christ, acquired through both direct experience and reading and studying of the Bible. Quakers focused private life on developing relationships of "holy conversation" : behavior and speech reflecting emotional purity and the light of God. The spiritualization of human relations led to a growing religious role for women, and new conceptions of family and community divergent from English Puritanism.

Quakers today are organized into independent regional and national bodies called Yearly Meetings which have often split from one another because of Christian doctrinal differences. Several associations unite Quakers who share similar beliefs — for example Evangelical Friends Church International unites evangelical Christian Friends; Friends United Meeting unites Friends into "fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved and obeyed as Teacher and Lord"; and Friends General Conference links together Quaker groups that have more liberal and non-creedal, religious beliefs. Many Quaker Yearly Meetings are also members of Friends World Committee for Consultation, an international fellowship of Yearly Meetings from the different Quaker traditions.

In today's world, around 89% of Friends worldwide worship God in Christian churches that have programmed worship —that is worship with singing unto God, a prepared message from the Bible, and often coordinated by a pastor. Around 11% of Friends practice waiting worship (also known as unprogrammed worship) - that is worship where the order of service is not planned in advance, which is predominantly silent, and which may include unprepared vocal ministry from anyone present, so long as it is credible to those assembled that the speaker is moved to speak by God. Some meetings of Friends have Recorded Ministers in their meetings. Recorded Ministers are Friends who have a spiritual gift of vocal ministry.

In the past, Quakers were known for their use of thee as an ordinary pronoun, refusal to participate in war; plain dress; refusal to swear oaths; opposition to slavery and teetotalism, or opposition to alcohol. Some Quakers have founded banks and financial institutions including Barclays, Lloyds and Friends Provident; manufacturing companies including Clarks, Cadbury, Rowntree and Fry's; and philanthropic efforts, including abolition, prison reform and social justice projects.

A well-known image of a Quaker, though not a portrait of an actual person, nor in any way connected to the Religious Society of Friends, is found on the label of Quaker Oats, dating back to 4 September 1877.

History

Main article: History of the Religious Society of Friends

Beginnings in England

In England in the late 1640s, following the English Civil War, many dissenting Christian groups emerged, including the Seekers and others. A young man named George Fox was dissatisfied by the teachings of the Church of England and non-conformists. He had a revelation that there is one, Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition, and became convinced that it was possible to have a direct experience of Christ without the aid of an ordained clergy. He had a vision on Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, in which he believed that "the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered". Following this he travelled around England, the Netherlands and Barbados preaching and teaching them with the aim of converting them to his faith. The central theme of his Gospel message was that Christ has come to teach his people himself. His followers considered themselves to be the restoration of the true Christian church, after centuries of apostasy in the churches in England.

In 1650, George Fox was brought before magistrates Gervase Bennet and Nathaniel Barton on a charge of religious blasphemy. According to his autobiography, Bennet "was the first person that called us Quakers, because I bade them tremble at the word of the Lord". It is thought that George Fox was referring to Isaiah 66:2 or Ezra 9:4. Thus, the name Quaker began as a way of ridiculing George Fox's admonition, but became widely accepted and is used by some Quakers. Quakers also described themselves themselves using terms such as true Christianity, Saints, Children of the Light and Friends of the Truth, reflecting terms used in the New Testament by members of the early Christian church.

Quakerism gained a considerable following in England and Wales, and the numbers increased to a peak of 60,000 in England and Wales by 1680 (1.15% of the population of England and Wales. However the dominant discourse of Protestantism. viewed the Quakers as a blasphemous challenge to social and political order,, leading to official persecution in England and Wales under the Quaker Act 1662 and the Conventicle Act 1664. This was relaxed after the Declaration of Indulgence (1687–1688) and stopped under the Act of Toleration 1689.

One modern view of Quakerism at this time was that the relationship with Christ was encouraged through spiritualization of human relations, and “the redefinition of the Quakers as a holy tribe, “the family and household of God”” . Together with Margaret Fell, the wife of a pre-eminent English judge, Fox developed new conceptions of family and community that emphasized “holy conversation”: speech and behavior that reflected piety, faith, and love. With the restructuring of the family and household came new roles for women; Fox and Fell viewed the Quaker mother as essential to developing “holy conversation” in her children and husband. Quaker women were also responsible for the spirituality of the larger community, coming together in “meetings” which regulated marriage and domestic behavior.

Emigration to America

Penn's Treaty with the Indians

In search of economic opportunities, and a more tolerant environment in which to build communities of “holy conversation”, some Friends emigrated to the Northeastern United States in the early 1680s.

While in some areas like New England they continued to experience persecution, they were able to establish thriving communities in the Delaware Valley. The only two colonies that tolerated Quakers in this time period were Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, where Quakers established themselves politically. In Rhode Island 36 governors in the first 100 years were Quakers. Pennsylvania was established by affluent Quaker William Penn in 1682 as an American state run under Quaker principles. Penn signed a peace treaty with Tammany, leader of the Delaware tribe, and other treaties between Quakers and native Americans followed. Penn's Treaty was never violated.

Quietism

Early Quakerism tolerated boisterous behavior that challenged conventional etiquette, but by 1700, while they continued to encourage spontaneity of expression, they no longer supported disruptive and unruly behavior. During the 18th century, Quakers entered the Quietist period in the history of their church, and they became more inward looking spiritually and less active in converting others. Marrying outside the Society was outlawed. Numbers dwindled, dropping to 19,800 in England and Wales by 1800 (0.21%) and 13,859 by 1860. (0.07% of population). The formal name "Religious Society of Friends", dates from this period, and was probably derived from the appellations "Ffriends of the Light" and "Ffriends of the Truth".

Divisions of the Religious Society of Friends

Orthodox Wilburite Conservative Conservative Friends Gurneyite Gurneyite Friends United Meeting Evangelical Evangelical Friends International Beaconite Hicksite Friends General Conference Friends General Conference

Showing the divisions of Quakers occurring in the 19th and 20h centuries.

Splits

In the 19th Century, there was a diversification of theological beliefs in the Religious Society of Friends, and this led to several large splits within the Quaker movement.

Hicksite–Orthodox split

The Hicksite-Orthodox split arose out of both ideologic and socieconomic tension. Hicksites tended to be agrarian and poorer than the more urban, wealthier, Orthodox Quakers. With increasing financial success, Orthodox Quakers wanted to “make the society a more respectable body—to transform their sect into a church—by adopting mainstream Protestant orthodoxy. Hicksites, though they held a variety of views, generally saw the market economy as corrupting and believed Orthodox Quakers had sacrificed spirituality for material success. Hicksites viewed the Bible as secondary to the individual cultivation of God’s light within.

With the Orthodox shift towards Protestant principles and away from the spiritualization of human relations, women’s role as promoters of “holy conversation” decreased. Conversely, within the Hicksite movement, the rejection of the market economy and the continuing focus on community and family bonds tended to encourage women to retain their role as powerful arbiters.

Elias Hicks' religious views were claimed to be universalist and to contradict Quakers' historical orthodox Christian beliefs and practices. His Gospel preaching and teaching, precipitated the Great Separation of 1827, which resulted in a parallel system of Yearly Meetings in America, joined by Friends from Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Indiana and Baltimore. They were referred to by their opponents as Hicksites and by others, and sometimes themselves, as orthodox. Quakers in Great Britain only recognized the orthodox Quakers and refused to correspond with the Hicksites.

Beaconite Controversy

Isaac Crewdson, was a Recorded Minister in Manchester, UK. He published a book called, A Beacon to the Society of Friends in 1835, which strongly argued that the inward light could not exist alongside a religious belief in salvation by the atonement of Christ. This Christian controversy led to Isaac Crewdson's resignation from the Religious Society of Friends, along with 48 fellow members of Manchester Meeting, and about 250 other British Quakers, in 1836–1837. Some of these Quakers joined the Plymouth Brethren Church.

Rise of Gurneyite Quakerism, and the Gurneyite-Conservative split

Joseph John Gurney was a prominent 19th century British Friend and a strong proponent of evangelical views

Orthodox Friends became more evangelical during the 19th century, and were influenced by the Second Great Awakening. This move of God was led by British Quaker Joseph John Gurney. Christian Friends held Revival meetings in America, and became involved in the Holiness movement of churches. Quakers such as Hannah Whitall Smith and Robert Pearsall Smith became speakers in the religious movement, and introduced Quaker phrases and practices to it. British Friends became involved with the Higher Life movement, with Robert Wilson, from Cockermouth meeting, founding the Keswick Convention.. From the 1870s, it became commonplace in Great Britain to have home mission meetings, on a Sunday evening, with Christian hymns, and a Bible-based sermon, alongside the silent meetings for worship on Sunday morning.

The Quaker yearly meetings who supported the religious beliefs of Joseph John Gurney were known Gurneyite yearly meetings, after Joseph John Gurney, and eventually, collectively became the Five Years Meeting and then Friends United Meeting. These Quaker yearly meetings make up the largest proportion of Quakers in the world today.

Some orthodox Quakers in America disliked the move towards evangelical Christianity, and saw it as a dilution of Friends' traditional Christian belief in being inwardly led by the Holy Spirit. These Friends were led by John Wilbur, who was expelled from his yearly meeting in 1842. He and his supporters formed their own Conservative Friends Yearly Meeting. In the UK, in 1868, some Friends broke away from London Yearly Meeting for the same reason. They formed a separate body of Friends called Fritchley General Meeting, and which remained distinct and separate from London Yearly Meeting until 1968. Similar Christian splits took place in Canada. The yearly meetings which supported John Wilbur's religious beliefs were known as Conservative Friends.

Richmond Declaration

In 1887, a Gurneyite Quaker of British descent, Joseph Bevan Braithwaite, proposed to Friends a statement of faith known as the Richmond Declaration. This statement of faith was agreed to by 95 representatives, at a meeting of Five Years Meeting Friends; but unexpectedly the Richmond Declaration was not adopted by London Yearly Meeting, because a vocal minority, including Edward Grubb, opposed it.

Missions to Asia and Africa

Friends' Syrian Mission, 1874, built this mission house in Ramallah

Following the Christian revivals in the mid-19th century, Friends in Great Britain wanted to start missionary activity overseas. The first missionaries were sent to Benares (Varanasi), in India in 1866. The Friends Foreign Mission Association was formed in 1868, and sent missionaries to Madhya Pradesh, India, forming what is now Mid-India Yearly Meeting; and later to Madagascar from 1867, China from 1896, Sri Lanka from 1896 and Pemba Island from 1897. The Friends Syrian Mission was established in 1874, which among other institutions ran the Ramallah Friends Schools which still exist today. Swiss missionary Theophilus Waldmeier founded Brummana High School in Lebanon in 1873. Friends Churches from Ohio Yearly Meeting sent missionaries to India in 1896, forming what is now Bundelkhand Yearly Meeting. Cleveland Friends went to Mombasa, Kenya, starting what was the most successful Friends' mission. Christian Quakerism spread within Kenya and to Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda.

Theory of evolution

The theory of evolution, described by Charles Darwin in the On the Origin of Species (1859) was opposed by many Quakers in the nineteenth century, particularly by older evangelical Quakers, who dominated the Religious Society of Friends in Britain, who were suspicious of Darwin's theory and believed that natural selection needed to be supplemented by another process. For example influential British Quaker scientist Edward Newman who stated that this theory was “not compatible with our notions of creation as delivered from the hands of a Creator".

However some young Friends such as John Wilhelm Rowntree and Edward Grubb supported Darwin's theories adopting a doctrine of progressive revelation with evolutionary ideas. In the US, Joseph Moore taught the theory of evolution at the Quaker Earlham College as early as 1861, probably one of the first teachers in the Midwest to do so. Acceptance of the theory of evolution became more widespread in those Yearly Meetings which moved towards liberal Christianity in the twentieth century, whilst a belief in creationism exists within some evangelical Friends Churches, particularly in East Africa and parts of the USA.

Quaker Renaissance: move towards liberalism in Great Britain

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, a religious movement known as the Quaker Renaissance movement, began within London Yearly Meeting. Young Friends in London Yearly Meeting, at this time, moved away from evangelicalism, and towards liberal Christianity. This Quaker Renaissance movement was particularly influenced by John Wilhelm Rowntree, Edward Grubb, and Rufus Jones. These Liberal Friends promoted the theory of evolution, modern biblical criticism, and the social meaning of Jesus Christ's teaching, — encouraging Friends to follow the New Testament example of Christ by performing good works. These Quaker men downplayed the evangelical Quaker belief in the atonement of Christ on the Cross at Calvary. After the Manchester Conference, in England, in 1895, one thousand British Friends met to consider the future of British Quakerism, and as a result, liberal Quaker thought gradually increased within London Yearly Meeting.

Conscientious objection

Some Quaker conscientious objectors, formed the Friends Ambulance Unit, with the aim of co-operating with others to build up a new world rather than fighting to destroy the old

In the First World War and in Second World War, Friends' opposition to war was put to the test. Many Friends became conscientious objectors, and some formed the Friends Ambulance Unit, and the American Friends Service Committee.

Formation of Friends World Committee for Consultation

After the two great wars had brought closer together the different kinds of Quakers; Friends from different yearly meetings — many of whom had served together in the Friends Ambulance Unit, and on the American Friends Service Committee, and in other relief work — later held several Quaker World Conferences; and this subsequently resulted in the creation of a standing body of Friends named Friends World Committee for Consultation

Evangelical Friends

After World War I, a growing desire for a more fundamentalist approach among some Friends began a split Five Years Meetings. In 1926, Oregon Yearly Meeting seceded from Five Years Meeting, bringing together several other yearly meetings and scattered monthly meetings. In 1947, the Association of Evangelical Friends was formed, with triennial meetings which lasted until 1970. In 1965, this was replaced by the Evangelical Friends Association which, in 1989, became Evangelical Friends Church International.

Role of women

From its inception, the Quaker emphasis on family and community relations gave women spiritual power. Through the women’s meeting, women oversaw domestic and community life, including marriage. From the beginning, Quaker women, most notably Margaret Fell, played an important role in defining Christian Quakerism. However, within the Quaker movement some resented the power of women within the community. In the early years of Quakerism, George Fox faced resistance in developing and establishing women’s meetings. This resistance culminated in the Wilkinson-Story split, in which a portion of the Quaker community left to worship independently in protest of women’s meetings. After several years, the schism became largely resolved, testifying to the resistance of some within the Quaker community to the radical spiritual role of women that George Fox and Margaret Fell had encouraged. And particularly within the relatively prosperous Quaker communities of the eastern United States, the focus on the child, and “holy conversation” gave women unusual community power, although they were largely excluded from the market economy. With the Hicksite-Orthodox split of 1827-1828, orthodox women found their spiritual role decreased, while Hicksite women retained greater influence.

