Who Are the Quakers? - Beliefnet Beliefnet Sign up for our free newsletters and special offers! Just enter your email below. Inspiration Delivering you the best in inspirational articles, life stories, quotes and more. Bible Reading Receive a Daily Measure of God's Word and guidance straight to your inbox. Angel Wisdom Let angels be your guide with help from this inspiring and thought-provoking newsletter. Entertainment A brief summary of Quaker ideas and history, with links to more information What is the Religious Society of Friends? The Religious Society of Friends is the name of the group commonly known as Quakers. Friends are a Christian group who believe in the presence of God within each person, often referred to as the "Inner Light." Quakers emphasize a personal commitment to God and humanitarian causes. When was Quakerism founded? The Religious Society of Friends was founded in the mid-17th century in England by George Fox (1624-1691). Where did the names "Friends" and "Quaker" come from?

The Society of Friends took its name from the New Testament gospel of John, which says, "You are my friends if you do whatever I command." ( John 15:12-15 ). The original Quakers called themselves "Friends of Truth" after this verse. They were also known as the "Children of Light." The Society of Friends is commonly known as Quakers because the original Friends were mocked for "trembling with religious zeal." What are the major Friends groups currently in the U.S.? There are three major organized groups of Friends in the U.S. today: Friends United Meeting claims about 100,000 members worldwide, including 40,000 in the U.S. Friends General Conference claims about 33,000 members in the U.S. and Canada Evangelical Friends Alliance claims over 100,000 members in 20 countries. Where are the largest number of Quakers in the U.S.? According to Adherents.com , the five states with the largest number of Quakers are: Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California, in that order. What happens in Quaker meetings? Friends meetings can be programmed or unprogrammed.

Programmed meetings are usually led by a pastor and are more like a church service than unprogrammed meetings. Unprogrammed meetings are based on the idea of "expectant waiting." Members sit in silence until someone has a message they want to share with the group, and there are no prearranged prayers or readings. Read more about unprogrammed Friends meetings here . Quaker meetings are organized into regular cycles: different groups have preparative, monthly, and yearly meetings. Are all Quakers pacifists? According to the an introduction to Quakerism from the Friends General Conference, the Society of Friends does not require all its members to be pacifists. The Quaker position on pacifism is that it is left up to each individual in deciding whether to serve in the armed forces. Beliefnet columnist Kenneth Briggs provides additional details to this question in a recent column . Sources: Where Did Quakers Get Their Name? Search billions of records on Ancestry.com WHERE DID QUAKERS GET THEIR NAME? This E-Mail message was forwarded to JTR by Cheska Wheatley: Quakers are officially called "The Society of Friends".

The word "quaker" was originally a derogatory term used by King George (I think) to William Penn, who would not take his hat off in deference to his majesty. Penn told the King that instead of worrying about silly thing like hats, he should be "Quaking before the Lord." The King then responded "Get this quaker out of here!" So at first, "Quaker" was actually a slur. Now, although we still are called "Friends," we are also called "Quakers" by many people, including ourselves! From Microsoft Encarta '95: The Society of Friends may be traced to the many Protestant bodies that appeared in Europe during the Reformation. These groups, stressing an individual approach to religion, strict discipline, and the rejection of an authoritarian church, formed one expression of the religious temper of 17th-century England. Many doctrines of the Society of Friends were taken from those of earlier religious groups, particularly those of the Anabaptists and Independents, who believed in lay leadership, independent congregations, and complete separation of church and state. The society, however, unlike many of its predecessors, did not begin as a formal religious organization.

Originally, the Friends were the followers of George Fox, an English lay preacher who, about 1647, began to preach the doctrine of "Christ within"; this concept later developed as the idea of the "inner light." Although Fox did not intend to establish a separate religious body, his followers soon began to group together into the semblance of an organization, calling themselves by such names as Children of Light, Friends of Truth, and, eventually, Society of Friends. In reference to their agitated movements before moments of divine revelation, they were popularly called Quakers. The first complete exposition of the doctrine of "inner light" was written by the Scottish Quaker Robert Barclay in An Apology for the True Christian Divinity, as the Same Is Held Forth and Preached by the People Called in Scorn Quakers (1678), considered the greatest Quaker theological work. The Friends were persecuted from the time of their inception as a group. They interpreted the words of Christ in the Scriptures literally, particularly, "Do not swear at all" (Matthew 5:34), and "Do not resist one who is evil" (Matthew 5:39).

They refused, therefore, to take oaths; they preached against war, even to resist attack; and they often found it necessary to oppose the authority of church or state. Because they rejected any organized church, they would not pay tithes to the Church of England. Moreover, they met publicly for worship, a contravention of the Conventicle Act of 1664, which forbade meetings for worship other than that of the Church of England. Nevertheless, thousands of people, some on the continent of Europe and in America as well as in the British Isles, were attracted by teachings of the Friends. Friends began to immigrate to the American colonies in the 1660s. They settled particularly in New Jersey, where they purchased land in 1675, and in the Pennsylvania colony, which was granted to William Penn in 1681. By 1684, approximately 7000 Friends had settled in Pennsylvania. By the early 18th century, Quaker meetings were being held in every colony except Connecticut and South Carolina. The Quakers were at first continuously persecuted, especially in Massachusetts, but not in Rhode Island, which had been founded in a spirit of religious toleration.

Later, they became prominent in colonial life, particularly in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. During the 18th century the American Friends were pioneers in social reform; they were friends of the Native Americans, and as early as 1688 some protested officially against slavery in the colonies. By 1787 no member of the society was a slave owner. Many of the Quakers who had immigrated to southern colonies joined the westward migrations into the Northwest Territory because they would not live in a slave-owning society. During the 19th century differences of opinion arose among the Friends over doctrine. About 1827, the American Quaker minister Elias Hicks became involved in a schism by questioning the authenticity and divine authority of the Bible and the historical Christ; many Friends seceded with Hicks and were known as Hicksites. This schism alarmed the rest of the society, who became known as Orthodox Friends, and a countermovement was begun to relax the formality and discipline of the society, with a view to making Quakerism more evangelical.

