Quakers - The Religious Society Of Friends

table of contents

Introduction - a brief overview.

About the Quakers - Faith and Structure

George Fox - the founding of the Society of friends

William Penn - the founding of Pennsylvania

American history - a short overview from 1607 to the civil war
Colonisation
Independence
Slavery and civil war

War and Peace - Quakers engagement over the last centuries

American Friends Service Committee

Concluding Remark - why is it important to have Quakers in America?

Bibliography

Introduction - a brief overview

The Religious Society of Friends, also called Quakers, is a christian-based religious movement which emerged from the puritanism ¹. It is widespread in the english speaking regions of the world like England or America, but also in Africa and sporadicaly in Europe.

The Quakers were founded in the 17th Century by the english craftsman George Fox and were established in particular by William Penn in America.

While they refuse dogmas, creeds and other sacraments, the Quakers try to actually live after their principles. The strictly pacifistic followers believe that 'a part of God' is alive in every human being. Guided by this 'inner light' they were soon known for their social commitment, such as the abolition of slavery or their social help after the world wars when they provided food for the concerned children.

About the Quakers - Faith and Structure

The Quakers' community consists of people from many various backgrounds and beliefs, who found together in sharing their understatemend of God. They believe that in every single person there is a part of² God, which is why Quakers have great respect for dignity and tolerance.

From their point of view, the only way to experience God is through oneselfs feelings and consciousness.

In their prayers the Quakers want to open up themselves to the presence of God. There usualy is no preacher or leader. Everyone of the community can be a part of the religious experience, by silence or, if someone wants to, by speaking to the others. Because some followers are physically shaking before (they believe to have) a divine revelation, they were soon called 'Quakers'. Though it was meant to be a mockery, the Society of friends adopted the name.

The church as an institution or Sacraments like the baptism or the Last Supper are refused by the Quakers, because they fear to connect their religious beliefs to some ritual, which could be performed without an inner meaning³. Instead they try to live their beliefs by practical action, which is why they were soon known for their social engagement. In other words, the Quakers consider life itself as a sacrament and try to be lead by religious perceptions.

They take the gospels literally, especially the Sermon of the mount. This is why they refuse to swear an oath or to defend themselves. Actually being a member of the Societey of friends means to be absolutely pacifistic⁴. Of course this resulted in preaching against the war, even in case of a threat.

Some major structural aspects of this religion can be found in other groups like the Collegiates in Holland or the Seekers in England, for example going for the seperation between state and church. Since the Quakers refused the church as an institution, they did not pay their taxes, and had independent meetings, which was forbidden at that time.

The members of the Society had some customs which appeared strange to outsiders, like a certain way of talking, standarized clothing or the ban on art, dance or hunt. That was because of their belief that every human is equal, and that a life should not be lived self-indulgent. In the 19th century there occured some discrepancies about the Quakers content of teaching which led into some basic reforms. After that most followers dressed themselves less strict and began to look into art and literature.

While Puritans had a pessimistic view of humans of other beliefs⁵, Quakers liked to see the world and the people in it in a more optimistic way.

Because of their respect and dignity for other people, regardless of their pilosophy, the Quakers were brought in a bad reputation. In the eyes of many people in the colonies of New England, Quakers were not patriotic enough.

George Fox (1624-1691) - the founding of the Society of friends ⁶

Fox was born in 1624 in England. His parents were religious puritans. The ways of many believers seemed canting to him; confused and disappointed of the religion and the church, he decided to take a journey through England, in order to make up his mind. Several years George Fox searched for the one and true religion. In solitude he found his answer: the one and only experience of God is to be found in oneself. This is what he calls 'the inner light'.

Though Fox did not intend to found a new religious sect in this time, he began to gather people around him which shared his beliefs. The group first called itself 'Children of the light', then 'Friends of the truth' and finally since 1652 'Society of friends'.