Friends in business

Dynasties of Quakers were successful in business matters. This included ironmaking by Abraham Darby I and his family; banking, including Lloyds Banking Group (founded by Sampson Lloyd), Barclays PLC, Backhouse's Bank and Gurney's Bank; life assurance (Friends Provident); pharmaceuticals (Allen & Hanburys); chocolate (Cadbury, Terry's, Fry's); confectionery (Rowntree); biscuit manufacturing (Huntley & Palmers); match manufacture (Bryant & May, Francis May and William Bryant) and shoe manufacturing (Clarks).

Friends in education

Initially, Quakers had no ordained priests and thus needed no seminaries for theological training. In England, Quaker schools sprang up, with Leighton Park School and Bootham School being the most prominent. Later in America they founded Haverford College (1833), Guilford College (1837), Earlham College (1844), Swarthmore College (1864), Wilmington College (Ohio) (1870), Bryn Mawr College (1885), Friends Pacific Academy (now George Fox University) (1885), Cleveland Bible College (now Malone University) (1892), Friends University (1898), Training School for Christian Workers (now Azusa Pacific University) (1899) and Friends Bible College (now Barclay College) (1917). In Great Britain, they organized Woodbrooke College in 1903. In Kenya, Quakers founded Friends Bible Institute (now Friends Theological College) in Kaimosi, Kenya, in 1942.

Friends and slavery

Some Quakers in America and Britain became well known for their involvement in the abolition of slavery. However, prior to the American Revolution, it was fairly common for Friends in British America to own slaves. During the early to mid-1700s, a disquiet about this practice arose among Friends, which was best exemplified by the testimonies of Anthony Benezet and John Woolman; and this resulted in an abolition movement among Friends so powerful that by the time of the American Revolution, few Friends owned slaves any longer. Another dramatic reversal of such policies and sentiments took place in the life of Moses Brown, one of four Rhode Island brothers who, in 1764, organized and funded the tragic and fateful voyage of the slave ship, named, Sally. Moses Brown broke away from his three brothers, became an abolitionist, and converted to Christian Quakerism.

Theology

The theological beliefs of Quaker yearly meetings vary considerably. Tolerance of dissent widely varies among yearly meetings.

Most Friends believe in continuing revelation, which is the religious belief that truth is continuously revealed directly to individuals from God. George Fox, an "early Friend", described it as "Christ has come to teach His people Himself." Friends often focus on trying to hear God. As Isaac Penington wrote in 1670, "It is not enough to hear of Christ, or read of Christ, but this is the thing—to feel him to be my root, my life, and my foundation..." Quakers reject the idea of priests, believing in the priesthood of all believers. Some Friends express their concept of God using various phrases which include the inner light, or inward light of Christ, the Holy Spirit or other phrases.

Diverse theological beliefs, understandings of the "leading of the Holy Spirit", and statements of "faith and practice" have always existed among Friends. Due in part to the emphasis on the immediate guidance of the Spirit, Quaker doctrines have only sometimes been codified as statements of faith, confessions or theological texts; those that do exist include the Letter to the Governor of Barbados (Fox, 1671), An Apology for the True Christian Divinity (Barclay, 1678), A Catechism and Confession of Faith (Barclay, 1690), The Testimony of the Society of Friends on the Continent of America (adopted jointly by all orthodox yearly meetings in USA, 1830), the Richmond Declaration of Faith (adopted by Five Years Meeting, 1887), and Essential Truths (Jones and Wood, adopted by Five Years Meeting, 1922). As a public statement of faith, most yearly meetings publish their own Book of Discipline, that expresses Christian discipleship within the experience of Friends in that yearly meeting.

Conservative

Conservative Friends worshipping in London in 1809. Friends are in traditional plain dress. At the front of the meeting house, the recorded ministers sit on a raised ministers' gallery facing the rest of the meeting, with the elders sitting on the bench in front of them, also facing the meeting. Men and women are segregated, but both are able to minister.

Main article: Conservative Friends

Conservative Friends (also known as "Wilburites" after their founder, John Wilbur), share some of the beliefs of George Fox and the Early Friends. Prior to the mid-18th century, all Quakers were Wilburites, but splits over doctrine in the 19th century and in the 20th century, caused the majority of Friends to brake away from the Wilburite Quakers. Conservative Friends place their trust in the immediate guidance of God. Conservative Friends completely reject all forms of religious symbolism and outward sacraments, such as the Eucharist and water baptism. Conservative Friends do not believe in relying upon the practice of outward rites and sacraments to have a relationship with God, believing that holiness can exist in all of the activities of one's daily life — that all of life is sacred in God. Many Conservative Friends believe that a meal which is held with others, can become a form of communion with God and one another. Conservative Friends reject any formal written creed.

In the USA, Conservative Friends are part of three small Quaker Yearly Meetings in Ohio, North Carolina and Iowa; Ohio Yearly Meeting(Conservative) is generally considered to be the most Bible-centred of the three Conservative Friends Yearly Meetings, retaining Christian Quakers who use the plain language, who continue to wear plain dress, and who live in rural areas; more than Conservative Friends from the two other Conservative Friends Yearly Meetings. Other groups of Conservative Friends attend Ripley Quaker Meeting in the United Kingdom, and Athens Friends Meeting in Greece. Many of the Conservative Friends in North Carolina and Iowa, have moderate religious beliefs and practices, with some being similar to the Christian Friends in Liberal Quaker Yearly Meetings.

Evangelical

See also: Evangelical Friends International

Evangelical Friends make up at least 40% of Friends worldwide. They regard Christ as their Lord and savior and have similar views to other evangelical Christians. They believe in, and place a high regard for, the penal substitution theory of atonement, biblical infallibility and the need for everyone to personally experience a relationship with God. They believe that the purpose of the Friends Church is to evangelise and transform others through love and service for others. Evangelical Friends regard the Bible as the infallible and self-authenticating word of God. The "Beliefs of Friends" statement, by Evangelical Friends International, is comparable to other evangelical churches' confessions of faith. Evangelical Friends are mainly located in the US, Asia and Central America, particularly in meetings which are affiliated with Evangelical Friends Church International). Beginning in the 1880s, some Friends began using outward sacraments, first in Evangelical Friends Church-Eastern Region (then known as Ohio Yearly Meeting [Damascus]). Friends Church Southwest approved the practice of outward sacraments. In places where Evangelical Friends do missionary work, including in Africa, Asia and Latin America, baptism with water is carried out. This practice differs from most other branches of the Religious Society of Friends.