The evangelical movement, led by the British Quaker philanthropist Joseph John Gurney, aroused considerable opposition, particularly in the U.S., and another schism resulted among the Orthodox Friends. A new sect, the orthodox conservative Friends, called Wilburites after their leader John Wilbur, was founded to emphasize the strict Quakerism of the 17th century. It is very small today. The general result of these modifications, both those dealing with doctrine and those pertaining to the relations of Quakers to the world in general, was a new spirit among all the Friends. Most abandoned their strange dress and speech and their hostility to such worldly pursuits as the arts and literature. Numerically, the Friends have always been a relatively small group. In the early 1980s world membership totaled about 200,000, distributed in about 30 countries. The greatest number of Friends is in the U.S., where, according to the latest available statistics, the society had about 1100 congregations with about 117,000 members.

The Yearly Meetings in Africa, with about 39,000 members, and in Great Britain and Ireland, with about 21,000 members, are the next largest groups. Other groups are located in Central America, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The Friends World Committee for Consultation is the international organization of the society. Contributed by: Edwin B. Bronner "Friends, Society of," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation. You are the [an error occurred while processing this directive] visitor to this page since 4-19-97 The Quakers - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Because the Protestant reformers of the sixteenth century attempted to eliminate intermediaries between God and people, the Society of Friends, or Quakers, may be regarded as the fullest expression of the Reformation. Most reformers rejected some sacraments and priestly offices of the Roman Catholic church, but the Quakers omitted them all, including baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and any ordained, paid clergy.

Quakers instead relied upon the direction of what they called “Christ within” or the Inner Light. Their worship consisted of waiting in silence until the Inner Light led members to share their religious concerns with the brethren. To most Protestants, this primary reliance on inward inspiration depreciated the authority of the Bible, the centrality of the historical Jesus and the Atonement, and hierarchy within church, state, and family. The earliest Quakers (in England, 1651-1660) seemed to confirm the worst suspicions of their critics by proselytizing with abandon and adding thousands to their numbers. Then and later, they were persecuted as “ranters” or anarchists. Even within the Society of Friends the significance of the Atonement and the Bible remained an unsettling question, causing schisms, especially in the nineteenth century. But Quakers enjoyed a complementary freedom from biblicism that permitted the Society uniquely to innovate and change radically over the centuries. Quaker abolitionism was one such innovation. The missionary efforts of the earliest Friends, including founder George Fox, took them to North America where, as in England, they were persecuted. Massachusetts Bay Colony executed four.

Quaker colonization of America, however, offered the prospect of a refuge and more. In contrast to other radical offspring of the Reformation, such as the Amish, Quakers believed that government was divinely instituted and virtuous men and women must help make it operate as God intended. No Quaker did more to enlist his brethren into public service than William Penn. In Pennsylvania , a responsive government of virtuous men would encourage peace, justice, charity, spiritual equality, and liberty for the benefit not just of Quakers but also of Native Americans and non-English refugees from Europe. It was to be a “Holy Experiment” and, in its way, as much a “City on a Hill” as New England. Although the reality fell short of Penn’s utopian hopes, it still succeeded mightily in the opinion of immigrants and posterity. Ambition, envy, and avarice produced thirty years of tumultuous politics in the new province and left Penn convinced that his experiment had failed. But at the same time, Pennsylvania gained a reputation as the “best poor man’s country,” free of feudal elites, established churches, tithes, discriminatory oaths, high taxes, compulsory military service, and war.

While Pennsylvania prospered, Quakers prospered more than others. They always composed the majority of the elite merchants of colonial Philadelphia as well as the most prosperous farmers of the eastern counties. Although at odds with each other politically, Quakers nevertheless dominated the government of Pennsylvania. By 1740 Quaker politicians had become sufficiently anxious about their ever-declining proportion of the population and their more aggressive political enemies that they closed ranks and formed possibly the most formidable Whig political organization in colonial America, the Quaker party. Ironically, political hegemony and social and economic preeminence raised dissenting voices among Friends, and in the 1750s they determined to reverse the direction the Society had taken since 1682. They believed that Quaker participation in government had brought with it intolerable compromises in such Quaker beliefs as pacifism and that many Friends, especially wealthy ones, had assimilated “worldly” secular behavior. After another generation there would be nothing left of Quakerism but the name, lamented one dissenter.

To restore the integrity of the Society, reformers insisted on strict enforcement of all its mores, especially endogamy, and in the violence brought to Pennsylvania by the French and Indian War , they demanded that Quakers resign from public office rather than become bellicose. On the social front they moved quickly against deviancy, expelling more than one in five Friends by 1775, but not until the more intense public crisis of the Revolution did all Friends leave public office and the Holy Experiment completely end. This sectarian revival in the Society brought with it an outburst of philanthropy and testimonies that have become synonymous with Quakerism. From 1755 to 1776, the Society became the first organization in history to ban slaveholding, and Quakers created abolition societies to promote emancipation. In the next century, Quakers populated the abolitionist movement in numbers far exceeding their proportion of all Americans. Some labored for such gradual solutions as the colonization of freedmen, while more conspicuous Quaker abolitionists espoused immediate emancipation.

The latter were critically important to organizations like the American Anti-Slavery Society, the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, and the Female Antislavery Society, and to active resistance such as the “underground railway” in Pennsylvania and the Midwest. Following the example of eighteenth-century abolitionist Anthony Benezet, Friends showed an interest in the education and social progress of blacks. During Reconstruction , American and English Quakers raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for freedmen’s relief and established scores of schools for freedmen. Penn’s legendary friendship with Native Americans partly underlay Quakers’ renewed pacifism during the French and Indian War and their concurrent departure from government. Thereafter they continued to pursue justice and charity for Native Americans and in the post-Civil War era lobbied and cooperated with the federal government in the administration of Indian affairs in the trans- Mississippi West. Women Friends shared in all these testimonies and philanthropies. Since the 1650s when Margaret Fell invaluably aided George Fox, whom she later married, women’s role and status in the Society of Friends more closely approached equality with men’s than in any other Christian church.

Preaching and ministering to mixed audiences, traveling extensively unaccompanied by men, regulating the lives of fellow Quaker women without men’s assistance (such as in church discipline and marriage arrangements), Quaker women knew a sphere of activity and attained a range of skills that surpassed those of their non-Quaker cohorts. Not surprisingly, historian Mary Maples Dunn found that in nineteenth-century America Quaker women comprised 40 percent of female abolitionists, 19 percent of feminists born before 1830, and 15 percent of suffragists born before 1830. Although Quakers never returned to public office in any great number after 1776, they never retreated from politics. They believed that out of office, immune to the verdict of the ballot box, they could serve as democracy’s conscience better than ever before. Although a more regimented Society emerged from the eighteenth-century reformation, the Society almost never disciplined a Friend over theology. That tolerance ended in the nineteenth century, however. In 1827 the venerable Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends split into an evangelical group (called the “orthodox”) and a liberal group (called “Hicksite”).

In succeeding years, divisions increased, spreading to other areas and yearly meetings of America and also subdividing already fractured meetings. Anxiety over Unitarian theology, languishing membership, industrialization, and the disciplinary powers of meetings, among other things, contributed to the splits. Quaker energies and voices, which had been better focused since the 1750s, became dissipated in intramural recriminations. Quakers continued to practice antislavery, pacifism, and their traditional philanthropies, but not as one body. Twentieth-century Quakerism has been surprisingly diverse. In the northeastern United States silent worship and quietism often prevailed, whereas in the Midwest and beyond (where two-thirds of Quakers lived) evangelical Friends were most common and resembled typical Protestants. The philanthropic spirit flourished and appeared especially in the American Friends Service Committee, which was created to support wartime pacifists in 1917 but became a world-renowned agency for relief and development. In the mid-twentieth century, Friends moved toward more cooperation and reunion. Hugh Barbour and J. William Frost, The Quakers (1988). Tags What are the Quakers also known as? A.

the Order of Hopeful Ones B. the Society of Friends C. the Inner Light Keepers D. the Spirit Farmers You have new items in your feed. Click to view. Question and answer What are the Quakers also known as? A. the Order of Hopeful Ones B. the Society of Friends C. the Inner Light Keepers D. the Spirit Farmers B. the Society of Friends Get an answer What are the Quakers also known as? A. the Order of Hopeful Ones B. the Society of Friends C. the Inner Light Keepers D. the Spirit Farmers Original conversation User: What are the Quakers also known as? A. the Order of Hopeful Ones B. the Society of Friends C. the Inner Light Keepers D. the Spirit Farmers Weegy: B. the Society of Friends justpretty |Points 1258| User: Which nationalities vied for control of Delaware? A. the Dutch, the English, and the Swedish B. the French, the English, and the Spanish C. the Flemish, the French, and the Icelandic D. the English, the Flemish, and the Dutch Weegy: B.

the French, the English, and the Spanish wiwit |Points 554| User: Which of the following did Maryland and Virginia have in common? A. They both began as proprietary colonies. B. They both became royal colonies. C. They were both religious havens for Catholics. D. The colonists in both grew tobacco. Weegy: D. The colonists in both grew tobacco. Expert answered| hernandezv86 |Points 76| User: By the time East and West Jersey were joined as one, what were the two dominant religions of the region? A. Quakers and Catholics B. Puritans and Protestants C. Quakers and Protestants D. Catholics and Protestants Weegy: A. Quakers and Catholics Expert answered| hernandezv86 |Points 76| Famous Friends (Famous Quakers) First U.S.

Federal Congress (1789-1791): - Philemon Dickinson - New Jersey Politicals and Leadership: - William Penn - founder of Pennsylvania - Herbert Hoover - 31st president of the United States - Richard Nixon - 37st president of the United States - Daniel Boone - frontiersman and early organizer of Kentucky - Joseph Pease - In 1832 he became the first Quaker member of British Parliament - John Bright (1811-1889) - British politician and orator; founder of the Anti-Corn Law League (1839) - Philip Noel-Baker - British politician; helped create League of Nations and United Nations; received Nobel Peace Prize in 1959 - Rush Holt - New Jersey Congressman (Dem., 1998-?) - Paul H. Douglas - U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1949-67 - Charles F. Brannan - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture 1948-53 - Noah H. Swayne - Noah Haynes Swayne was a U.S. Supreme Court justice (1862-1881) - William H.

"Bud" Walker - apple farmer; ran for U.S. House of Representatives from New York - Kenneth T. Bosley - farmer, rocket engineer; ran for U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland - Jean Parvin Bordewich - technical writer; ran for U.S. House of Representatives from New York - David Levering - professor; Democratic candidate for U.S. House from California's 28th District in 1996 Early American Patriots: - Betsy Ross - sewed the first American flag - Thomas Paine - author and American revolutionary (raised as a Quaker) - Dolley Madison - First Lady, wife of President James Madison Religious Leaders: - George Fox - Founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) - John Wollman - 1700s Quaker preacher in America who convinced Quakers to become abolitionists - John Wimber - Former Quaker who became the second leader of the Vineyard Movement and the Vineyard Churches religious body - Kersey Graves - skeptic, atheist, spiritualist, theological reformist, and writer (lapsed) - Daisy Douglas Barr - Quaker pastor; influential Ku Klux Klan leader Activism: - Susan B.

