Christian Denominations and Sects Commons^™

Work In Progress: Inwardness And Outwardness: Quietism And Evangelicalism In The Life Of Mary Birkett Card, 1774-1817, Josephine Teakle

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Contemporary Quaker Attitudes To Science And Technology, Jackie Leach Scully

Quaker Studies

I discuss some data on contemporary Quaker attitudes to science, particularly gene technology, gathered from member of Britain Yearly Meeting. Quakers are often perceived as having a relatively positive attitude towards innovation, including technology, and some confirmation of this can be found in Quaker history, until 30 years ago. The observations described in this paper suggest that, in line with the general trend in the west towards a greater skepticism about the benefits of science, the current attitude of British Friends towards the practice of science is a more ambivalent or even negative one, although attitudes towards the scientific/experimental method …

Aspects Of Publishing By The Peace Committee Of The Religious Society Of Friends (London Yearly Meeting), 1888 - 1905, Margaret Mckechnie Glover

Quaker Studies

Although Quakers were active in the British peace movement from the early nineteenth century, it was not until 1888 that the Religious Society of Friends, in Britain, had its own corporate Peace Committee. It was the increasing quantity of printed resource material - petitions, pamphlets, and posters - published by this committee which informed and propagated the peace approach of Friends, locally, nationally and internationally. The Peace Committee used Quaker printing firms and, being part of the Society of Friends, remained financially viable, although under constraints. The years 1888-1905 saw a growth in co-operation between peace organisations, and Peace Committee …

Religious Silence: British Quakerism And British Buddhism Compared, Sandra Bell, Peter Collins

Quaker Studies

In this paper we explore the communicative function of silence among British Quakers and British Theraviida Buddhists. Both examples link silence to stillness with the implication that non-activity is a means of evoking sacred presence. It is proposed that such an evocation is achieved through attaching aesthetic and ethical value to the performance of stillness and silence. Furthermore, we suggest that the identity of each of these religious communities is, in many respects, defined through the emphasis that is placed on the existential and moral significance of silence.

Fager's "Without Apology: The Heroes, The Heritage And The Hope Of Liberal Quakerism" - Book Review, Douglas Gwyn

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Work In Progress: Quakers In The The Carnage Of The First World War: An Individual Story From The Friends' Ambulance Unit, Richard H. Robson

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Research Note: On Quakerism And Christianity, Chuck Fager

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

A Catholic Looks At Quakerism, Michael Mullett

Quaker Studies

In this article Michael Mullet first sketches the well-advertised dissimilarities between Catholicism, the epitome, for many, of 'conservative' Christianity, and Quakerism, which brought to a high point of development the religious radicalism implicit in the Reformation. However, Mullett argues that, underlyingly, relatively superficial dissonances over such issues as church order and (more significantly) sacrament, Tridentine Catholicism and Quakerism shared, in opposition to the Reformation's key principles of justification by faith alone and its corollary predestination, an abiding, soteriological and anthropological acceptance (grounded in the Epistle of James) of the role of free will and of justification and sanctification by works …

'You Have Lost Your Opportunity' British Quakers And The Militant Phase Of The Women's Suffrage Campaign: 1906-1914, Pam Lunn

Quaker Studies

Quakers are widely believed to have been in the forefront of 19th century social change, and in particular to have been in favour of women's equality. Through consideration of individual and corporate public statements by British Friends during the period of militant campaigning for women to have the parliamentary vote, I show that this perception is inaccurate, largely mythic, and based on generalisation from the actions of a small number of individual Friends. I suggest that Friends' reputation for having been corporately progressive on the question of women's equality is undeserved, based on superficial consideration of the use of the …

Offices And Services: Women's Pursuit Of Sexual Equality Within The Society Of Friends, 1873 - 1907, Sandra Stanley Holton, Margaret Allen

Quaker Studies

The presence of Quaker women at the founding of a social movement for women's rights in Britain in the late 1860s has received growing attention from historians in recent years. Yet the links between the religious faith of such Quaker women and their political radicalism has remained largely unexamined. A liberal theology which acknowledged the spiritual equality of women has been assumed to have prompted their involvement in a liberal politics, and more especially in women's rights campaigning. This article argues that the relationship between religious views and political action was more complex in this case. It suggests that the …

An Evaluation Of The Doctrine Of The Inward Light As A Basis For Mission - As Exemplified By Quaker Approaches To Jews And Muslims In The Seventeenth Century, Kathleen Thomas

Quaker Studies

The concept of the Inward Light, variously understood, was the basis for Quaker missionary activity m the seventeenth century. Quakers made attempts to convert Jews and Muslims, both by going out to meet them and by writing tracts and epistles. Considerable use was made of the Hebrew Scriptures and of the Qur'an. The conversionist approach proved unsuccessful, and this led to a change in the Quaker understanding of mission.

Money Matters - The Experience Of English Friends In Stavanger, 1885-1900, David Adshead

Quaker Studies

The economic depression in Norway in the mid- 1880s led to the virtual bankruptcy of two of the key members of the Stavanger Meeting at a time when there was also a crisis of leadership following the death of Endre Dahl for so long the leader of the Quaker group there. A small group of English Friends led by Walter Morris (later, Morice) made an appeal for funds so as to be able to make commercial loans and thus ease the situation for Carl Nyman and Peter Fugilie who had by now made arrangements with their creditors. But just as …

The First George Richardson Lecture, Delivered By Professor Grigor Mcclelland At The University Of Sunderland, October 22, 1996: What Is Quaker Studies?, Grigor Mcclelland

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Freeman's "The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust: A Study In Quaker Philanthropy And Adult Education" - Book Review, Pink Dandelion

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Tonsing's "The Quakers In South Africa: A Social Witness" - Review, Gerard Guiton

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

H. & J. Mellor's "Seekers And Finders: Quakers In High Wycombe 1650-2000: A Brief History", Sheila Wright

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

British Quakers And A New Kind Of End-Time Prophecy, Charles Stroud, Pink Dandelion

Quaker Studies

This research note challenges the accuracy of Dandelion's claim that British Quakerism will survive until 2108 and presents two mathematical calculations of the point when there would be no Quakers left in Britain. It concludes that the 2108 figure may not be so far from the truth although this depends on the date from which decline is charted. The article also raises questions about the date at which a critical minimum might be reached.

'Will The Last (Woman) Friend To Leave Please Ensure That The Light Remains Shining?', Bill Chadkirk

Quaker Studies

This paper analyses trends in membership of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain, the number of members per Meeting and the changes in the gender balance of membership. It identifies polynomial equations to curves that match the data very closely. An accelerating decline in membership commencing in 1990 is identified. Trends are extrapolated to determine an end-point in 2032. The paper makes clear that as this date approaches the relationship between the data and trend is liable to breakdown.

A Case Of Political Philanthropy: The Rowntree Family And The Campaign For Democratic Reform, Jonathan S. Davies, Mark Freeman

Quaker Studies

This article examines the attitude of the Rowntree family - and in particular its three prominent members, Joseph, Arnold and Seebohm Rowntree - to campaigns for democratic and constitutional reform in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It explores their views on women's suffrage, reform of the House of Lords and proportional representation, and their practical involvement in the promotion or otherwise of democracy in their dealings with the press, their model community at New Earswick and in the adult education institutions with which they were associated. The article argues that, in common with many other Quakers, the Rowntrees' …

'Some Account Of The Progress Of The Truth As It Is In Jesus': The White Quakers Of Ireland, James Gregory

Quaker Studies

The White Quakers were a small but vocal sect of schismatic Quakers in Dublin, Waterford, Clonmel and Mountmellick, under the leadership of Joshua Jacob and Abigail Beale, between c. 1840-1854. The history of the sect, its connections with contemporary utopian leaders in England, its contemporary reputation in the Quaker and non-Quaker world, and treatment in historiography are examined. White Quaker ideas on religious authority, gender and marriage, capitalist and commercial activity, are also outlined in the following study.

The 'Desert' Society In Languedoc (1686-1704) As Popular Culture And The Roots Of French Quakerism, Jeanne H. Louis

Quaker Studies

The 'Desert' society in Cevennes, Languedoc, was an offshoot of the persecution of French Protestants by Louis XIV. The clandestine assemblies that met in the ravines gave rise to lay ministry, as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) had forced professional ministers to flee abroad. At first, Predicants replaced ministers, then Prophets and Prophetesses in turn replaced the killed Predicants. The 'Desert' society gave birth to a popular culture. At the end of the seventeenth century, the Protestants' resistance was peaceful, but as persecutions grew, the Camisard war broke out in 1702. But a minority of Prophets refused …

In Search Of A New Jerusalem: A Preliminary Investigation Into The Causes And Impact Of Welsh Quaker Emigration To Pennsylvania, C.1660 - 1750, Richard C. Allen

Quaker Studies

The establishment of the North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History (NAASW CH) in the mid 1990s has informed the work of historians on both sides of the Atlantic, and yet the important early history of Welsh emigration to America and reverse migration has still to be fully addressed. Research on Welsh migratory patterns and the impact of America on Wales in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, notably by Gwyn Alf Williams, Barry Levy, and Bill Jones, has made an important contribution to our understanding of the experiences of Welsh-Americans. However, further research is needed if …

'Ministering Confusion': Rebellious Quaker Women (1650-1660)', Catie Gill

Quaker Studies

This paper assesses the position of women within the Quaker community, concentrating on their ministerial roles. Female prophets and preachers were visible during the first decade of Quakerism, and the early years prove fruitful for exploration of women's experiences. In order to consider the difficulties women faced when taking a public role in support of Quakerism, some context on seventeenth-century attitudes to women will be provided. It will be argued that women had to challenge patriarchal notions that the 'weaker' sex should be silent, passive and obedient. In contrast to prevailing seventeenth-century norms, the potential radicalism of the Quaker approach …

Seventeenth Century Published Quaker Verse, Rosemary Moore

Quaker Studies

Early Quakers disapproved of most aspects of popular culture, and before 1661 they published very little verse. During the 1660s some thirty Quaker authors published verse, addressed both to Quakers and to the public. The impetus behind this surge of verse publication was probably the appearance during 1660 and 1661 of a number of papers by John Perrot, a Quaker preacher who had been arrested in Italy and imprisoned by the Inquisition . His writings, which were brought to England, included a considerable amount of poetry. Perrot was released in 1661 and returned to England, feted by many Quakers as …

Guest Editorial (Quaker Studies Vol. 9, Issue 1), Richard C. Allen

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

David Butler's "The Quaker Meeting Houses Of Britain" - Book Review, Peter J. Collins

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

Glenn Hinson's "Love At The Heart Of Things" - Book Review, Rachel Muers

Quaker Studies

No abstract provided.

The Art Of Joseph Edward Southall, Roger Homan

Quaker Studies

Joseph Southall (1861-1944) was an artist distinguished in his field, a political activist of considerable stamina and a Quaker greatly loved and honoured by some Friends, albeit not by all. His political involvement as chairman of the Independent Labour Party in Birmingham from 1914 to 1931 afforded an opportunity for witness that was in harmony with his religious affiliation. But his profession as an artist was pursued against a climate of ambivalence toward the arts within the Quaker community, which was diminishing in the early twentieth century but had not altogether disappeared. This paper illustrates the traditional disapprobation of the …

A Quaker Inheritance: An Analysis Of Family Values, Religion And The Childhood And Youth Of George Newman (1870-1948), Heather Smith

Quaker Studies

This paper looks at the early life of George Newman, who became an influential figure in the public health movement in England and Wales. It establishes his acceptance and integration within the Quaker community, the adoption of Quaker ideals of mission and service and explores the thinking behind a career choice in public health. Newman was a product of the times in which he lived and it was these unique influences (especially those of individuals) that shaped his understanding and development of services for the education and welfare of school children and the advancement of public health and preventive medicine. …

Elias Hicks And Thomas Shilltoe: Two Paths Diverge, Cynthia E. Kerman

Quaker Studies

Two prominent Quaker ministers, English Thomas Shillitoe and American Elias Hicks, at the end of their long lives of exhortation devoted to the mission of persuading others to follow the will of God, came together on the American continent in 1826-29. They turned out to be key players on opposite sides in the struggle which ended with the splitting of American Friends into two antagonistic groups, the Orthodox and the Hicksite.

Through a close reading of the journals of these two men, supplemented by biographies and other relevant materials, this paper analyzes similarities and differences in their views on humanity …