About Quakers
About Quakers
The Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, was founded by George Fox in England in the second half of the 17th century, during the aftermath of the English Civil War; a time when many people were interested in radically reshaping religion, politics and society. Quakers rejected elaborate religious ceremonies, didn’t have official clergy and believed in spiritual equality for men and women.
Quaker missionaries first arrived in America in the mid-1650s. Quakers, who practice pacifism, played a key role in both the slavery abolitionist and women’s rights movements.
Quakerism Today
Today, there are more than 300,000 Quakers around the world, by some estimates, with the highest percentage in Africa.
There are different branches of Quakerism; some have “programmed” worship services that are led by pastors, while others practice “unprogrammed” worship, which is done in silence (those who are inspired can speak) without the guidance of a pastor.
Unprogrammed Friends refer to their congregations as “meetings,” while programmed Quakers use the term meeting as well as “church” to refer to their congregations.