Anthony - woman's suffragist (lapsed) - Lucretia Mott - abolitionist/anti-slavery activist; advocate of women's rights, school and prison reform, temperance, peace, and religious tolerance - Jane Adams - author and activist in urban social conditions in the late 19th century - Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) - Elizabeth Gurney Fry was a major British prison reformer - Mary Calderone - pioneered sex education in schools; was director of Planned Parenthood (national abortion chain) - Seok-heon Ham - Ham Seok-heon was a 20th century Korean activist for human rights in Asia - Bayard Rustin - pacifist and civil rights leader of the 1960s - Benjamin Lundy - slavery abolitionist; began publishing Genius of Universal Emancipation in 1821; later founded the National Enquirer - Emily Greene Balch - peace activist; received Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 (formerly Unitarian, converted to Quaker) - Julian Bond - legislator, civil rights activist - John Woolman (1720-1772) - American abolitionist/anti-slavery activist; author of Some

 Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes; A Plea for the Poor and the influential posthomously published The Journal of John Woolman Film and Television: - James Dean - American actor; pop icon - Jack Larson - actor best known for playing Superman's pal "Jimmy Olsen" in the 1950s Adventures of Superman TV series - Judi Dench - British actress (Academy Award for Shakespeare in Love; nominations for Iris; Chocolat; Mrs.

Brown); "M" in James Bond movies since 1995 - Ben Kingsley - actor, received Best Actor Academy Award for Gandhi (1982) - Paul Eddington (1927-1995) - British film and television actor ("The Good Life", "Yes, Prime Minister", etc.) - Don Porter - actor; starred as "Prof. Russell Lawrence" on "Gidget" TV series (1965-1966); films include "The Candidate" (1972), "Mame" Music: - Bonnie Raitt - popular singer, guitarist, songwriter - blues, rock, etc. (raised as a Quaker) - Joan Baez - singer and activist (lapsed) - David Byrne - singer, composer - Annie Oakley - entertainer in Wild West shows - Chuck Knipp - comedian known for "Shirley Q. Liquor" - John Raitt - Broadway star; father of Bonnie Raitt - Edward R.

Murrow - famous news broadcaster Literature: - James Fennimore Cooper - writer famous for adventure stories in early America - Walt Whitman - American poet (Leaves of Grass, etc.), humanist - James Michener - novelist (lapsed) - Charles Brockden Brown - first professional American novelist - Olaf Stapledon - influential early science fiction writer and philosopher; author of First and Last Man - Gael Baudino - fantasy novelist (series include: Dragonsword; Strands of Starlight; Water!) - John Greenleaf Whittier - poet, abolitionist, know as "the Quaker Poet" - Christopher Morley - author - Jorge Luis Borges - poet, essayist - Jessamyn West - novelist; Friendly Persuasion, etc. - A. S.

Byatt - novelist, won Booker Prize for Possession (1990) - Margaret Drabble - novelist - Piers Anthony - best-selling fantasy author (raised in a devout Quaker family, but is not an official church member) Art: - Benjamin West - (1738-1820) American historical painter who worked in England; known for portraits and scenes - Cassius Coolidge - painter known for his paintings of dogs playing poker - Edward Hicks - famous folk/primitive painter Military: - Nathanael Greene - Revolutionary war general, 2nd only to George Washington in importance - Edwin Stanton - Secretary of War under presidents Lincoln and Johnson - Smedley Butler - military general nicknamed "the fighting Quaker"; a Major General in the U.S. Marine Corps; most decorated marine in U.S. history at the time of his death; author of famous anti-war tract War Is a Racket (1935); exposed fascist coup plot against Pres.

Roosevelt Science and Invention: - John Dalton - scientist; distinguished between elements and compounds - Arthur Eddington - astrophysicist; Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington confirmed Einstein's theory that light travels in a curved path around the sun - Maria Mitchell - discovered a comet; professor of astronomy (lapsed) - Joseph Lister, Sr.

- co-inventor of the compound microscope (lapsed) - Joseph Lister - discovered antiseptics - Thomas Hodgkins - co-inventor of the compound microscope - Thomas Young - first to perform a double slit experiment and to show that light acts as a wave - Jocelyn Bell Burnell - astronomer, discovered pulsars (neutron stars) - George Birbeck - doctor and academic in late 1700s-early 1800s England - Elizabeth Blackwell - early female doctor and champion of women's education - James Logan - invented Conestoga wagon; one of the first men of science in the American colonies; experimented on corn; mayor of Philadelphia; Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Supreme Court; Acting Governor Business: BBC - Religions - Christianity: Quakers Among key Quaker beliefs are: God is love the light of God is in every single person a person who lets their life be guided by that light will achieve a full relationship with God everyone can have a direct, personal relationship with God without involving a priest or minister redemption and the Kingdom of Heaven are to be experienced now, in this world Quakers want to make this a better world Quakers work actively to make this a better world.

They are particularly concerned with: human rights, based on their belief in equality of all human beings social justice Holy Books Quakers do not regard any book as being the actual 'word of God'. Most Quakers regard the Bible as a very great inspirational book but they don't see it as the only one, and so they read other books that can guide their lives. Holy Days Quakers do not celebrate Christian festivals such as Easter and Christmas . Worship Quaker communal worship consists of silent waiting, with participants contributing as the spirit moves them. Are Quakers Christian? Although outsiders usually regard the movement as a Christian denomination, not all Quakers see themselves as Christians; some regard themselves as members of a universal religion that (for historical reasons) has many Christian elements. Tolerance is part of the Quaker approach to life, so Quakers are willing to learn from all other faiths and churches. Where the names come from One story says that the founder, George Fox, once told a magistrate to tremble (quake) at the name of God and the name 'Quakers' stuck. Other people suggest that the name derives from the physical shaking that sometimes went with Quaker religious experiences.

