Quakers in North America
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Quakers (or Friends) are members of a Christian religious movement that started in England as a form of Protestantism in the 17th century, and has spread throughout North America, Central America, Africa, and Australia. Some Quakers originally came to North America to spread their beliefs to the British colonists there, while others came to escape the persecution they experienced in Europe. The first known Quakers in North America arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1656 via Barbados, and were soon joined by other Quaker preachers who converted many colonists to Quakerism. Many Quakers settled in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, due to its policy of religious freedom, as well as the British colony of Pennsylvania which was formed by William Penn in 1681 as a haven for persecuted Quakers.
The arrival of the Quakers
Mary Fisher and Ann Austin are the first known Quakers to set foot in the New World. They traveled from England to Barbados in 1655 and then went on to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to spread the beliefs of the Friends among the colonists.
In
The first Monthly Meeting
Quakers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
The first Friends who settled along the Delaware River were John Fenwick, Edward Wade, John Wade, and Richard Noble. They formed a settlement at Salem, New Jersey, in 1675.
In 1681, King Charles II allowed William Penn, a Quaker, a charter for the area that was to become Pennsylvania. Penn guaranteed the settlers of his colony freedom of religion. He advertised the policy across Europe so that Quakers and other religious dissidents would know that they could live there safely. On November 10, 1681, Robert Wade established the first Monthly Meeting in the colony at his home, which eventually became the Chester Monthly Meeting.
Quakers and abolitionism
Quakers were at the center of the movement to abolish slavery in the early United States; it is no coincidence that Pennsylvania, center of American Quakerism, was the first state to abolish slavery. In the antebellum period, "Quaker meeting houses [in Philadelphia] ...had sheltered abolitionists for generations."[2]: 1
Branches of Quakerism in North America
Quakers in North America are diverse in their beliefs and practices. Friends there have split into various groups because of disagreements throughout the years.
Pastoral Friends emphasize the Bible as a source of inspiration and guidance. They practice programmed (i.e., planned) worship led by ordained clergy. Most pastoral Friends groups are part of the Friends United Meeting. They conduct both service projects and evangelism, and are found primarily in Indiana, North Carolina, Iowa, and Ohio.
Evangelical Friends strongly emphasize the Bible as a source of inspiration and guidance, considering it the ultimate authority for faith and practice. They practice planned worship led by ordained clergy. Their congregations are often called churches instead of meetings, and they are usually part of
Liberal Friends emphasize the
See also
References
- ^ "The Quakers – Facts & Summary". History.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
- ISBN 9780199837601.