Gurneyite

See also: Friends United Meeting

Gurneyite Friends are the modern-day followers of the theology promoted by Joseph John Gurney, a British 19th century Friend. They make up 49% of Quakers worldwide. They regard Christ as their teacher and Lord, and favor working closely with other protestant Christian groups. Gurneyite Friends put more emphasis on the authority of the Bible over the direct experience of God, often seeing the Bible as the direct word of God. Both children and adults participate in ongoing religious education emphasising Bible and its relationship to Quaker testimonies and Quaker history. Gurneyite Friends subscribe to a set of doctrines, such as the Richmond Declaration. While there was conflict over the role of the Richmond Declaration in subsequent years, it was "adopted," "accepted" or "approved" by nearly all of the Gurneyite yearly meetings at the time. The Five Years Meeting of Friends reaffirmed the Richmond Declaration in 1912 but specifically stated that it was not to constitute a creed. Although Gurneyism was the main form of Quakerism in Britain in the 19th century, today Gurneyite Friends are mainly located in Ireland, Africa, India and parts of the US—particularly within meetings affiliated to Friends United Meeting. Many Gurneyite Friends combine "waiting worship" (unprogrammed worship) with practices common to other Protestant services, such as scripture reading and singing hymns. A minority practice entirely unprogrammed worship.

Holiness

See also: Central Yearly Meeting of Friends

Holiness Friends are heavily influenced by the Holiness movement, in particular John Wesley's doctrine of Christian perfection, also called "entire sanctification". This doctrine states that loving God and humanity totally, as exemplified by Christ, enables believers to rid themselves of voluntary sin. This was a predominant view within Quakerism in the United Kingdom and United States in the 19th century, and influenced other branches of Quakerism. Holiness Friends argue that early Friends, including Fox's message of perfection, was the same as holiness.

Today, whilst there are some Friends who hold holiness beliefs within most yearly meetings, it is the predominant theological view of Central Yearly Meeting of Friends (founded in 1926 specifically to promote holiness theology) and the Bolivian Holiness Mission Evangelical Friends Church (founded by missionaries from that meeting in 1919, the largest group of Friends in Bolivia).

Liberal

See also: Friends General Conference, Britain Yearly Meeting, and Beanite Quakerism

Liberal Quakerism generally refers to Friends who have taken ideas from liberal Christianity, often sharing a similar mix of ideas, such as more critical Biblical hermeneutics, often with a focus on the social gospel. The ideas of That of God in everyone and the inner light were popularised by American Friend Rufus Jones in the early 20th century. He and John Wilhelm Rowntree originated the movement. Liberal Friends were predominant in Britain in the 20th century and amongst US meetings affiliated to Friends General Conference, and some meetings in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa.

These ideas remain an important part of liberal Friends' understanding of God. Liberal Friends highlight the importance of good works, particularly living a life that upholds the virtues preached by Jesus. They often emphasize pacifism, treating others equally, living simply and telling the truth.

Like conservatives, liberals reject religious symbolism and sacraments, such as water baptism and the Eucharist. While liberals recognize the potential of these outward forms for awakening experiences of the Light, they are not part of their worship, and are unnecessary to authentic spirituality.

The Bible remains central to many liberals' worship, and almost all meetings make the Bible available in the meeting house (often on a table in the centre of the room) which attendees may read privately or publicly during worship. However, liberals decided that scripture should give way if God leads them in a way that is contrary to the Bible. Many Friends are also influenced by liberal Christian theologians and modern Biblical criticism. They often adopt non-propositional Biblical hermeneutics, such as believing that the Bible is an anthology of human authors' beliefs and feelings about God rather than Holy Writ and that multiple interpretations of scripture are acceptable.

Liberal Friends believe a corporate confession of faith would be an obstacle—both to authentic listening and to new insight. As a non-creedal form of Christianity, liberal Quakerism is receptive to a wide range of faith understandings. Most liberal yearly meetings publish a Faith and Practice book with a range of experiences of what it means to be a Friend in that yearly meeting.

Universalist

Main article: Quaker Universalist Fellowship

Universalist Friends affirm religious pluralism, that there are many different paths to God and that understandings of the divine reached through non-Christian religious experiences are as valid as Christian understandings. This group was founded by John Linton, in the late 1970s. Linton had worshipped God with the Delhi Worship Group in India (an independent meeting not affiliated to any yearly meeting or wider Quaker group) with Christians, Muslims and Hindus worshipping together. Following a move to Great Britain he founded the Quaker Universalist Fellowship in 1978. Later his views spread to the US where the Quaker Universalist Fellowship was founded in 1983. Most of the Friends who joined these two fellowships were Liberal Friends from Britain Yearly Meeting in the United Kingdom and Friends from Friends General Conference in the United States. Interest in Quaker Universalism was low among Friends from other meetings. The views of the Universalists provoked controversy between themselves and Christian Quakers within Britain Yearly Meeting and within Friends General Conference during the 1980s. Despite the label, Quaker "Universalists" are not necessarily Christian Universalists embracing the doctrine of universal reconciliation.

Non-theist

Main article: Nontheist Friend

These Friends have views similar to other post-Christian non-theists in other churches such as the Sea of Faith within the Anglican church. They are predominantly atheists, agnostics and humanists who nevertheless value membership in a religious organization. The first organization for non-theist Friends was the Humanistic Society of Friends, founded in Los Angeles in 1939. This organization remained small and was absorbed into the American Humanist Association. More recently, interest in non-theism resurfaced, particularly led by British Friend David Boulton, who founded the 40 member Nontheist Friends Network in 2011. Non-theism is controversial, leading some Christian Quakers from within Britain Yearly Meeting to call for non-theists to be refused membership. In one study of Friends in Britain Yearly Meeting, around 30% of Quakers had views that were described as non-theistic, agnostic or atheist. Another study put the number of believing Friends as high as 92%. It claimed that 70%+ of Quakers in Great Britain regard Christ as their supreme religious guide, while a further 20%+ believed in Christ's importance and hold a syncreticist view of religious life (Quaker Universalists). Another study of British Quakers found that of the 727 members of the Religious Society of Friends who completed the survey, 75.1% said that they consider themselves Christian; 17.6% did not consider themselves Christian; and 7.3% of the members either did not answer or circled both answers. A further 22% of Quakers did not consider themselves to be a Christian, but fulfilled a definition of being a Christian in that they said that they devoutly followed the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. In the same survey 86.9% said that they believed in God.

Practical theology

In 1688, at this table in Germantown, Philadelphia, Quakers and Mennonites signed a common declaration denouncing slavery

Quakers bear witness or testify to their beliefs in their lives, drawing on James' advice that faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. This witness is rooted in their immediate experience of God and verified by the Bible, especially in Jesus' the life and teachings. They may bear witness in many ways, according to how they believe God is leading them. Although Quakers share how they relate to God and the world, mirroring Christian ethical codes, e.g. the Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon on the Plain, Friends argue that they feel personally moved by God or Christ rather than following an ethical code.

Some theologians classify Friends' witness into categories—known by some Friends as testimonies. These Friends believe these principles and practices testify to, witness to or provide evidence for God's truth. No categorization is universally accepted.

In East Africa, Friends teach peace and non-violence, simplicity, honesty, equality, humility, marriage and sexual ethics (defining marriage as lifelong between one man and one woman), sanctity of life (opposition to abortion), cultural conflicts and Christian life.

In the USA, the acronym SPICES is often used (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship). Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting Friends put their faith in action through living their lives by the following principles: prayer, personal integrity, stewardship (which includes giving away minimum of 10% income and refraining from lotteries), marriage and family (lifelong commitment), regard for mind and body (refraining from certain amusements, propriety and modesty of dress, abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and drugs), peace and non-violence (including refusing to participate in war), abortion (opposition to abortion, practical ministry to women with unwanted pregnancy and promotion of adoption), human sexuality, the Christian and state (look to God for authority, not the government), capital punishment (find alternatives), human equality, women in ministry (recognising women and men have an equal part to play in ministry).