The name 'Friends' comes from Jesus' remark "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14). Beliefs Quaker ideas and beliefs Beliefs are not just safe ledges in an uncertain reality, but rather handholds from which further heights can be reached. Eleven Quaker Scientists, 1989 Religion is living with God. There is no other kind of religion. Living with a Book, living with or by a Rule, being awfully high-principled are not in themselves religion, although many people think they are and that that is all there is to it. Bernard Canter 1962 There is no creed or formal set of beliefs that you have to hold to be a Quaker. This is because: Quakers think that adopting a creed is taking on belief at second hand - they think that faith should be more personal than that and based on a person's inner conviction and on taking part in a shared search for the truth with other Quakers. Quakers believe that faith is something that is always developing and not something frozen at a particular moment in history that can be captured in a fixed code of belief.

But it is possible to list many ideas and beliefs that are generally accepted by Quakers. Distinguishing Quaker ideas Quakers believe that there is a direct relationship between God and each believer, every human being contains something of God - this is often called "the light of God". So: Quakers regard all human beings as equal and equally worthy of respect Quakers accept that all human beings contain goodness and truth Quakers do not accept value judgements based on race or gender Quakers welcome diversity A written list of beliefs is considered inappropriate. Quakers feel people should follow their 'inner light' rather than external rules. They believe that God grows and changes with his creation and believe that God continues to tell human beings what they should do. They don't believe in sacraments (either as realities or symbols) or formal liturgies or ceremonies and also refuse to take oaths. Quakers don't believe in a clergy, they feel that all believers can minister to one another. They emphasise the importance leading your own life well as an example to others (what a person does can be much clearer than what they say). They also practice worship in silence. They are actively involved in social and political issues and believe in pacifism and non-violence.

Beliefs Each person has an inner light (part of God's spirit) inside them - so there is a unity between all human beings Spiritual truth can only be known through direct revelation from God God continues to "talk" to people today Conscience gives a guide to conduct The Bible is not regarded as the only guide for conduct and belief Doubt and questioning are valuable tools for spiritual growth All human beings can have a direct experience of God - they don't need priests to help them There is good and evil inside all human beings, and all human beings can choose between them - everyone has the power to choose good over evil if they really want to Christ's life demonstrates the full truth of God Quakers do not agree on what happens after death. Some believe in an afterlife, some don't Customs Quakers do not follow a creed, they acknowledge that words are not up to the job of precisely defining belief for a whole group of people. They believe that individuals should take personal responsibility for their understanding of faith rather than just buying a package and that each individual should try to develop themselves spiritually. Quakers do not separate religious life and secular life and feel that all life should be 'lived in the spirit'.

They also feel that religious belief must influence a believer's actions and everything that happens in life can inspire religious insights. Quakers do not have elaborate religious ceremonies and rituals. They regard these as unnecessary; they sometimes call them empty forms. They do not have clergy. Quakers believe that political and other action to improve this world is vitally important. Quakers and sacraments Quakers neither practise baptism nor celebrate the Eucharist . They don't regard some activities as more sacred than others, nor do they believe that any particular ritual is needed to get in touch with God, so they do not believe in the sacraments practised in mainstream Christian churches. Instead of using 'holy' rituals, Quakers attempt to carry the sacred into every part of their lives. So, for example, they say that baptism should not be "a single act of initiation but a continuing growth in the Holy Spirit and a commitment which must be continually renewed." Life and death Quakers have no collective view on what happens after death. They tend to concentrate on making this world better rather than pondering what happens after leaving it. Quakers and theology In the early days Quakers were suspicious of theology...

and many Quakers are still not keen on it, believing that experience is a better teacher. Reasons for disliking theology include: Theology distracts people from looking for the 'inner light' and responding to it Theological ideas come from the teachings of churches that had distorted the original Christian teachings Theological teachings are used to control people Theology uses such difficult language that it hides God's truth from ordinary people Theological debate may give people a false idea of their own religious abilities; it would be better to spend time believing and living a good life Worship Quaker worship Worship is our response to an awareness of God. We can worship alone, but when we join with others in expectant waiting we may discover a deeper sense of God's presence. Advice and Queries True silence ... is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. William Penn, 1699 A Quaker service is not a time of individual meditation, although the description above may make it sound like that. It is important that the waiting in silence and the listening are done as a group.

The people taking part are trying to become something more than just a collection of individuals; they want to become aware of being part of a 'we', rather than just a solitary 'I'. Pastoral or programmed worship Some Quakers have adopted many of the practices of mainstream churches, and have pastors and use hymns in their worship. Their services are usually like Methodist or Baptist services. There is a Quaker hymn book, called Worship in Song, A Quaker Hymnal. Holy days Holy days Quakers do not celebrate Christian festivals such as Easter and Christmas (although Quaker families may mark Christmas as the secular festival it has largely become). They believe the events celebrated at such festivals (e.g. the resurrection and the incarnation) should be kept in mind throughout the year. Although Quaker meetings for worship generally take place on a Sunday, this is purely for convenience and not because Sunday is the Sabbath or a particularly holy day. Ethics Quaker ethics Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts. Trust them as the leadings of God whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life.

Advices and Queries Personal integrity Quakers try to live up to high standards of honesty, as set out in this series of questions: Are you honest and truthful in all you say and do? Do you maintain strict integrity in business transactions and in your dealings with individuals and organisations? Do you use money and information entrusted to you with discretion and responsibility? Advices and Queries Work and business Quakers avoid working for companies that manufacture weapons or other harmful products (nor will they invest in such companies). They prefer to choose work that has positive benefits for the community. They maintain strict integrity in business transactions and in workplace dealings with individuals. Gender issues Quakers have always treated men and women as equals, and were pioneers in the movement for female equality. Animal rights Quakers oppose blood sports, and do not approve of businesses that exploit animals , such as circuses or zoos, or the fur trade. They object to experiments on animals for trivial purposes such as cosmetics, and are divided as to whether animal experimentation should be allowed for medical research. ...as by his breath the flame of life was kindled in all animal and sensitive creatures, to say we love God ... and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature ... was a contradiction in itself.