Soon after its founding members of the Society of friends were prosecuted by the english state. This was because of the Quakers consistent principles, for example their refusal of the church, as well as they refused war or an oath. This made the state distrustful, and the Quakers were considered to be political revolutionists. Many were prosecuted and fined, some were even put into prison.

In the year 1649, George Fox was arrested and spent the following six years in prison. Even in law the prosecution of Quakers was defined, until 1687. In this year Jakob II. put an end to these laws, and in 1689, the Quakers were granted religious freedom. Fox spent the last years of his life in London.

William Penn(1644-1718)- the founding of Pennsylvania

William Penn was born as a son of a rich and influential⁷ admiral in England. He became one of the most well known and most respectable spokesmen of the Society of friends. Because of his religion William Penn was repudiated by his father, and like many other Quakers he was arrested several times. However, Williams father used his political influence to enact the release of his son. Despite the restricted religious liberty in England William continued his engagement as a Quaker and preached religious tolerance and political liberalism.

In 1670, he developed an idea for a new colony in north america. In september of the same year Williams father died. Eleven years later, in 1681, King Charles II. payed off a debt to William Penn, in form of a huge region in the north american wilderness. Along with it he made Penn the gouvernor of this area, which he named Pennsylvania. It consisted of todays states Pennsylvania and Delaware. In the same year Penn founded the capital city Philadelphia, which means 'city of brotherly love'.

He recruited many immigrants in Europe, of which many have been religious dissenters like Quakers, Amish or Baptists, to move to his new colony⁸. In 1684, more than 7,000 Quakers lived in Pennsylvania. Penn developed a government which was based on brotherliness and personal freedom for the settlers and the native indians. He called it the 'holy experiment'. This liberal system was ahead of the times. For example Penn provided public, practical education to all children. Compared to other cities Philadelphia had a surprisingly little crime rate. The guarantee of religious tolerance and the freedom of conscience attracted other dissenting groups such as the Moravians or Mennonites to Pennsylvania. In this time Penn's colony was the only place under British rule where Catholics could legally worship in public.

In 1693, Penn wrote a plan for the 'Present and Future Peace of Europe', which included settling disputes between nations by arbitration instead of war. This plan is actually one sort of a prototype of the United Nations.

Penn spent the rest of life representing, campaigning and defending his holy experiment in England. Pennsylvania persisted as an independent state of Quakers for 70 years and then was included in the northamerican union. By 1765 Philadelphia had become the largest city in the thirteen colonies. In the end of the 18th century it had over 30,000 inhabitants.

In 1984 William Penn and his second wife Hanna Callowhill Penn were declared to be honorary citizens by US President Ronald Reagan.

American history - a short overview from 1607 to the civil war

Colonisation

The first english settlement in America was founded in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. In 1620 the pilgrims of the Mayflower reached the land and established the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts.

Most immigrants left their homes for policital or religious reasons, or simply for the new possibilities in the new land. Many settlers came from England, but there were also many from other european countries. Most of them could not afford the travel, which is why some had to come as indentured servants. This means they had to work of the costs of their journey in the colonies.

The first african slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619. Originally they were meant to be indentured servants as well, which could gain their freedom, but Slavery was officially granted in 1650. The southern colonies, for example Virginia and Maryland, had a great political influence because of their profitable land and their intense use of slaves.

The last of the thirteen colonies, Georgia, was founded in 1732.

Within the years the colonies had more and more self-determination, and the center of the british colonial government moved to the major cities of the colonies.

Independence

In 1763, England declared some new financial policies. Until 1767 several acts became effective, for example the Currency Act which prohibited the colonies to fabricate their own money, or the Sugar Act which declared a tax on sugar. The originally self-confident colonists demanded more independence and began to passively oppose to the tax policy of England. They argumented that only their own colonial gatherings could declare such taxes on them. The conflict escalated, and England regarded the settlers as revolutionists.

The war of independence¹⁰ began on April 19th in the year of 1775. The congress of Philadelphia declared the independence of the english colonies on the 4th July 1776. This date is considered to be the day of the founding of the United States of America, and is today a national holiday for Americans.

In 1777 France accepted England's former colonies independence, and in 1780 they became allies. Two years later, after seven years of fighting, the war of independence was over when both sides signed the Treaty of Paris, a temporary declaration of peace. In September 1783, the thirteen former english colonies were accepted as independent free states of America.

Slavery and civil war

The constitution of the union was developped in 1787; two years later, after George Washington was elected to be the first president of the US, it became effective. The Bill of Rights¹¹, which guaranteed freedom of press, gathering and religion and granted the invulnerability of every person and its posessions, was added in 1791.

In the following years, slavery became more popular because of new inventions in the processing of cotton. In reaction the congress prohibited the import of slaves in 1808. But still, new economic factors, like sucar cane or tobacco, made the use of slaves popular again. The land became divided into two states: those which allowed slavery and into those, which did not.

After Abraham Lincoln (who actually did not want to fight slavery, but only stop it from spreading) became president of the United States in 1860, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina left the union and declared themselves to be an independent nation, the confederate states of america. Jefferson Davis was chosen to be the president of the confederates. The war began in 1861 and lastet until 1865, after wich the slaves in the southern states were freed.

Still, the discrepancies between north and south remained, and were even increased in social and economic aspects. On december 18th in 1865 black people were granted freedom by the law. On that day slavery finally came to an end in the united states. From 1865 to 1877, the southern states were included into the union again. However, segregation remained a problem, especially in the south.

War and Peace - Quakers engagement over the last centuries

One of the major efforts of american Quakers was their engagement for enslaved people. In this context it is often talked about the 'Underground Railroad' or 'Underground Railway'¹².

The Underground Railroad¹² was no real railroad, but some sort of network or organisation to help and free African American slaves and fugitives. Especially before and during the Civil War thousands of slaves could be freed and brought to Canada. No one knows exactly when it started, but there where some cases of help given to runaways in the beginning of the 17th century. About 200 years later there were organized actions of helping the slaves to escape. Much of this early support was provided by Quaker activists. While nobody really knows how many people could be brought to freedom, it is quite possible to be about one hundred thousand individuals.

From the beginning total pacifism was one of the most important ascpects of Quakers religion. Followers were even not allowed to pay the taxes which would be used for military purposes. This resictance, of course, brought them many times into serious trouble with the authorities.

Another important aspect of Quakers engagement was their tremendous respect for every human being- such as the natives. While most of the other colonists betrayed and fought the indians, the early settlers around William Penn tried to treat them with respect and dignity. Still, their efforts to stop the banishment of the indians were unsuccessful, as can be seen today.

When the civil war began, many Quakers were confronted with basic moral questions¹³, because freeing the slaves was considered to be one of the major goals of the northern states military. Of course most Quakers stood up to their principles, and refused to fight. But still, the congregations tried to show sympathy for the objectives of the war. Furthermore they supported those who denied to fight. In this case, those members of the Society of friends who went to war, were treatened forgivingly.

Actually, after the civil war Quaker's entire policy against physical violence was slowed down, since the followers, who did not obey that rule, would not be punished. From that time on, until the first World War, Quakers changed their viewpoint about taking influence in politics. For example they started demonstrating against the activation politics of the USA in the years before World War I. Along they propagated peaceful solutions in conflicts between different nations.

Escpecially the Quaker's feminist movement was enganged in this issue, which is another important aspect of the Quaker's social work. In 1848 Quakers were the major supporters of the women's right movement.

American Friends Service Committee

In April 1917, when the USA engaged¹⁴ World War I, north-american Quakers founded the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an organized group for the practical expression of their faith. In America, the organisation represented and supported the deniers of war, while in Europe, they tried to provide help for the affected people and to rebuild destroyed buildings.