In the UK, the acronym STEP or PEST is used (peace, equality, simplicity and truth). In his book Quaker Speak, British Friend Alastair Heron lists the following ways in which British Friends testify to God: Opposition to betting and gambling, capital punishment, conscription, hat honor (the largely historical practice of dipping one's hat toward social superiors), oaths, slavery, times and seasons, tithing and promotion of integrity (or truth), peace, penal reform, plain language, relief of suffering, simplicity, social order, Sunday observance, sustainability, temperance and moderation.

Worship

See also: Meeting for worship

Most groups of Quakers meet for regular worship. There are two main types of worship worldwide: programmed worship and waiting worship.

Programmed worship

See also: Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International, and Central Yearly Meeting of Friends

West Mansfield Friends Church, Ohio, affiliated to Evangelical Friends Church International

In programmed worship there is often a prepared message, which may be delivered by an individual with theological training. There may be hymns, a sermon, Bible readings, joint prayers and a period of silent worship. The worship resembles the church services of other protestant denominations, although in most cases does not include any Eucharist service. A paid pastor may be responsible for pastoral care. Worship of this kind is celebrated by about 89% of Friends worldwide. It is found in many yearly meetings in Africa, Asia and parts of the US (southern and central), and is common in programmed meetings affiliated to Friends United Meeting (who make up around 49% of worldwide membership), and evangelical meetings, including those affiliated to Evangelical Friends International (who make up at least 40% of Friends worldwide). The event is sometimes called a meeting for worship or sometimes called a Friends church service. This tradition arose among Friends in the United States in the 19th century in response to the many converts to Quakerism during the national spiritual revival of the time. Friends meetings in Africa and Latin America were generally started by Friends from programmed elements of the society, therefore most African and Latin American Friends worship in a programmed style.

Some Friends also hold "Semi-Programmed" Worship, which brings programmed elements such as hymns and readings into an otherwise unprogrammed worship service.

Waiting worship

See also: Conservative Friends, Friends General Conference, Britain Yearly Meeting, and Beanite Quakerism

The interior of an old meeting house in the United States

Waiting worship (also known as unprogrammed worship or holy communion in the manner of Friends) is based on the practices of early Friends, who based their beliefs and practices on their interpretation of how the early Christians worshipped God their Heavenly Father. Friends gather together in "expectant waiting upon God" to experience his still small voice leading them from within. There is no plan on how the meeting will proceed. Friends believe that God plans what will happen, with his spirit leading people to speak. When an individual Quaker feels led to speak, he or she will rise to their feet and share a spoken message ("vocal ministry") in front of others. When this happens, Quakers believe that the spirit of God is speaking through the speaker. After someone has spoken, more than a few minutes pass in silence before further vocal ministry is given. Sometimes a meeting is entirely silent, sometimes many speak. These meetings lasted for several hours in George Fox's day. Modern meetings are often limited to an hour, ending when two people (usually the elders) exchange the sign of peace by handshake. This handshake is often shared by the others. This style of worship is the norm in Britain, Ireland, the continent of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa, Canada and parts of the United States (particularly yearly meetings associated with Friends General Conference and Beanite Quakerism)—constituting about 10% of Quakers. Those who worship in this style hold each person to be equal before God and capable of knowing the light directly. Anyone present may speak if they feel led to do so. Traditionally, Recorded Ministers were recognised for their particular gift in vocal ministry. This practice continues amongst Conservative Friends and Liberal Friends (e.g. New York Yearly Meeting). Many meetings where Liberal Friends predominate abolished this practice. The London Yearly Meeting abolished the acknowledging and recording of Recorded Ministers in 1928.

Membership

A Friend is a member of a Yearly Meeting, usually beginning with membership in a local monthly meeting. Methods for acquiring membership vary—for example, in most Kenyan yearly meetings, attenders who wish to become members are required to take part in around two years of adult education, memorising key Bible passages and learning about the history of Christianity and Quakerism. Within Britain Yearly Meeting, membership is acquired through a process of peer review where a potential member is visited by several members who present a report to the other members of the monthly meeting before a decision is reached.

Within some Friends Churches in the Evangelical Friends Church, in particular in Rwanda, Burundi and parts of the USA, an adult believers' baptism with water is optional. Within the liberal, conservative and pastoral traditions, Friends do not practice water baptism, Christening or other initiation ceremonies to admit a new member or a newborn. Children are often welcomed into the meeting at their first attendance. Formerly, children born to Quaker parents automatically became members (sometimes called Birthright membership), but this is no longer the case in many areas. Some parents apply for membership on behalf of their children, while others allow the child to decide whether to become a member when they are ready. Some meetings adopt a policy that children, some time after becoming young adults, must apply independently for membership.

Meetings for worship for specific tasks

Marriage

Main article: Quaker wedding

A meeting for worship for the solemnisation of marriage in an unprogrammed Friends meeting is similar to any other unprogrammed Meeting for Worship. The pair exchange vows before God and gathered witnesses, and the meeting returns to open worship. At the rise of meeting, the witnesses, including the youngest children, are asked to sign the wedding certificate as a record. In Britain, Quakers keep a separate record of the union and notify the General Register Office.

In the early days of the United States, there was doubt whether a marriage solemnized in that manner was entitled to legal recognition. Over the years each state set rules for the procedure. Most US states (except Pennsylvania) expect the marriage document to be signed by a single officiant (a priest, rabbi, minister, Justice of the Peace, etc.). Quakers routinely modify the document to allow three or four Friends to sign as the officiant. Often, these are the members of a committee of oversight who have helped the couple plan their marriage. Usually, a separate document containing their vows and the signatures of all present is kept by the couple and often displayed prominently in their home.

In many Friends meetings, the couple meet with a "clearness committee" prior to the wedding. This committee's purpose is to discuss with the couple the many aspects of marriage and life as a couple. If the couple seems ready, the marriage is recommended to the meeting. "Clearness committees" are used in other contexts as well, where individuals or groups need to obtain guidance on a particular action to be taken.

Same-sex marriage

In 1986, Hartford Friends Meeting in Connecticut, USA, reached the decision that "the Meeting recognizes committed union in a celebration of marriage under the care of the Meeting. The same loving care and consideration should be given to both same-sex and heterosexual applicants as outlined in Faith and Practice". Since then, some other meetings of liberal Friends from Australia, Britain and parts of North America have recognised marriage between partners of the same sex. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help) In jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is not recognised by the civil authorities, some liberal meetings follow the practice of early Quakers in overseeing the union without reference to the state. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help) As in the wider society, there is a wide diversity of views on this issue, and Friends have varying views on the topic. There are many Friends in the US who do not support same sex marriage, and some yearly meetings in the United States and Africa have issued public statements stating that homosexuality is a sin.

Memorial services

The Quaker testimony of simplicity extends to memorialisation as well. Founder George Fox is remembered with a simple grave marker.

