How Much Do You Know About The Quakers?

The Old Order Amish are a branch of the Mennonites, and their religion was founded by Menno Simons, a Swiss Anabaptist, in the 1500s, about 100 years before the Quakers. They are also a traditional peace church. However many of their beliefs and practices differ from those of the Quakers.

Actually, William Penn was very embarrassed that the king named the colony after his family. He had already become a Quaker, and it was against Quaker practice to call attention to oneself in this way. But the king had spoken!

George Fox and the early Quakers used the term "Inward Light" to signify God speaking in our hearts. In the 20th century the term evolved into " Inner Light."

Quakers worship "in expectant silence," meaning that they quiet their minds and wait patiently for God to speak to them in their hearts. Those so moved may rise during meeting for worship and offer a spiritual message.

The name was inspired by the words of Jesus recorded in John 15:15, "I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

Up until about the mid-20th century, Quakers used to dress in black or gray. They also avoided the theater and other forms of amusement, which they felt distracted them from the Spirit. However, these practices have been abandoned by most Friends. There are many artists and musicians who are Quakers, notably, acclaimed actress Dame Judi Dench.

Quaker meetings that are part of Friends General Conference (FGC) practice unprogrammed worship and do not have ordained ministers. All members are considered to be ministers and are responsible for nurturing one another spiritually.

The Shakers were also founded in England, but in the 1700s, and their beliefs and practice differ from those of the Quakers. However, like the Quakers, they believed in equal religious roles for men and women.

In his Journal, George Fox recalls the moment when God rescued him from his period of deep, spiritual despondency: "Oh then, I heard a voice which said, 'There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition.' " After that, he began to preach to all who would listen to him the message that "Christ has come to teach His people Himself."

Quakers believe that to swear an oath sets up a double standard of truth. They take literally the command of Jesus: "But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all...Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your no is 'no'." Some but by no means all Quakers are vegetarians. Quakers believe that they have received the baptism of the Spirit but do not practice any baptism ceremony as such. Quaker men and women sit together during meeting for worship.

Quakers do not practice any sacraments.

The Quakers grew out of a small religious group, the Seekers, located in Yorkshire, England.

The Quakers grew out of a small religious group located in Yorkshire, England, in the 1600s, who called themselves the Seekers.

Quakers were thrown into jail in 17th-century England for refusing to pay the tithe in support of the Church of England, which they considered corrupt and false. They contribute to the support of their meetings voluntarily and according to their means.

Quakers believe that no minister or preacher is necessary to come to know God. Quakers gather "in expectant silence" to experience the presence of God. When someone rises at Meeting for Worship and offers a spiritual message it is called "vocal ministry."

George Fox considered all forms of war to be evil, taking inspiration from James 4: 1-2,  "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight."

Quakers call these principles Testimonies.

William Penn was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn, and he spent much time at the royal court in his youth.

Although some Quakers risked their lives to help slaves escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad, nineteenth-century American Quakers were actually very divided on the issue of abolitionism. Many believed in "gradualism," that is, that slavery would be abolished with time. They felt that to be an abolitionist was to become too involved in worldly affairs. Quaker abolitionists like Angelina and Sarah Grimké were reprimanded by their meeting because of their abolitionist work.

William Penn and Lucretia Mott were both Quakers. William Penn was an influential figure in the Quaker movement and founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a haven for religious freedom. Lucretia Mott was a prominent Quaker abolitionist and women's rights activist in the 19th century. Sir Isaac Newton and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were not Quakers. Newton was a renowned physicist and mathematician, while Stanton was a leading figure in the women's suffrage movement.