John Woolman, 1772 Richard J Foster set down some principles that Quakers can follow to live simple lives: Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you Develop a habit of giving things away - de-accumulate Refuse to be propagandised by the custodians of modern gadgetry Learn to enjoy things without owning them Develop a deeper appreciation for the creation Look with a healthy scepticism at all 'buy now, pay later' schemes Obey Jesus' injunction about plain, honest speech Reject anything that will breed the oppression of others Shun whatever would distract you from your main goal Marriage Quaker marriage Quakers strongly believe in the sanctity of marriage but also recognise the value of non-marital relationships and the single life. Their weddings are very informal compared to those from other traditions and there is no priest or minister to lead the couple as they make their vows. When a Quaker couple decide to marry, they make a commitment to each other in the presence of God, their family and friends. Quakers believe that no one but God can join a couple in matrimony. They see marriage as more than a legal contract - it is a religious commitment.

The right joining in marriage is the work of the Lord only, and not the priest's or magistrate's; for it is God's ordinance and not man's...we marry none; it is the Lord's work, and we are but witnesses. George Fox, 1669 The couple promise to be loving companions and take each other as lifelong partners in a spirit of freedom and equality. Quaker weddings Quaker weddings do not have to take place in registered buildings but they must be held indoors. Most couples will book their local Quaker meeting house although some may choose to hold their wedding at home or another alternative venue. A Quaker marriage is a community celebration and not just a ceremony for the couple. Therefore the style of worship at the wedding service must be acceptable to the wider community. The wedding ceremony is usually held within a simple meeting for worship. It has no set order of service or sermon. In most cases, the finer details of the ceremony are decided through discussion with the marriage registering officers and community elders. A couple may decide to include readings and even a hymn. But music is, on the whole, rare. If both parties are Quakers or regularly attend monthly meetings, they may marry in a Quaker marriage ceremony.

Couples who are registered as 'attenders' but not yet members of the Religious Society of Friends would be expected to have attended meetings for a number of months before making an application for marriage. Where one member of the couple is not a Quaker, or divorced , two adult members of the Society must give written permission before the marriage can take place. Marriage preparation The first step in the official process is a meeting for clearness. (Clearness in this context means helping the couple affirm their decision to marry.) The meeting gives them the chance to discuss their relationship with other members of the community. At least six weeks before the wedding date, the couple must make an application to the registering officer of the monthly meeting where the marriage ceremony is due to be held. The monthly meeting must approve the application before the registering officer, who is recognised by law, makes arrangements for the public notices and other legal requirements. The monthly meeting then holds a Meeting for Worship for the Solemnisation of Marriage to confirm that the wedding can go ahead. Quaker marriages can be held at any time of day. Public notice of the wedding is posted on the door of the venue a week before the wedding.

The wedding day Guests are greeted by a door keeper when they arrive for the marriage ceremony. The bride is not usually given away by her father. Neither is it customary to have a best man or bridesmaids. The bride and groom will normally enter the meeting room together with friends and then quietly take their seats. Sometimes they may come in when everyone else is seated. In the past, guests used to stand as the couple entered but these days this rarely happens. The couple will sit next to a table with the Quaker wedding certificate and a pen. Wedding attire Quaker worship and ceremonies are relaxed so the bride, groom and their guests will usually dress smartly but informally. Some brides may choose to wear white but, in most cases, the outfit is kept simple. Guests need to be careful to strike the right balance too. Men, for example, may wear a jacket or tie, but will often dress more informally. Women may choose a skirt or other reasonably smart clothes. The ceremony Like other Quaker meetings, the wedding service is mostly held in silence but anyone who feels moved by the Spirit can speak or pray.

Most ceremonies will follow the basic structure below: A volunteer, usually a Quaker elder, will stand to explain how the service will proceed. After an initial period of silence of about 10 to 15 minutes, the couple will rise and exchange their vows. The vows are handed down from the Quaker tradition and can be modified. Holding hands, the couple take it in turns to make declarations based on the following: "Friends, I take this my friend...to be my wife/husband, promising divine assistance to be unto her/him a loving and faithful husband/wife so long as we both on earth shall live." It does not matter which order the bride and groom speak. The Registering Officer calls upon the couple to sign the Quaker Marriage Certificate which records their vows. Two witnesses also sign. The Registering Officer reads the certificate aloud. There is a further period of silence. The meeting is terminated by two elders who shake hands, inviting the rest of the congregation to do the same. Members of the congregation sign the Quaker Marriage Certificate as a witness to both their presence and support for the marriage.

The certificate, in the form of a scroll or a book, has no legal standing but it reminds the couple of their friends' happiness and hopes for the success of their marriage. After the meeting the couple and the two witnesses sign the civil register. Rings are often exchanged at this point. Divorce and remarriage Divorced people may be allowed to remarry at the discretion of the members of the monthly meeting. Quakers believe that those who are divorced need to be given the chance of a new start. Blessings for same-sex couples The Quakers have welcomed same-sex unions for more than two decades, allowing local groups to celebrate same-sex commitments through special acts of worship. In July 2009, at the Britain Yearly Meeting, Quakers agreed to carry out same-sex marriages on the same basis as marriages for opposite-sex couples. ...22 years after the prospect was first raised at Meeting for Sufferings we are being led to treat same sex committed relationships in the same way as opposite sex marriages, reaffirming our central insight that marriage is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses. The question of legal recognition by the state is secondary.

