How do quakers get their name

Quaker communal worship consists of silent waiting, with participants contributing as the spirit moves them. 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. 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 Beliefs are not just safe ledges in an uncertain reality, but rather handholds from which further heights can be reached.

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. 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. 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".

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.

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 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. 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.

In the early days Quakers were suspicious of theology 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. In a Quaker meeting for worship a group of people sits in a room in silence for an hour.

From time to time someone may speak briefly, but sometimes the entire hour may pass without a word being spoken. Quaker worship is very different to the worship of most Christian churches in that it doesn't follow a set liturgy or code of rules - a service has no structure, and no one leads it.

Quakers do without a liturgy because they believe that worship happens when two or three people come together to worship - nothing more is needed. This belief comes from Jesus' statement that "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" Matthew Quaker meetings for worship take place in meeting houses , not churches.

These are simple buildings or rooms. They usually sit facing each other in a square or a circle. This helps them to be aware that they are a group together for worship, and puts everybody in a place of equal status. Everyone waits in shared silence until someone is moved by the Spirit i. A person will only speak if they are convinced that they have something that must be shared, and it is rare for a person to speak more than once. The words spoken are usually brief and may include readings from the Bible or other books , praying, or speaking from personal experience.

Each speaking is followed by a period of silence. Quakers believe that God speaks through the contributions made at the meeting. Some people say that there is often a feeling that a divine presence has settled over the group.

The words should come from the soul - from the inner light - rather than the mind. Quakers know that even if the words they feel moved to speak have no particular meaning for themselves, they may carry a message from God to other people. There may be no outward response to the contribution from other people, but if there is it will be something that builds positively on the previous contribution. Discussion and argument are not part of the meeting. If pressed to say what they are actually doing in a meeting for worship, many Quakers would probably say that they are waiting - waiting in their utmost hearts for the touch of something beyond their everyday selves.

Some would call it 'listening to the quiet voice of God' - without trying to define the word. Others would use more abstract terms: just 'listening' though no voice is heard , or 'looking inward' though no visions are seen , or 'pure attention' though nothing specific is attended to.

The word 'inward' tends to recur as one gropes for explanations. The silence in a meeting for worship isn't something that happens between the actual worship - the silence itself is part of the worship; it provides a space for people to separate themselves from the pressures and events of daily life and to get closer to God and each other.

The people who are present try to create an internal silence - a silence inside their head. They do this by stopping everyday thoughts and anxieties. Quakers believe that if they wait silently for God in this way there will be times when God will speak directly to them. 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'.

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. Like many Christian groups, Quakers never intended to form a new denomination.

Their founder, George Fox, was trying to take belief and believers back to the original and pure form of Christianity. Fox was born in July in Leicestershire, England, and died in , by which time his movement had 50, followers. As Fox grew up he was puzzled by the inconsistency between what Christians said they believed and the way they behaved. He became a religious activist at the age of 19, and was imprisoned eight times for preaching views that annoyed the religious and political establishment of his time.

Fox got into political trouble because of his idea that there was something "of God in every person". This was a revolutionary attack on all discrimination by social class, wealth, race and gender and it had worrying implications for the social structure of his time.

The political establishment did not take this lying down. Quaker refusal to take oaths and to take off their hats before a magistrate, and their insistence on holding banned religious meetings in public, led to 6, Quakers being imprisoned between and Fox's aim was to inspire people to hear and obey the voice of God and become a community "renewed up again in God's image" by living the principles of their faith.

Fox believed that everyone should try to encounter God directly and to experience the Kingdom of Heaven as a present, living reality. He objected to the hierarchical structure and the rituals of the churches of his time, and rejected the idea that the Bible was always right. But Fox went even further.

He argued that God himself did not want churches. Churches were either unnecessary to get to God, or an obstruction Fox often referred to churches unkindly as "steeple-houses". Since believers should have a direct relationship with God, no one priests, for example and nothing like sacraments should come in between. Not surprisingly, these views infuriated the mainstream churches, and Quakers were persecuted in Britain on a large scale until Quaker missionaries arrived in the USA in They were persecuted at first, and four were executed.

However the movement appealed to many Americans, and it grew in strength, most famously in Pennsylvania which was founded in by William Penn as a community based on the principles of pacifism and religious tolerance. The origins of Christian abolitionism can be traced to the late 17th Century and the Quakers.

Several of their founders, including George Fox and Benjamin Lay, encouraged fellow congregants to stop owning slaves. Fox spent much of the s behind bars, and by the s thousands of Quakers across the British Isles had suffered decades of whippings, torture and imprisonment. Quaker missionaries arrived in North America in the mids.

The first was Elizabeth Harris, who visited Virginia and Maryland. By the early s, more than 50 other Quakers had followed Harris. However, as they moved throughout the colonies, they continued to face persecution in certain places, particularly in Puritan-dominated Massachusetts , where several Quakers - later known as the Boston Martyrs - were executed during the s and s. Penn, who had been jailed multiple times for his Quaker beliefs, went on to found Pennsylvania as a sanctuary for religious freedom and tolerance.

Relations between the two groups weren't always friendly, however, as many Quakers insisted upon Native American assimilation into Western culture. Quakers were also early abolitionists. In , Quakers in Philadelphia were ordered to stop buying and selling slaves. By the s, all Quakers were barred from owning slaves.

To date, two U. Other famous people who were raised as Quakers or participated in the religion include author James Michener ; philanthropist Johns Hopkins; actors Judi Dench and James Dean ; musicians Bonnie Raitt and Joan Baez ; and John Cadbury, founder of the chocolate business bearing his name.

Today, there are more than , Quakers around the world, by some estimates, with the highest percentage in Africa. Many, but not all, Quakers consider themselves Christians. Most Quakers have abandoned the plain style of clothing they once wore, unlike the Amish , with whom Quakers are sometimes confused.

The Amish, who live separate from society and reject modern technology, are a Christian denomination whose origins date back to 16th century Switzerland. The Shakers are another religious group with whom the Friends are sometimes mistaken for. The Shakers, who were pacifists like the Quakers and Amish, came to America lived in communal settlements and were celibate. Children and other new members joined by adoption or conversion. The Shaker sect has almost died out.

But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Anne Hutchinson was an influential Puritan spiritual leader in colonial Massachusetts who challenged the male-dominated religious authorities of the time. Through the popularity of her preaching, Hutchinson defied the gender roles in positions of power and gathered Today, there are more than , Quakers throughout the world, by some measures, with the largest percentage in Africa.

There are two distinct categories of Quaker worship. Many, but not all, Quakers regard themselves Christians. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, famous for his good relations and prosperous negotiations with the Lenape Native Americans.

Under his administration, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed. Other notable Quakers include author James Michener, philanthropist Johns Hopkins and John Cadbury, founder of the chocolate company having his name. History of Quakerism History. This article is part of our Denomination Series listing historical facts and theological information about different factions within and from the Christian religion. We provide these articles to help you understand the distinctions between denominations including origin, leadership, doctrine, and beliefs.

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