Traditional Quaker memorial services are held as a form of worship and are known as memorial meetings. Friends gather for worship and offer remembrances about the deceased. In some traditions, the coffin or ashes are not present. Memorial meetings may be held many weeks after the death, which can enable wider attendance and can also replace grief with spiritual reflection and celebration of life to dominate. Memorial meetings can last over an hour, particularly if many people attend. Memorial services give everyone a chance to remember the lost individual in their own way, comforting those present and re-affirming the larger community.

Church government and polity

Quaker Business Meeting in York

Governance and decision making is conducted at a special meeting for worship—often called a meeting for worship with a concern for business or meeting for worship for church affairs at which all members can attend, as in a Congregational church. Quakers consider this to be a form of worship, conducted in the manner of meeting for worship. They believe this is the gathering of believers who wait upon the Lord to discover God's will, believing that they are not making their own decisions. They seek to understand God's will for the community via the actions of the Holy Spirit within the meeting.

As in a meeting for worship, each member is expected to listen to God and, if led by Him, stand up and contribute. In some business meetings, Friends wait for the clerk to acknowledge them before speaking. Direct replies to someone's contribution are not permitted, with an aim of seeking truth rather than of debating. A decision is reached when the meeting, as a whole, feels that the "way forward" has been discerned (also called "coming to unity"). There is no voting. On some occasions a single Friend delays a decision because they feel the meeting is not following God's will. Because of this, many non-Friends describe this as consensus decision-making; however Friends are instead determined to continue seeking God's will. It is assumed that if everyone is listening to God's spirit, the way forward will become clear.

National and international divisions and organization

Like many movements, the Religious Society of Friends has evolved, changed and split into subgroups.

Quakerism started in England, and quickly spread to the United States. Today Kenya is by far the country with the most Quakers. Other countries with over 1,000 Quakers are Burundi, Bolivia, Cambodia, Canada, Guatemala, Ireland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Rwanda, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom and the United States. Although the total number of Quakers is around 360,000 worldwide, Quaker influence is concentrated in Philadelphia;Kaimosi, Kenya; Newberg, Oregon; Greenleaf, Idaho; Whittier, California; Richmond, Indiana; Friendswood, Texas; Birmingham, England; Ramallah, Palestine and Greensboro, North Carolina.

International organization

Main article: Friends World Committee for Consultation

Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) is the international Quaker organization which loosely unifies the groups; FWCC brings together the largest variety of Friends in the world.

Various organizations associated with Friends include a U.S. lobbying organization based in Washington, D.C. called the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL); service organizations such as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the Quaker United Nations Offices, Quaker Peace and Social Witness, Friends Committee on Scouting, the Quaker Peace Centre in Cape Town, South Africa and the Alternatives to Violence Project.

Friends World Committee for Consultation is divided into four sections to represent different regions of the world: Africa, Asia West Pacific, Europe and Middle East and Americas.

Africa

Quakers in Africa (2007)

Country	Number of Quakers
Burundi	12,000
South Africa	144
Congo (Republic of)	10
Kenya	133,825
Madagascar	16
Nigeria	16
Rwanda	3,234
Tanzania	3,100
Uganda	5,000

Main article: Religious Society of Friends in Africa

The highest concentration of Quakers is in Africa. The Friends of East Africa were at one time part of a single East Africa Yearly Meeting, then the world's largest yearly meeting. Today, this region is served by several distinct yearly meetings. Most of these are affiliated with the Friends United Meeting, practice programmed worship and employ pastors. Friends meet in Rwanda and Burundi, as well as new work beginning in North Africa. Small unprogrammed meetings exist also in Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Australia and New Zealand

Quakers in Australia and New Zealand (2007)

Country	Number of Quakers
Australia	1,984
New Zealand	656

Friends in Australia and New Zealand follow the unprogrammed tradition, similar to Britain Yearly Meeting

Considerable distances between the colonies and small numbers of Quakers meant that Australia Friends were dependent on London until the 20th century. The Society remained unprogrammed and is named the Australia Yearly Meeting, with local organizations around seven Regional Meetings: Canberra (which extends into southern New South Wales), New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia (which extends into Northern Territory), Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. An annual meeting each January is hosted by a different Regional Meeting over a seven year cycle, with a Standing Committee each July or August.

Meetings for worship in New Zealand started in Nelson in 1842 and in Auckland in 1885.

Asia

Quakers in Asia (2007)

Country	Number of Quakers
Cambodia	2,500
China	95
India	712
Indonesia	3,000
Japan	135
Korea	12
Nepal	500
Philippines	850
Taiwan	3,200

Quaker meetings occur in India, Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Japan and Nepal.

India has four yearly meetings—the unprogrammed Mid-India Yearly Meeting, programmed Bhopal Yearly Meeting and the Mahoba Yearly Meeting. Bundelkhand Yearly Meeting is an evangelical Friends Church affiliated to Evangelical Friends International. Other programmed and unprogrammed worship groups are not affiliated to any yearly meeting.

Evangelical Friends Churches exist in the Philippines and Nepal, affiliated to Evangelical Friends International.

Europe

Quakers in Europe (2007)

Country	Number of Quakers
Belgium / Luxembourg	42
Britain	15,775
Croatia	2
Czech Republic	12
Denmark	29
Estonia	4
Finland	20
France	71
Georgia	13
Germany	338
Greece	3
Hungary / Romania / Albania	4,306
Ireland	1,591
Latvia	6
Lithuania	2
Netherlands	115
Norway	151
Russia	13
Spain	8
Sweden	100
Switzerland	104

In the United Kingdom, the predominantly liberal and unprogrammed Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain has 478 local meetings, and a total of 14,260 adult members, and an additional 8,560 non-member adults who attend worship and 2,251 children. The number has declined steadily since the mid-20th century. Programmed meetings occur, including in Wem and London. Small groups of Conservative Friends meet in Ripley and Greenwich in England and Arbroath in Scotland, who follow Ohio Yearly Meeting's Book of Discipline.

Evangelical Friends Central Europe Yearly Meeting has 4,306 members across six nations, including Albania, Hungary and Romania.

Ireland Yearly Meeting is unprogrammed and is more conservative than Britain Yearly Meeting. They have 1,591 members in 28 meetings across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

German Yearly Meeting is liberal and unprogrammed and has 338 members, worshipping in 31 meetings in Germany and Austria.

Small groups of Friends in Belgium, Luxembourg, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France since 1788 with the meeting house in a little village of Congénies in Languedoc, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Palestine, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine attend meetings ther.

Middle East

Quakers in the Middle East(2007)

Country	Number of Quakers
Lebanon / Palestine	60

Middle East Yearly Meeting has meetings in Lebanon and Palestine/Israel.

North and South America

Quakers in America (2007)

Country	Number of Quakers
Bolivia	13,000
Canada	1,216
Chile	15
Colombia	8
Costa Rica	72
Cuba	535
El Salvador	472
Guatemala	20,730
Honduras	2,000
Jamaica	330
Mexico	861
Peru	1,700
United States	86,837

Quakers can be found throughout Canada. Some of the largest concentrations are in Southern Ontario.

Friends in the United States have diverse worship style come differences of theology, vocabulary and practice.

A local congregation in the unprogrammed tradition is called a meeting, or a monthly meeting (e.g., Smalltown Meeting or Smalltown Monthly Meeting). The reference to "monthly" is because the meeting meets monthly to conduct the group's business. Most "monthly meetings" meet for worship at least once a week; some meetings have several worship meetings during the week. In programmed traditions, local congregations are often referred to as "Friends Churches".

