The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-06-09
THE SOCIETY OLE FRIENDS.

The yearly meeting of the society of
Friends in New York city was told by its
secretary the other day that statistics
showed their sect to be slowly dying out.
The returns from the congregations in
dictated that the death rate among the
Friends was greater than the rate of in
crease from all sources, from this fact
he deduced the above conclusion. 1t
may be that these conditions are local,
and apply only to the jurisdiction of the
yearly meeting of New York, but the
presumption is that they are true in gen.
eral of the sect in this country. In Eng
land, the only other country where the
Friends have any considerable foothold,
their numbers seem to remain about
stationary; in 1892 there were some D.
900 reported, slight increase over 1891.
In this country and Canada it is not
claimed that there have been any consid.
cradle accessiOns to this sect for some
years, while there have been consider
Abe losses. The Young people who
have been born into the society havn not
followed in the footsteps of their fathers
as they reached manhood and woman
hood, but have fallen away into other
communions as they have come more
and more i'll contact with the worlds
people. The rigidity of doctrine and
severe simplicity of dress and manners
of the orthodox Friends have not at
tracted the young people. The ortho-
dox Quaker is at the antipodes of mod
ern requirements in his attitude toward
fashion, pleasure and the habits and
customs of society. He holds to plain
ness and simplicity in all things, and
tolerates nothing for show or ornament,
and nothing simply for enjoyment. The
choice before the youth of his family is
to shut themselves out from the attrac-
tions with which they are surrounded in
the world with which they must mingle,
OF abandon the sect of their fathers.
Such abandonment is made easier by
the fact that it involves no change in
doctrinal opinion or surrender or mate
rial modification of religious convictions.
There is nothing in the doctrine of the
inner light which brings it under the ban
of heresy, judged by the ordinary creeds
and doctrinal standards, and aside from
this, the doctrine of the Friends is ortho-
doxy itself. The aim of Fox and Penn.
and the purpose of their followers since,
has been to establish reform in con-
duct and motive, and a regeneration in
character rather than in creeds. Cons
queptly creeds and forms of belief have
been given a secondary place always by
this sect, and the cultivation of the vir-
tues emphasized. The Friend in good
standing must first of all be of "godly
mind and conduct" and afterward or
thOdox. Not but that the orthodoxy
has been strenuously insisted on, and
many members cut off for heresy. The
sect divided 60 years ago over a matter
of doctrine, and has been divided ever
since, with the liberal and tolerant wing
all the time growing the stronger.
With this growth of liberalism in opin-
ion has come relaxation of the rigid
adherence of the Friends to their pc
culiarities of dress and customs. More
and more they are coming to conform to
the requirements of society in manners
and surroundings, and a strong element
among them is urging conformity to
the modes of worship adopted in other
churches. These tendencies are all
strenuously resisted by the older men,
bers, on the ground that they mean the
abandonment of those characteristics
which have made the Quakers peculiar
people, in the world. but not of it. 1t is
a surrender of the reason of the society
fol being, confession of defeat in the
conflict with the power of worldiness,
an admission that the work undertaken by
va "hu
the dominion of the inner light cannot
be accomplished. The progressive wing
are pressing these reforms in spite of
such protests, and defend them on the
ground that it is only in this way that
society can be kept alive. They have a
plan for regularly settled and salaried
pastors over the congregations, and have
already established body of evangelists
who give their entire time to preaching
and are supported while doing so. The
whole question of church government
and of UNCONVENTIONAL discipline is I'M
der discussion. A board of foreign mis-
sions has been planned, and a home
missionary organization blocked out.
Some reformers are anxious to change
the name of the sect from society of
Friends to Friends church. These signs
Of life and growth in the society SEEM
ingly offset the doleful Representation
of the New York society and promise
future of renewed usefulness to this
honorable body. SO FART has had an