History of Quakerism
The history of Quakerism begins in the north-west of England in the mid-17th century, at the time of the republican "Commonwealth" after the English Civil War . The most important founder of Quakerism is George Fox (1624-1691), a craftsman and lay preacher. Together with the Mennonites and the Church of the Brethren , the Quakers are among the three "historic peace churches ". The Religious Society of Friends is a Christian denomination that today has most of its members in Great Britain, North America and Africa.
overview
The history of Quakerism can be roughly divided into the following phases:
- Origins of the Early Friends , 1642–1658 (also called the pre-constitutional period ). In the turmoil of the Civil War and the postwar Commonwealth of Nations there were multitudes of itinerant preachers, all of whom rejected the authority of the Church of England and preached a return to what they saw as the true roots of Christianity. This resulted in religious communities that are still widespread today, such as the Baptists and Quakers, as well as communities that no longer exist, such as Fifth Monarchy Men or Muggletonians . This phase was shaped by antinomist and chiliastic ideas, but this did not set the first Quakers apart from the currents widespread at the time.
- The period of persecution, from 1659 to around 1690 (also known as the first period ), was marked by persecution, but also by strong missionary work , after the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II . In this early phase Quakerism spread to England and the later United States.
- The period of quietism , around 1690 to the second half of the 18th century (also known as the second period ), was characterized by internal retreat, separation, stagnation and paralysis, but also by economic and social advancement.
- The period of resurrection, from the second half of the 18th century until today (also called the third period ), is the one that still shapes the image of the Quakers: the peaceful but radical struggle of many Quakers for justice to women, slaves and prisoners; working for peace and the alleviation of hunger and exploitation.
- The time of splits (from the middle of the 19th century until today) is that of schisms, splits and reunions, caused by various evangelical, conservative and liberal currents in Quakerism.
United Kingdom
The history of the Quakers begins in 17th century England . Originally, they did not see themselves as a religious community and were a loose grouping. The name Quaker (English: to quake "quake, tremble") results from a derogatory designation of their opponents, because the Quakers, when they first appeared, spoke with trembling and delight of the magnitude and brilliance of the divine light that would shower them with. A set of George Fox, the this to have been made before an English court gives the common name Quakers a different origin: "Shiver before the words of the Lord" ( Ps 2,10f LUT ). Initially, the Quakers are only united by their opposition to the established Anglican state church and to the Puritans whom they consider insincere .
One of the spiritual leaders of this opposition movement was George Fox , who was arrested at his first public address in 1649 in a church in Nottingham. Over the course of his life, Fox served a total of eight prison terms, mostly for blasphemy .
Another charismatic figure in the early English Quaker community was James Nayler , who at times competed with George Fox. The highlight and turning point for James Nayler and his supporters was his arrest for blasphemy in Bristol in 1656.
Another central figure in the early missionary work was Margaret Fell (* 1614; † April 23, 1702) as the organizer in the background. The future wife of George Fox (marriage 1669) is also considered to be the actual author of the famous peace certificate , even if she did not sign the declaration herself.
Social and political attitudes towards the Quakers in the 17th century were controversial. In 1651 Oliver Cromwell offered George Fox service in his army with the rank of captain (which he refused), but by the early 1660s the Quaker persecution in England had reached its peak. Hundreds of Quakers have been lynched , ill-treated, imprisoned and dispossessed.
From 1667 to 1669 George Fox established monthly, quarterly, and annual assemblies that continue to shape the structure of Quakers around the world.
Even after the end of the persecution (Act of Tolerance by the English Parliament in 1689), public offices, political mandates and universities remained closed to Quakers for a long time - partly because they refused to take the oath of office . Many of the followers therefore emigrated, especially to North America and the West Indies or to Holland and Friesland.
The fourth well-known personality who shaped Quakerism was the Englishman William Penn . He became governor of Pennsylvania in 1681 and is inextricably linked to American (Quaker) history. Penn was also committed to promoting international understanding in Europe, for example with his visionary Towards the Present and Future Peace of Europe .
After the persecution in England subsided in the early 18th century, Quakers became successful in the economic field. This was not least due to the fact that they enjoyed a good reputation as honest business partners thanks to the “Testimony of Integrity”. Some companies are still active and well known, such as Clarks (shoes), Barclays (bank) and Cadbury Limited (chocolate, groceries; merged in 1969 to become Cadbury Schweppes ).
