GEORGE FOX AND THE QUAKERS

   George Fox, who initiated the gathering of the people later called Quakers, was born in Leicestershire (England) in 1624. Fox taught that those who led their lives in strict obedience to God’s will would come to “walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.” No clergyman, no intercessor, no liturgy or ritual was required. The only need was to experience the Divine Presence—nothing else mattered. That Presence became so real to the early Quakers that they marveled that “Christ has come to teach his people himself.” Such revelations led to a belief in a “seed” of the Divine in every human being, usually called by Friends the Inner Light, or the Light of Christ. They also discovered that divine revelation came equally to women, men, and children.

   At first Fox and his followers called themselves Children of Truth, or Children of Light, or sometimes Friends of Truth. Because of persecutions they were often in courts and prisons. Judge Bennett of Derby first dubbed them Quakers in 1650 because in their earnestness they bade him tremble. So they came to be known as Quakers, although they eventually adopted the name Society of Friends, or the Religious Society of Friends. The name “Quaker” first given in derision has become a badge of honor and is used interchangeably with “Friends.”

(Adapted from the “Historical Sketch” section of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice)