FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF, the proper designation of a sect of Christians, better known as Quakers. Their founder was George Fox (q.v. for the origin of the name Quakers), born at Drayton, in Leicestershire, in 1624, who at first followed the occupation of a shoemaker, but afterwards devoted himself to the propagation of what he regarded as a more spiritual form of Christianity than prevailed in his day. In spite of severe and cruel persecutions, the society of Friends succeeded in establishing themselves both in England and America. They have, indeed, never been numerically powerful (having at no time exceeded 200,000 members); but the purity of life which from the beginning has so honorably distinguished them as ti class, has unquestionably exercised a salutary influence on the public at large; while in respect to certain great questions affecting the interests of mankind, such as war and slavery, they have, beyond all doubt, origi nated opinions and tendencies which, whether sound or erroneous, are no longer confined to themselves, but have widely leavened the mind of Christendom. For an account of the more eminent representatives of the Friends, see the biographies of BARCLAY, Fox, PENN, etc. We confine ourselves here to a brief notice of their doctrine, practice, and discipline, as it is laid down in their own publications.
1. Doetrine.—It is perhaps more in the spirit than in the letter of their faith that the society of Friends differ from other orthodox Christians. They themselves assert their belief in the great fundamental facts of Christianity, and even in the substantial iden tity of most of the doctrinal opinions which they hold with those of other evangeli cal denominations. The epistle addressed by George Fox and other Friends to the governor of Barbadoes, in 1673, contains a confession of faith not differing materi ally from the so-called Apostles' Creed, except that it is more copiously worded, and dwells with great diffuseness on the internal work of Christ. The Declaration of Christian Doctrine given forth on behalf of the society in 1693, expresses a belief in what is usually termed the Trinity, in 'the atonement made by Christ for sin, in the resurrection from the dead, and in the doctrine of a final and eternalpdgment; and the declaratory minute of the,yearly meeting in 1829 asserts the inspiration and divine authority of the and New .Testament, Oe_depravity of human nature consequent on the fall of Adam, and other characteristic doctrines of Christian orthodoxy, adding: "Our religious society, from its earliest establishment to the present day, has received these most important doctrines of Holy Scripture in their plain and obvious accepta tion." It is nevertheless certain that uniformity of theological opinion cannot be predi cated of the Friends, any more than of other bodies of Christians. As early as 1668, William Penn and George Whitehead held a public discussion with a clergyman of the English church, named Vincent, in which they maintained that the doctrine of a tri• personal God-, as held by that church, was not found in the Scriptures, though in what form they accepted the doctrine themselves does not appear; and some time later, Penn published a work himself, entitled the Sandy Foundation Shaken, in which, among other things, he endeavored to show that the doctrines of vicarious atonement and of imputed righteousness did not rest on any scriptural foundation. But in general, the society of Friends, in the expression of their belief, have avoided the technical phraseology of other Christian churches, restricting themselves with commendable modesty to the words of Scripture itself, as far as that is possible, and avoiding, in particular, the knotty points of Calvinistic divinity (see Barclay's Cakehisni. and Confession of Faith, published in 1673, where the answers to the questions—to avoid theological dogmatism —arc taken from the Bible itself). This habit of allowing to each individual the full freedom of the Scriptures, has, of course, rendered it all the more difficult to ascertain to what extent individual minds, among the society, may have differed in their mode of apprehending and dogmatically explaining the facts of Christianity. Their principal distinguishing doctrine is that of the "light of Christ in man," on which many of their outward peculiarities, as a religious body, are grounded. The doctrine of the internal
light is founded on the view of Christ given by St. John, who, in the first chapter of his gospel, describes Christ—the Eternal Logos—as the "life" and "light of men," "the true light," "the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world," etc. Barclay taught that even the heathen were illumined by this light, though they might not know—as, indeed, those who lived before Christ could not know—the historical Jesus in whom Christians believe. In their case, Christ was the light shining in dark ness, though the darkness comprehended it not. The existence of "natural virtue" (as orthodox theologians term it) among the heathen was denied by Barclay, who regarded all such virtue as Christian in its essence, and as proceeding from the light of Christ shining through the darkness of pagan superstition. These opinions would seem to be somewhat freer than those expressed in the general epistle of the societypublished in 1836, wherein they refuse to acknowledge "any principle of spiritual light, life, or holiness inherent by nature in the mind of man," and again assert, that they "believe in no principle whatsoever of spiritual light, life, or holiness, except the influence of the Holy Spirit of God bestowed on mankind in various measures and degrees through Jesus Christ our Lord;" but, on the other hand, in a little treatise published by the society in 1801, it is affirmed that " the Holy Spirit has always been afforded in various measures to mankind;" while stress is also laid on the statement of St. Paul, that "the grace of God (understood by Friends to signify the ' operation of the Divine Spirit ') that bring eth salvation, bath appeared to all men;" while another exponent of their views, Mr. T. Evans of Philadelphia (see Cyclopadia of Religious Denominations, Lond., Griffin & Co., 1833), states that " God bath granted to all men, of whatsoever nation or country, a day or time of visitation, during which it is possible for them to partake of the benefits of Christ's death, and be saved. For this end, he bath communicated to every man a measure of the light of his own Son, a measure of grace or the Holy Spirit, by which he invites, calls, exhorts, and strives with every man, in order to save him; which light or grace, as it is received, and not resisted, works the salvation of all, even of those who are ignorant of Adam's fall, and of the death and sufferings of Christ; both by bringing them to a sense of their own misery, and to be sharers in the sufferings of Christ inwardly; and by making them partakers of his resurrection, in becoming holy, pure, and righteous, and recovered out of their sins." Hence it may be safely asserted that they hold a broader (or, as others would say, a more latitudinarian) view of the Spirit's working than any other Christian church or society. In America, about the year 1827, Elias Hicks, a Friend of very remarkable powers, created a schism in the society; by the promulgation of opinions denying the miraculous conception, divinity, and atone ment of Christ, and also the authenticity and divine authority of the Holy Scriptures. About one half of the society in America adopted the views of Hicks, and are known as Hicksite Friends; their opinions, of course, are repudiated by the rest of the society, who may be described as Orthodox Friends. The Hicksite schism thoroughly alarmed the latter, both in England and America, and a movement was begun in favor of educa tion, of a doctrinal belief more nearly allied to that of the so-called "Evangelical "party, and of a relaxation in the formality and discipline of the society. The leader of this movement was Joseph John Gurney, of Norwich. This new tendency, however, excited considerable opposition among some of the Friends in America; and the conse quence was a division among the Orthodox Friends themselves, and the formation of a new sect, called "Wilburites," after the name of their founder, John Wilbur, who are noted for the strictness with which they maintain the traditions and peculiarities of the society. (See frioilly Sketches in America, by William Tallack, Lond., Bennett, 1862.) some slight indications of theological differences have manifested themselves in England also.