With the onset of economic success and social integration towards the end of the 17th century, the previously brisk missionary trips and activities ended. Up to the middle of the 18th century there was an (internal) solidification. The charitable image of the Quaker tirelessly struggling for justice did not emerge until the second half of the 18th century, when US Quakers in particular, but also the British, began to be active in the slave issue and to fight for women's rights. In the sometimes fierce arguments, they continued the traditions of the first few years and often skimmed polemics in order to morally embarrass their opponents, only this time they were not fighting for their own lives, but for that of others.
United States
Quakers settled in what is now the United States early on. In some parts of the British colonies in North America, Quakerism was banned by law, such as Boston in 1657 . Quaker Mary Dyer was arrested several times and sentenced to death twice while protesting against the law in Boston. The second time the sentence was carried out; Dyer died on June 1, 1660 on the gallows.
From 1671 onwards William Penn traveled to many European countries and promoted the Quaker colonies in the "New World". The largest wave of immigration to North America began in 1681, when Charles II of England gave the Quakers a large area of land on the then western border of the populated areas and appointed William Penn governor of the area later known as Pennsylvania . The "sacred experiment," as Penn called it, was the only Quaker state ever to exist.
Pennsylvania's constitutional system was way ahead of its time , with its unusually liberal suffrage and full religious freedom for all denominations. Due to the fact that Penn protected the Indians from alcohol and exploitative whites and strictly adhered to the land assignment treaties, Pennsylvania was spared from Indian raids. Penn had intensive contact with the neighboring Indian tribes, such as the Lenni Lenape or the Iroquois , he even spoke their languages. The Philadelphia settlement quickly became the center of the Quaker colony.
Pennsylvania was still under the English crown, which was never questioned by the Quakers. Over time, however, it became apparent that it became a moral ordeal for the Quakers. England expected Pennsylvania to take part in conflicts with its own military force. Instead, the Yearly Meeting of Quakers in England in 1693 decided that paying a war tax would not violate the Quakers' historic peace certificate of 1661, so that the Pennsylvania MPs could decide to give the Queen 2,000 pounds to equip an expedition against the French to grant occupied Canada ( Money for the Queens Use ).
After these payments had been made several times, parts of the Quakers in Pennsylvania took the view that this contradicted the Peace Certificate. As a result, the Quakers gave up their seats in the House of Representatives in 1756, whereby the “holy experiment” had failed after 85 years.
In 1758, the Philadelphia Congregation was the first annual meeting to approve the abolition of slavery in its ranks and punished violations of it with exclusion from the Religious Society of Friends. The pioneering role of the American Quakers in rejecting slavery was also clearly emphasized by prominent contemporaries such as Voltaire .
Germany and Austria
17th to 19th century
Since the middle of the 17th century, there have been smaller Quaker groups that were heavily dependent on traveling English Quakers. In 1657 there were loose groups in Emden , Danzig , Altona , Krefeld , Kriegsheim near Worms and in Friedrichstadt in the Duchy of Schleswig , where a first prayer house was built in 1677. They were founded by the English Quaker missionary William Ames († 1662). The German Quakers first belonged to the Amsterdam annual meeting. In the second half of the 17th century they were persecuted and had to leave Germany. However, in connection with the emerging pietism at the end of the century, a new interest in Quakerism arose. Again, however, writings against the Quakers ( Antiquakeriana ) were also written.
In 1683, 13 families from Krefeld emigrated to America on a ship called Concord and founded the town of Deitscheschteddel , better known as Germantown (now a district of Philadelphia ) in Pennsylvania . They were mainly Quakers and Mennonites, who were attracted to the freedom of expression and religion guaranteed in Pennsylvania by Governor William Penn . They were motivated and guided by Franz Daniel Pastorius .
The situation of the Quakers improved in the 18th century after Prince Friedrich von Waldeck and Pyrmont issued a first act of tolerance in 1791 . In 1792 the Quaker colony in Friedensthal was founded near Pyrmont , and smaller groups in Westphalia (e.g. in Minden ) followed. In 1800 the Quaker house in Pyrmont was built. After the meeting houses in Emden and Friedrichstadt, which have not been preserved, it is the third meeting house of the Quakers in Germany.
In the 19th century, Friedensthal experienced a brief heyday. Goethe , Queen Luise and important Quakers visited the colony - but by 1870 there was a decline due to the obligation to do military service and increased emigration. At the same time, British Quakers began helping war victims in Germany and France, for the first time under the banner of Quaker Aid.
After the First World War
Around 1920, three independent Quaker groups were formed in Germany: in Berlin, Stuttgart and Neu- Sonnefeld . Today's organization emerged from the group in Berlin. The influx of Quakerism at this time was fed by the aid provided by the Quakers and the pacifism of the movement, which arose from the experiences of the First World War. Linked to this was a turning away from the established churches, which were accused of failure.