Monthly meetings are often part of a regional group called a quarterly meeting, which is usually part of an even larger group called a yearly meeting; with the adjectives "quarterly" and "yearly" referring specifically to the frequency of meetings for worship with a concern for business.

Some yearly meetings belong to larger organizations to help maintain order and communication within the society. The three chief ones are Friends General Conference (FGC), Friends United Meeting (FUM) and Evangelical Friends Church International (EFCI). In all three groups, most member organizations, though not necessarily members are from the United States. FGC is theologically the most liberal of the three groups, while EFCI is the most evangelical. FUM is the largest. Friends United Meeting was originally known as "Five Years Meeting." Some monthly meetings belong to more than one larger organization, while others are fully independent.

Ecumenical relations

Quakers prior to the 20th century considered the Religious Society of Friends to be a Christian movement, but did not feel their faith fit within categories of Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. Many conservative Friends, whilst fully seeing themselves as Christian, choose to remain separate from other Christian groups.

Many Friends in liberal Friends' meetings are actively involved in the ecumenical movement, often working closely with other Mainline Protestant and liberal Christian churches with whom they share common ground. Concern for peace and social justice often brings Friends together with other churches and Christian groups. Some liberal yearly meetings are members of ecumenical pan-Christian organizations which include Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches—for example Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is a member of the National Council of Churches, Britain Yearly Meeting is a member of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and Friends General Conference is a member of the World Council of Churches. Guerneyite Friends would typically see themselves as part of a Christian movement and work closely with other Christian groups. Friends United Meeting (the international organization of Gurneyite yearly meetings) is a member of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, which are pan-Christian organizations which include Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches. Evangelical Friends work closely with other evangelical churches from other Christian traditions. The North American branch of Evangelical Friends Church International is a member church of the National Association of Evangelicals. Evangelical Friends tend to be less involved with non-evangelical churches and are not members of the World Council of Churches or National Council of Churches.

The majority of other Christian groups recognize Friends amongst their fellow-Christians. The Bible Theology Ministries (a small charismatic church in Swansea) is an exception, but they also do not recognize Roman Catholics as Christian, regarding both as cults. Some people who attend Friends meetings assume that Quakers are not Christian when they do not hear overtly Christian language during the meeting for worship.

Relations with other faiths

Relationships between Quakers and non-Christians vary considerably, according to sect, geography and history.

Early Quakers distanced themselves from practices that they saw as pagan, such as refusing to use the usual names of days of the week, since they derive from names of pagan deities. They refused to celebrate Christmas because of its basis on pagan festivities.

Early Friends attempted to convert adherents of other faiths to Christianity, for example George Fox wrote a number of open letters to Muslims and Jews, in which he encouraged them to turn to Christ as the only path to salvation (e.g. A Visitation to the Jews, To The Turk, and all that are under his authority, to read this over, which concerns their salvation and To the Great Turk and King of Algiers in Algeria. Mary Fisher attempted to convert the Muslim Mehmed IV (the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire) in 1658.

In 1870, Richard Price Hallowell argued that the logical extension of Quakerism is a universal Church, which demands a religion which embraces Jew, Pagan and Christian, and which cannot be limited by the dogmas of one or the other.

From the late 20th century onwards some attenders at liberal Quaker meetings actively identify with faiths other than Christianity, such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism or Paganism.

Calendar and church holidays

Quakers traditionally use numbers to denominate the names of the months and days of the week, something they call the plain calendar. This does not use names of calendar units derived from the names of pagan deities. The days begin with First Day (Sunday) and ends on Seventh Day (Saturday) and months run from First Month (January) to Twelfth Month (December). This is based on the terms used in the Bible: e.g., Jesus' followers went to the tomb early on the First Day of the week. The plain calendar emerged in the 17th century in England in the Puritan movement but became closely identified with Friends by the end of the 1650s and was commonly employed into the 20th century. It is less commonly encountered today. The term First Day School is commonly used, for what is called by most churches Sunday School.

In common with other Christian denominations derived from the 16th century Puritanism, many Friends do not observe religious festivals (e.g. Christmas, Lent, or Easter), but instead believe that Christ's birth, crucifixion and resurrection should be commemorated every day of the year. For example, many Quakers feel that fasting at Lent but then eating in excess at other times of the year is hypocrisy and therefore many Quakers, rather than observing Lent, live a simple lifestyle all the year round (see Testimony of Simplicity). These practices are often referred to as the testimony against times and seasons.

Some Friends are non-Sabbatarians, holding that "every day is the Lord's day", and that what should be done on a First Day should be done every day of the week, although Meeting for Worship is usually held on a First Day, something which has been advised since the first advice issued by elders in 1656.

Further reading

• Abbott, Margery; Chijioke, Mary Ellen; Dandelion, Pink; Oliver, John William, ed. (2003). Historical Dictionary of The Friends (Quakers). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4483-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
• Bacon, Margaret Hope (2000). The Quiet Rebels: The Story of the Quakers in America. Pendle Hill Publications. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-87574-935-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Bacon, Margaret Hope. "Quakers and Colonization," Quaker History, 95 (Spring 2006), 26–43.
• Barbour, Hugh; Frost, J. William. The Quakers. (1988), 412pp; historical survey, including many capsule biographies online edition
• Barbour, Hugh (1985). The Quakers in Puritan England. Friends United Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-913408-87-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Benjamin, Philip. Philadelphia Quakers in an Age of Industrialism, 1870-1920 (1976),
• Bill, J. Brent, Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality ISBN 1-55725-420-6
• Boulton, David (ed.) 2006. Godless for God's Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism. Dales Historical Monographs. ISBN 0-9511578-6-8
• Birkel, Michael L., Silence and Witness: The Quaker Tradition ISBN 1-57075-518-3 (in the UK, ISBN 0-232-52448-3)
• Braithwaite, William C. The Beginnings of Quakerism (1912); revised by Henry J. Cadbury (1955) online edition
• Braithwaite, William C. Second Period of Quakerism (1919); revised by Henry Cadbury (1961), covers 1660 to 1720s in Britain
• Brinton, Howard H., Friends for 350 Years ISBN 0-87574-903-8
• Brock, Peter. Pioneers of the Peaceable Kingdom (1968), on Peace Testimony from the 1650s to 1900.
• Bronner, Edwin B. William Penn's Holy Experiment (1962)
• Burnet, G.B., Story of Quakerism in Scotland The Lutterworth Press 2007, Cambridge. ISBN 978-0-7188-9176-3
• Connerley, Jennifer. "Friendly Americans: Representing Quakers in the United States, 1850-1920." PhD dissertation U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 2006. 277 pp. Citation: DAI 2006 67(2): 600-A. DA3207363 online at ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Cooper, Wilmer A., A Living Faith: An Historical and Comparative Study of Quaker Beliefs. 2nd ed. ISBN 0-944350-53-4
• Dandelion, Pink, A Sociological Analysis of the Theology of the Quakers: The Silent Revolution (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1996) ISBN 0-7734-8807-3
• Dandelion, Pink, The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction ISBN 978-0-19-920679-7
• Davies, Adrian. The Quakers in English Society, 1655-1725. (2000). 261 pp.
• Doherty, Robert. The Hicksite Separation (1967), uses the new social history to inquire who joined which side
• Dunn, Mary Maples. William Penn: Politics and Conscience (1967)
• Frost, J. William. The Quaker Family in Colonial America: A Portrait of the Society of Friends (1973), emphasis on social structure and family life
• Frost, J. William. "The Origins of the Quaker Crusade against Slavery: A Review of Recent Literature," Quaker History 67 (1978): 42-58,
• Fryer, Jonathan (Ed.), George Fox and the Children of the Light (London: Kyle Cathie, 1991) ISBN 1-85626-024-0
• Gillman, Harvey, A Light that is Shining: Introduction to the Quakers ISBN 0-85245-213-6
• Gorman, George H., Introducing Quakers (3rd revised reprint) (London: Quaker Home Service, 1981) ISBN 0-85245-005-2
• Guiton, Gerard, The Growth and Development of Quaker Testimony' ISBN 0-7734-6002-0
• Hamm, Thomas. The Quakers in America. (2003). 293 pp., strong analysis of current situation, with brief history
• Hamm, Thomas. The Transformation of American Quakerism: Orthodox Friends, 1800-1907 (1988), looks at the impact of the Holiness movement on the Orthodox faction
• Hamm, Thomas D. Earlham College: A History, 1847-1997. (1997). 448 pp.
• Hatton, Jean. "Betsy: The Dramatic Biography of Prison Reformer Elizabeth Fry" (2005) ISBN 1-85424-705-0 and ISBN 0-8254-6092-1
• Hatton, Jean. "George Fox: Founder of the Quakers" (2007) ISBN 1854247530 and ISBN 978-0-8254-6106-4.
• Hubbard, Geoffrey, Quaker by Convincement ISBN 0-85245-189-X and ISBN 0-14-021663-4
• Illick, Joseph E. Colonial Pennsylvania: A History. 1976. online edition
• Ingle, H. Larry, First Among Friends: George Fox and the Creation of Quakerism ISBN 0-19-507803-9 and ISBN 0-19-510117-0
• Ingle, H. Larry, Quakers in Conflict: The Hicksite Reformation ISBN 0-87574-926-7
• James, Sydney. A People among Peoples: Quaker Benevolence in Eighteenth-Century America (1963), a broad ranging study that remains the best history in America before 1800
• Jones, Rufus M., Amelia M. Gummere and Isaac Sharpless. Quakers in the American Colonies (1911), history to 1775 online edition
• Jones, Rufus M. Later Periods of Quakerism, 2 vols. (1921), covers England and America until World War I.
• Jones, Rufus M. The Story of George Fox (1919) 169 pages online edition
• Jones, Rufus M. A Service of Love in War Time: American Friends Relief Work in Europe, 1917-1919 (1922) online edition
• Jordan, Ryan. "The Dilemma of Quaker Pacifism in a Slaveholding Republic, 1833-1865," Civil War History, Vol. 53, 2007 online edition
• Jordan, Ryan. Slavery and the Meetinghouse: The Quakers and the Abolitionist Dilemma, 1820–1865. (2007) 191pp
• Kennedy, Thomas C. British Quakerism, 1860-1920: The Transformation of a Religious Community. (2001). 477 pp.
• Larson, Rebecca. Daughters of Light: Quaker Women Preaching and Prophesying in the Colonies and Abroad, 1700-1775. (1999). 399 pp.
• LeShana, James David. "'Heavenly Plantations': Quakers in Colonial North Carolina." PhD dissertation: U. of California, Riverside 1998. 362 pp. DAI 2000 61(5): 2005-A. DA9974014 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Minear, Mark., "Richmond, 1887: A Quaker Drama Unfolds" ISBN (0913408980) ISBN (9780913408988)
• Moore, Rosemary, The Light in Their Consciences: The Early Quakers in Britain 1646-1666 (2000) 314pp ISBN 0-271-01989-1
• Moretta, John A., William Penn and the Quaker Legacy ISBN 0-321-16392-3
• Mullet, Michael, editor, New Light on George Fox ISBN 1-85072-142-4
• Nash, Gary. Quakers and Politics: Pennsylvania, 1680-1726 (1968)
• Punshon, John, Portrait in Grey : A Short History of the Quakers (2nd ed.) (London: Quaker Books, 2006) ISBN 0-85245-399-X
• Rasmussen, Ane Marie Bak. A History of the Quaker Movement in Africa. (1994). 168 pp.
• Russell, Elbert. The History of Quakerism (1942). online edition
• Smuck, Harold. Friends in East Africa (Richmond, Indiana: 1987)
• Steere, Douglas. 1967. On Being Present Where You Are. Wallingford, Pa: Pendle Hill Pamphlet No. 151.
• Tolles, Frederick B. Meeting House and Counting House (1948), on Quaker businessmen in colonial Philadelphia
• Tolles, Frederick B. Quakers and the Atlantic Culture (1960)
• Trueblood, D. Elton The People Called Quakers (1966)
• Vlach, John Michael. "Quaker Tradition and the Paintings of Edward Hicks: A Strategy for the Study of Folk Art," Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 94, 1981 online edition
• Walvin, James. The Quakers: Money and Morals. (1997). 243 pp.
• Yarrow, Clarence H. The Quaker Experience in International Conciliation (1979), for post-1945

Primary sources

• Bill, J. Brent, Imagination and Spirit: A Contemporary Quaker Reader ISBN 0-944350-61-5
• Gummere, Amelia, ed. The Journal and Essays of John Woolman (1922) online edition
• Jones, Rufus M., ed. The Journal of George Fox: An Autobiography online edition
• Mott, Lucretia Coffin. Selected Letters of Lucretia Coffin Mott. edited by Beverly Wilson Palmer, U. of Illinois Press, 2002. 580 pp
• Smith, Robert Lawrence, A Quaker Book of Wisdom ISBN 0-688-17233-4
• West, Jessamyn, editor. The Quaker Reader (1962) ISBN 0-87574-916-X collection of essays by Fox, Penn and other notable Quakers

Children's books

• De Angeli, Marguerite. Thee, Hannah! ISBN 0-8361-9106-4.
• Milhous, Katherine
  • The Egg Tree. ISBN 978-0-689-71568-6.
  • Appolonia's Valentine. ISBN 978-0-684-92306-2.
• Turkle, Brinton
  • The Adventures of Obadiah. ISBN 0-670-10614-3.
  • Obadiah the Bold. ISBN 1-893103-19-6.
  • Rachel and Obadiah. ISBN 1-893103-18-8.
  • Thy Friend, Obadiah. ISBN 0-14-050393-5.

External links

• QuakerInfo.org: - A Quaker Information Centre
• Liberal Quakers: - An introduction to Liberal Quakers
• Friends Christian Renewal: - A homepage about the faith and practice of mostly Christian Unprogrammed Friends
• Quaker Fellowship in Christ: - An informal fellowship of Pentecostal Quakers in Great Britain
• QuakerQuaker: - A website about the faith and practice of mostly Christian Unprogrammed Friends
• QuakerInfo.com: - Finding Quaker Meetings and Churches in the World
• Friends World Committee for Consultation: - An International Umbrella Body for Quakers of all Kinds
• Digital Quaker Collection: - A directory of Christian Quaker Literature
• Christian Faith and Practice: - A list of books of Christian Discipline
• Quaker Heritage Press: - A Christian Quaker Publishing House