British Quakerism, 1860-1920: The Transformation of a Religious Community

Professor Kennedy's book chronicles the metamorphosis of the British Society of Friends from a tiny, self-isolated body of peculiar people into a theologically liberal, spiritually vital association of activists. Defined by a strong social commitment and enduring pacifist ethic British Quakers assumed an importance in society out of all proportion to their minuscule numbers. This transformation was, first and foremost, the product of a spiritual and intellectual struggle among Quaker factions-evangelical, conservative, and liberal-seeking to delineate the future path of their religious Society. Inspired by the leadership of a remarkable band of intellectually acute, theologically progressive, and spiritually committed men and women, London Yearly Meeting was both reformed and revitalised during the so-called Quaker Renaissance. Simultaneously embracing advanced modern ideas and reiterating their attachment to traditional Quaker principles, especially the egalitarian concept of the Inner Light of Christ and a revived peace testimony, liberal Quakers prepared the ground for their Society's dramatic confrontation with the Warrior State after 1914. Official Quaker resistance to the Great War not only fixed the image of the Society of Friends as Britain's most authentic and significant peace church, it also brought a group of talented and determined Quaker women into the front lines of the Society's struggle against war and conscription, a position from which twentieth-century female Friends have never retreated. Quakerism emerged from the war as the religious body least tainted by spiritual compromise. Thus, when British Quakers hosted the first World Conference of All Friends in 1920, they could take satisfaction in their struggle to keep alive the voce of pacifist conscience and express renewed hope in their enduring mission to create the Kingdom of God on earth.

About the Author :
Thomas C. Kennedy is Professor of History, University of Arkansas.

Review :
In less skillful hands much of the description of factional infighting and doctrinal niceties would read only as dull and worthy esoteric detail, for enthusiasts and denominational historians only. But Kennedy's graceful prose, balance, and fair-mindedness elevate the book to a much higher plane, of interest to a far broader band of social, political, and gender historians (his discussion of women in the Quaker Movement is especially fine). Canadian Journal of History ... first-rate, meticulously researched account. Canadian Journal of History This very well-documented study will be essential reading for scholars in future. Albion This book is an important contribution to Quaker history, because of its exhaustive use of original archives and correspondence. Albion Masterful account ... This book is a gift to British Quakers, providing us with an essential tool for undertaking a more informed analysis of how we became the Society we are today ... truly definitive work. The Friend A deeply thoughtful, authoritative portrait of British Friends' gradual, if sometimes exceedingly stormy, passage out of the Evangelical Nonconformist culture of the mid-19th century into a more profound engagement with the modern world. The Friend This is the book that historians of 19th and 20th-century British Quakerism have long desired and required. This superb study of one of the great transition periods in Quaker history will immediately take its rightful place alongside the classic William Braithwaite and Rufus Jones surveys of our past. The Friend Kennedy has forged an impressively coherent argument out of a mass of manuscript and printed sources; and his well-written book fills a major gap in our knowledge of the theological and political debates within late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Quakerism. English Historical Review An essential guide to one of the crucial chapters of modern Quaker history ... No historian of British Quakerism has done more to advance our understanding of this rather neglected period of the Society's past than Thomas Kennedy ... Kennedy's mastery of the literature of the era and his insight into its leading personalities is everywhere evident. With a strong sense of narrative that never overlooks important contradictions or exceptions, Kennedy's magnum opus is not only a major contribution to Quaker historiography but a compelling story of conflict and discovery, of questioning and conviction. Quaker Studies Kennedy's chapters on British Friends and the First World War are superbly crafted. It is unquestionably the finest account to date of that watershed in Quaker history ... His excellent chapter on women in the Society of Friends between 1860 and 1914 will make sobering reading for those Quakers disposed to think that their community has always been on the cutting edge of the struggle for equality between the sexes. Quaker Studies Punctiliously researched. Times Literary Supplement