Originally the founders of the AFSC believed it could provide the Committe's members an escape from the conscription, but when Quakers were called up too, they had to think of another way to stand up to their beliefs. In the end, the AFSC managed to offer the deniers an opportunity of social work instead of doing military service. This work was basically about reconstruction in the affected countries of Europe. It was already in autumn of 1917 when the first group of volunteers was sent to France, in order to help harvesting. Furthermore AFSC members gave support in rebuilding destroyed houses and equipping medical institutions.

When the war was over, the Committee expanded its engagement; for example in Germany the Quakers provided food for over a million children, and between 1920 and 1925 they helped victims of famine and disease in the Soviet Union. Through all this time the Quakers tried to improve reconciliation in order to avoid future conflicts and promote peace in the world.

Of course, when Hitler came to power in Germany, the AFSC helped the refugees to escape. After World War II, the Committee worked so hard in reconstruction and preaching peace in Europe that they received the Nobel Peace Price in 1947.

Through the 20th century Quakers have been showing social engagement in the entire world, whererever humans of all religions and of every philosophy needed help. Today the AFSC organises help programs and projects to improve social and economical development, and stands up for social justice and peace in 22 countries and 43 locations in the USA. Over the years the AFSC has worked with and is supported by many people of many races, religions and cultures.

Another small, but nevertheless important aspect of Quakers work on human rights is their engagement and support for the gay community. For this purpose there was a internal group founded that calls itself 'Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns' (FLGBTQC)¹⁵, which supports those who are repudiated because of their sexuality.

Concluding Remark

why is it important to have Quakers in America?

In order to discuss the importance of Quakers, we might try to seperate the term 'Quakers' into 'social activists' and religious believers'.

There surely is no doubt about the tremendous achievements of Quakers social work over the last centuries. Their engagement, their passion for helping people in time of need is unexampled. Therefore it is easy to say that Quakers, as social activists, are extremely important; not only for America, but worldwide.

But still, there are many who might judge differently if it comes to Quakers faith, their society as a religious sect. Most people in this world do not share their beliefs, their understatement of God as a divine spirit in each human being. Most of the common religions, for example Christianity or the Islam, are working with sacraments and a fairly close structure. This is why Quakers might be misjudged by many other religions, because they refuse these elements. For Quakers being religious means being humanistic. And this is why it is impossible to split up the term 'Quakers' into several layers. Being a Quaker is not about belief or faith- it is about doing, about what what can be achieved with this belief.

The question remains: how important are Quakers, both social activists and religious believers, for America and for the world? If we think about the historical development of the United States, about its puritan origins or the many different cultures and groupings that immigrated in the first two centuries after its founding, then it is reasonable to have a closer look on Pennsylvania. There something happenend what puritans, in some way, always had intentend when they came to New England: a city was founded, a city upon a hill. A shining example for a new order. Of course, Philadelphia, a Quaker city, is far away from puritan beliefs. But if we consider what really happened there, the basic intentions of William Penns 'holy experiment', then it seems almost disappointing to see how many cultural and religious disagreements can be seen today in the United States: a place, where men and women of every religion and every philosophy would live together, peacefull and respecting their neighours beliefs, no matter how much the many faiths differ, where people would respect the natives and treat them with the same dignity as they do with each other. That is what was made Philadelphia so special.

Penn called it an experiment. And in the end, it seems that this is what it was: only an experiment, a bright, but futile example for the rest of America. There are so many cultural discrepances in the United States of today that it is easy to imagine how untended the Quakers really are. So should all american people have become Quakers then? Certainly not, because it is not about being a Quaker, but rather being social oriented, public spirited, concerning and helping each other. It is about the virtual example that Quakers have given, something that can hardly be found in Americas culture of today.