Minute 25, Britain Yearly Meeting 31 July 2009 They will also formally ask the government to change the law to allow gay people to marry. Funerals Quaker funerals A Quaker funeral has two particular aims: to thank God for the life that has been lived, and to help the mourners feel a deep sense of God's presence. Because they are thankful for having known the dead person, Quaker mourners tend not to wear black. The funeral can follow the normal silent pattern of Quaker worship, or it can include programmed elements. At a meeting following the silent pattern the contributions are likely to include memories as well as prayers or readings. A senior person will normally begin the meeting with a brief explanation of Quaker worship if there are many non-Quakers present. In addition to the funeral there can be a "meeting for worship on the occasion of the death of our Friend". Quakers can be buried or cremated. Structure and clergy Structure of the Quaker movement The Quakers are organised through a series of meetings. While there are actual meetings the word is used here to refer to the groups of people who meet to look after particular functions. The meetings are named after the frequency with which a group meets.

The structure is organised at local level (Preparative Meetings), smaller and larger district levels (Monthly and General Meetings) and national level (Yearly Meeting). Most local Quaker communities hold monthly business meetings. The Britain Yearly Meeting is the body that represents the interests of the thirty thousand Quakers in the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain. There is no organisation that has worldwide authority over the movement. Meetings for business Individual Quaker Meetings carry out matters of business and administration at "Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business". The whole of such a meeting, even the most nit-pickingly detailed section, is regarded as worship. These meetings begin with silence. When the Clerk judges the time is right, he or she summarises the agenda before the meeting, provides any necessary background information, and lays the first item before the meeting. People stand up to show they wish to speak, and are called by the Clerk. The traditional formula for raising an issue is to begin "I have a Concern..." When everything is said the meeting agrees a 'minute' (a paragraph or two) setting out the decision. The decision is not based on a majority or a consensus, but on the "sense of the meeting".

Once a minute has been drafted and read out members can suggest modifications. Meetings try not to take decisions by a majority vote, or even by reaching a consensus; they wait until "the right way will open and we shall be led into unity." The Clerk records the decisions and helps those taking part discern the will of God in the meeting, but he/she does not chair or lead the meeting. Clergy Our own experience leads us to affirm that the church can be so ordered that the guidance of the Holy Spirit can be known and followed without the need for a separated clergy. London Yearly Meeting, 1986 Quakers don't have any clergy. Some members may be appointed as elders because a meeting recognises that they have the ability to serve in a particular way. Appointment as an elder doesn't mean that the person is in any way superior to anyone else. Such appointments are for three years and can be renewed. Quakers Beliefs and Worship Practices as a Religion By Jack Zavada Updated October 05, 2016. Quakers , or the Religious Society of Friends, hold beliefs that range from very liberal to conservative, depending on the branch of the religion.

Some Quaker services consist of silent meditation only, while others resemble Protestant services. Quakers Beliefs Baptism - Most Quakers believe that how a person lives their life is a sacrament, and that formal observances are not necessary. Quakers hold that baptism is an inward, not outward, act. Bible - Quakers' beliefs stress individual revelation, but the Bible is truth. All personal light must be held up to the Bible for confirmation. The Holy Spirit , who inspired the Bible, does not contradict Himself. Communion - Spiritual communion with God, experienced during silent meditation, is one of the common Quakers beliefs. Creed - Quakers do not have a written creed . Instead, they hold to personal testimonies professing peace, integrity , humility, and community. Equality - From its beginning , the Religious Society of Friends taught equality of all persons, including women. Some conservative meetings are divided over the issue of homosexuality . Heaven, Hell - Quakers believe that God's kingdom is now, and consider heaven and hell issues for individual interpretation. Liberal Quakers hold that the question of the afterlife is a matter of speculation.

Jesus Christ - While Quakers beliefs say that God is revealed in Jesus Christ , most Friends are more concerned with emulating Jesus' life and obeying his commands than with the theology of salvation . Sin - Unlike other Christian denominations , Quakers believe that humans are inherently good. Sin exists, but even the fallen are children of God, Who works to kindle the Light within them. Trinity - Friends believe in God the Father , Jesus Christ the Son , and the Holy Spirit , although belief in the roles each Person plays vary widely among Quakers. Practices of Quakers Sacraments - Quakers do not practice a ritual baptism but believe that life, when lived in the example of Jesus Christ, is a sacrament. Similarly, to the Quaker, silent meditation, seeking revelation directly from God, is their form of communion. Quaker Worship Services Friends meetings may differ considerably, based on whether the individual group is liberal or conservative. Basically, two types of meetings exist. Unprogrammed meetings consist of silent meditation, with expectant waiting upon the Holy Spirit. Individuals may speak if they feel led. This type of meditation is one variety of mysticism.

Programmed, or pastoral meetings, can be much like an evangelical Protestant worship service , with prayer, readings from the Bible, hymns, music, and a sermon. Some branches of Quakerism have pastors, others do not. Quakers often sit in a circle or square, so people can see and be aware of each other, but no single person is raised in status above the others. Early Quakers called their buildings steeple-houses or meeting houses, not churches. Some Friends describe their faith as an "Alternative Christianity," which relies heavily on personal communion and revelation from God rather than adherence to a creed and doctrinal beliefs . To learn more about Quakers beliefs, visit the official Religious Society of Friends Website. (Sources: Quaker.org, fum.org, quakerinfo.org, ReligiousTolerance.org, and Religions of America, edited by Leo Rosten.) Society of Friends - RationalWiki Society of Friends Christ died so that we may write articles about v - t - e The Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers, is nominally a Christian group, though not all Quakers see themselves as Christians. There are roughly a quarter of a million Quakers worldwide.

