Quakerism began in England in the 1650s. George Fox, credited as leading the movement, had an experience of 1647 in which he felt he could hear Christ directly and inwardly without the mediation of text or minister. Convinced of the authenticity of this experience and its universal application, Fox preached a spirituality in which potentially all were ministers, all part of a priesthood of believers, a church levelled before the leadership of God. Quakers are a fascinating religious group both in their original 'peculiarity' and in the variety of reinterpretations of the faith since. The way they have interacted with wider society is a basic but often unknown part of British and American history. This handbook charts their history and the history of their expression as a religious community. This volume provides an indispensable reference work for the study of Quakerism. It is global in its perspectives and interdisciplinary in its approach whilst offering the reader a clear narrative through the academic debates. In addition to an in-depth survey of historical readings of Quakerism, the handbook provides a treatment of the group's key theological premises and its links with wider Christian thinking. Quakerism's distinctive ecclesiastical forms and practices are analysed, and its social, economic, political, and ethical outcomes examined. Each of the 37 chapters considers broader religious, social, and cultural contexts and provides suggestions for further reading and the volume concludes with an extensive bibliography to aid further research.
List of Contributors Pink Dandelion and Stephen W. Angell: Introduction I: History of Quakerism 1: Rosemary Moore: Seventeenth Century Context and Quaker Beginnings, 1646-1666 2: Richard C. Allen: Restoration Quakerism, 1666-1691 3: Robynne Rogers Healey: Quietist Quakerism, 1692-ca. 1805 4: Thomas D. Hamm: Hicksite, Orthodox and Evangelical Quakerism, ca. 1805 1887 5: J. William Frost: Modernist and Liberal Quakers, 1887-2010 6: Gregory P. Hinshaw: Five Years Meeting and Friends United Meeting, 1887 2010 7: Arthur O. Roberts: Evangelical Quakers, 1887-2010 8: Lloyd Lee Wilson: Conservative Quakers, 1845-2010 II: Quaker Theology and Spirituality 9: Carole Dale Spencer: Quakers in Theological Context 10: Stephen W. Angell: God, Christ, and the Light 11: Nikki Coffey Tousley: Sin, Convincement, Purity, and Perfection 12: Howard R. Macy: Quakers and Scripture 13: Douglas Gwyn: Quakers, Eschatology and Time 14: Gerard Guiton: The Kingdom of God, Quakers and the Politics of Compassion 15: Mary Van Vleck Garman: Quaker Women s Lives and Spiritualities 16: Michael Birkel: Leadings and Discernment 17: David L. Johns: Worship and Sacraments III: Quaker Witness 18: Michael Phillip Graves: Ministry and Preaching 19: Sylvia Stevens: Travelling Ministry 20: Jacalynn Stuckey Welling: Mission 21: Janet Scott: Quakers, other churches and other faith 22: Emma Lapsansky: Plainness and Simplicity 23: Elizabeth Cazden: Quakers, Antislavery and Race 24: Lonnie Valentine: Quakers, War, and Peacemaking 25: Mike Nellis and Maureen Waugh: Quakers and Penal reform 26: Charles L. Cherry: Quakers and Asylum Reform 27: Elizabeth Ann O Donnell: Quakers and Education 28: Mark Freeman: Quakers, Business and Philanthropy 29: Edwina Newman: Quakers and the Family 30: Petra L. Doan and Elizabeth P. Kamphausen: Quakers and Sexuality 31: Max L. Carter and Simon Best: Quakers, Youth, and Young Adults IV: Quaker Expression 32: Betty Hagglund: Quakers. Print Culture, and Literature 33: Roger Homan: Quakers and Visual Culture 34: Jeffrey Dudiak and Laura Rediehs: Quakers, Philosophy and Truth 35: Geoffrey Cantor: Quakers and Science 36: Jackie Leach Scully: Quakers and Ethics 37: Margery Post Abbott: Global Quakerism and the Future of Friends.
Stephen Angell is Leatherock Professor of Quaker Studies at the Earlham School of Religion. Pink Dandelion is Professor of Quaker Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Reviews for The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies
An indispensable resource for anyone interested in the academic study of Qakerism. Essential. * J. H. Sniegocki, Choice, * [A] landmark achievement in its comprehensiveness and nuance. It demonstrates Quakerism to be a diverse and complex religion that is constantly changing and interacting with external pressures, and it shows Quaker Studies to be a cutting-edge and active field of scholarship. * Quaker Religious Thought *