But it would be wrong to suggest that Quakers efforts of that time were nothing but a failed experiment. Philadelphia demonstrated how good people with differing beliefs could actually live together, considering the many religious groups, like Amish, Moravians or Mennonites, who dissented there in the 17th century. It is hard to believe that all of this has been without effect; maybe Quakers legacy is much viewable as it might seem at first glance. Without Philadelphia, America would probaply not have become a land of such cultural richness and religious diversity. Perhaps Quakers influence on the history and culture of the United States can be found, if we look more carefully. Perhaps Penns experiment was not a failure after all.

Bibliography:

Middeke, Ulrich: Lehre und Praxis der Quäker: ausgewählte Fragen in ökumenischer Absicht. in: Religion und Kultur 4. Altenberge 1989.

Princiss, Gerald M.: The faithful friends. Oxford 1975.

Wood, Duncan : Die Leute - die man Quäker nennt. rev. ed. from 1983. Bad Pyrmont 1990.

Davies, Adrian: The Quakers in English society, 1655 - 1725. in: Oxford historical monographs. Oxford 2000.

Gaustad, Edwin Scott: A religious history of America. rev. ed. 3. San Francisco 1991.

Carter, John D. (signed by): Die Quäker und der Krieg : zwei Erklärungen. Leipzig.

Ebbinghaus, Hans: Das Verhältnis von innerem Licht und Heiliger Schrift bei George Fox, dargestellt auf Grund seiner Autobiographie : ein Beitrag zur Geistesgeschichte des Quäkertums. Emsdetten 1934.

Bronner, Edwin B.: William Penn's "holy experiment" : the founding of Pennsylvania ; 1681 - 1701. New York 1962.

online resources:

All internet sources have been used and checked on July 3rd 2004. It is quite possible that its contents may differ within time, as the authors continually improve and edit their websites.

American Friends Service Committee

http://www.afsc.org

Religiöse Gesellschaft der Freunde, (Quäker), Deutsche Jahresversammlungen e.V

(Religious Societey of friends, german annual assembly)

http://www.quaeker.org

The Religious Society of Friends

http://www.quaker.org

Quäker-Hilfe e.V (Quaker Help)

http://www.quaekerhilfe.de

Society of Friends - Quakers

http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/quakers.htm

American History from 1000 - 2004

http://www.students.uni-marburg.de/~Reis2/usa/geschichte.htm

Geschichte der USA - History of the United States

http://www.usa-westen.info/geschichte.htm

illoyal - Journal für Antimilitarismus - journal for antimilitarism

http://www.illoyal.kampagne.de/nr05/seite7.html

The Bill of Rights (1796)

http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/bill/text.html

George Fox - An Autobiography

http://www.strecorsoc.org/gfox/title.html

American history

http://www.usahistory.info/

Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns)

http://flgbtqc.quaker.org/whatis.html

Bill of Rights (1796)

http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/bill/text.html

online encyclopedia

http://www.wissen.de

http://www.net-lexikon.de

http://de.wikipedia.org

oecumenic encyclopedia of saints

http://www.heiligenlexikon.de

online dictionary

http://dict.leo.org

[...]

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¹: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritanismus http://www.net-lexikon.de/Puritanismus.html

²: http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/quakers.htm

³: http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/index.htm?BiographienG/George_Fox.html

⁴: http://www.illoyal.kampagne.de/nr05/seite7.html

⁵: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritanismus http://www.net-lexikon.de/Puritanismus.html

⁶: http://www.strecorsoc.org/gfox/title.html

⁷: http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/quakers.htm http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienW/William_Penn.html

⁸: http://www.usa-westen.info/geschichte.htm#Kolonialzeit

⁹: http://www.usa-westen.info/geschichte.htm http://www.students.uni-marburg.de/~Reis2/usa/geschichte.htm

¹⁰: http://www.usahistory.info

¹¹: http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/bill/text.html

¹²: http://www.students.uni-marburg.de/~Reis2/usa/geschichte.htm

¹³: http://www.illoyal.kampagne.de/nr05/seite7.html

¹⁴: http://www.afsc.org

¹⁵: http://flgbtqc.quaker.org/whatis.html