[1] The Society of Friends was founded in England in 1648 as a breakaway from Puritanism . Pacifism is one of their major tenets and they have consistently opposed war. Their prayer meetings involve sitting quietly. Quakers believe that all people are created equal in the eyes of God . They were some of the first to value women as important ministers and to campaign for women's rights; they became leaders in the anti- slavery movement, and were among the first to pioneer for humane treatment of prisoners and individuals with mental disorders. Contents [ edit ] Quietism The essence of Quaker spirituality, as seen in the history of the movement, is a form of Christian mysticism known as quietism, understood as 'the direct experience of God culminating in divine union.' The Quaker innovation is to undergo this "direct experience of God" in a group setting, which answers the Roman Catholic objections to quietism as undermining Church discipline and unity. Quietism was a target of the Roman Inquisition well into the 1700's. [ edit ] Persecution The Society was banned from Massachusetts for many years - Mary Dyer was hanged for going back there to preach her beliefs.

This banishment eventually led to the founding of Pennsylvania as a safe home for them. Quakers were not allowed to sit in the British parliament from 1698 to 1833. Many Quakers have been imprisoned for being conscientious objectors in wartime. A famous trial involved the prosecution of William Penn in England in 1670 for preaching a Quaker sermon, which was illegal at the time. The jury found him not guilty; the judge then imprisoned the jury and informed them they would remain in jail until they changed their verdict. The jury refused to change their verdict, and fighting their own case from jail, won their freedom using a writ of habeas corpus (a legal procedure seeking injunction against unlawful imprisonment first recorded in England in 1305). This case is often considered a precedent setting case affirming the use of habeas corpus as well as establishing that jurors cannot be prosecuted for their decisions in cases where jury nullification occurs or is perceived to have occurred. William Penn would later go on to be granted a charter for a new colony, Pennsylvania, and to found the city of Philadelphia .

[ edit ] The Klan In the 1920s, many southern Indiana Quakers joined the Ku Klux Klan , e.g. Quaker minister Daisy Douglas Barr[ wp ]. [2] [3] [ edit ] Honours The Society was collectively awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947. The Quaker and prison reformer Elizabeth Fry was until recently (2016) pictured on the Bank of England five pound note. Captain Ahab, ambulatory-challenged sportsman. Edward R. Murrow, chain-smoking anchorman who fought McCarthyism. Herbert Hoover , 31st President of the United States (1929-33). Thanks to his belief in progressivism he made sure to give huge income tax increases for everyone (for the poor-from 1.5% to 4%, for millionaires-38% to 63%), taking a corporatist approach to the Great Depression by telling employers to Keep Wages High. He also signed... Anyone? Anyone? -- the Republican -backed Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which only helped sink the economy even faster. Well, he was an engineer, not an economist.

Also refused to engage in Gunboat Diplomacy . A. Mitchell Palmer[ wp ], Attorney General who hired J. Edgar Hoover . His famous Palmer Raids[ wp ] earned him the moniker, "the Fighting Quaker". Richard Milhous Nixon , one and a half-term President of the United States (1969-74), eminent proponent of carpet bombing, was a member of The "Friends Church" (or in specific East Whittier Friends Church), not the Religious Society of Friends - a spinoff sect of Quakers that parted ways in the early 19th Century with the Society of Friends and has more in common with Evangelical Christians . Lyndon LaRouche , bowtie-wearing fanatic (1922-not dead yet) who fancies himself a genius in pretty much everything. Lyndon and his father were both "disowned" by the Society of Friends in Lynn, MA after they accused the sect of closet Bolshevism . He has a pretty long history of brownshirt tactics, directing his members to go smash heads and threaten other physical violence if he doesn't like someone. Imagine if Richard Nixon had even less shame and L.

Ron Hubbard had less scruples and human decency, and these men fused together like Goku and Vegeta. The being they would create would be named Lyndon LaRouche and he would have a repugnance level of over one million. Priscilla Hiss, wife of Soviet spy Alger Hiss . When fellow Quaker Richard Nixon swore her in during the highly publicized Hiss Trials, he asked her to solemnly affirm to tell the truth (Quakers can't swear, they can only affirm) highlighting for the world and the jury how a good Quaker girl became a godless communist, and earning for Nixon the undying derision of the liberal media. Eric Baker , co-founder of Amnesty International (1920-1976). Probably more typical Quaker than the above. [4] William Penn, founder of the state of Pennsylvania (1644-1718), egalitarian and democrat, received the state of Pennsylvania from King Charles II as a way of paying off royal debts. Incidentally the debts were to his father and the state is named after his father, whose given name also was William and who was emphatically not a Quaker.

Robert Lawrence Smith, author of "A Quaker Book of Wisdom," one of the most well-known books on Quakerism for non-Quakers, and former headmaster of Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC (the school which numerous children of US Presidents attended, as well as the high school from which Bill Nye graduated). What are the Quakers also known as? A. the Order of Hopeful Ones B. the Society of Friends C. the Inner Light Keepers D. the Spirit Farmers You have new items in your feed. Click to view. Question and answer What are the Quakers also known as? A. the Order of Hopeful Ones B. the Society of Friends C. the Inner Light Keepers D. the Spirit Farmers B. the Society of Friends Expert answered| justpretty |Points 914| What are the Quakers also known as? A. the Order of Hopeful Ones B. the Society of Friends C. the Inner Light Keepers D. the Spirit Farmers New answers There are no new answers. Comments Log in or sign up first. Questions asked by the same visitor Weegy: B.

the French, the English, and the Spanish (More) Question Asked 6/21/2012 7:13:40 AM 0 Answers/Comments Weegy: A. People of many different religions come together to form a new much larger religion. [ [ .Religious pluralism is an expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways: ] ] (More) Question Asked 6/21/2012 7:16:19 AM 0 Answers/Comments Weegy: The Quakers are also known as The Society of Friends. (More) Question

Question: Quakers are also known by what name?
Answer: Society of Friends