The first annual meeting in Germany was held in Stuttgart in 1920. The Stuttgart Yearly Meeting (YM) has nothing to do with today's German Annual Meeting (DJV). When today's DJV was founded in 1925, there were two annual meetings in Germany for a short time. After the division of Germany there were again two separate annual meetings - this time for a longer period of time.
The Stuttgart YM published the weekly (later bi-weekly) magazine Der Freund from 1921 to 1925 (the magazine of the later DJV was called Der Quäker , today Quäker ). Evening schools for adults and young people were established. Epistles were sent all over the world and answered from all over the world.
The Stuttgart YM maintained contacts with Fritchley-Quakers , dealing with its own order of coexistence distanced from London Yearly Meeting. Fritchley Quakers did not want the Bible to be the sole standard of Christian life. They emphasized the importance of the “inner voice” and saw themselves as a successor to the early Quakers of the 17th century. Fritchley Quakers (also known as "New Light") believed in perpetual revelation, while the London Yearly Meeting believed in perpetual revelation.
The orientation of the Stuttgart YM was conservative and morally strict. They only got married within their own religious community. Alcohol, tobacco, music and luxury were taboo, and simple clothing was recommended. Special issues were published against alcohol and tobacco. Vegetarianism was vigorously advocated and received wide coverage in the publications. There were connections to life reform and the “ Wüstenrot ” idea. There was also an interest in cooperative experimentation. Voice was also raised against exploitation, injustice and capitalism. However, socialism and communism were rejected.
In 1922 the second Stuttgart YM was held. Conflicts with the London Yearly Meeting led to the fact that on May 1, 1922, the group changed its name to Religious Society of Friends in Germany. V. gave without the "Quaker" in the name.
The writings of the Stuttgart YM fell on fertile ground. Devotional meetings arose in Cannstatt, Pfullingen, Unterhausen near Reutlingen, Fürth, Markt Oberndorf, Lauffen am Neckar, Altusried and Rommelsbach, Erfurt, Stettin, Altenbochum and also in Berlin.
Further development
The German annual meeting of the Religious Society of Friends was founded in Eisenach in 1925 . After the dissolution of the Stuttgart YM, some members joined the new DJV.
For further developments see the German annual meeting .
See also
Web links
further reading
German
- Manfred Henke: We don't have a beggar among us. Studies on the social history of the early Quaker movement. be.bra Wissenschaftsverlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-95410-027-9
English
- Stephen W. Angell & Pink Dandelion (Eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies . Oxford University, Oxford 2013, ISBN 978-0-19-960867-6 .
- Pink Dandelion: An introduction to Quakerism . Cambridge University, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-5218-4111-5 .
- Thomas D. Hamm: The Quakers in America . Columbia University, New York 2003, ISBN 0-231-12362-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ See also Claus Bernet: Built Apocalypse . ISBN 978-3-8053-3706-9 , page 361: “The most important representatives of this denomination [the Quakers] were initially George Fox (1624–1691), James Nayler (1618–1660) and William Penn (1644–1718 ). In all three, a chiliastic-utopian potential can be shown, which, however, is differently positioned and characterized by diverging intentions. "
- ↑ Starting with the Quaker Act of 1662.
- ↑ Active persecution ended with the Act of Tolerance and the Glorious Revolution .
- ↑ However, equal civil rights for dissenters and Quakers were not given until the Sacramental Test Act of 1828.
- ↑ Since dissenters were forbidden from studying at university or practicing professions, they concentrated their energies on trade. Two of the three largest UK banks today, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays Bank , were founded by Quakers.
- ↑ See George Fox - Notes and Letters of the First Quaker , Translator: Margrit Stähelin, Verlag JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck), Tübingen 1908.
- ^ German as: William Penn's Peace Plan for Europe. Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) ; Bad Pyrmont 1991; ISBN 3-929696-02-9 (reprint of the German first edition from 1920).
- ↑ C. Bernet: “[...] the period from 1690 to 1760 is to be regarded as a period of solidification. The Quakers were more concerned with themselves, showed little interest in the 'outside world' and also completely stopped their missionary efforts. ”From 400 Years of Mennonites in Krefeld , ISBN 978-3-921881-26-2 , page 57.
- ↑ The history of Friedensthal is closely linked to the founder of the colony, Ludwig Seebohm. Compare: Ludwig Seebohm .
- ↑ Claus Bernet: "The history of the Quäkergemeinde Minden, part 1: From its foundation in 1796 to the middle of the 19th century", in: Westfälische Forschungen, 60, 2010, pp. 503-527 and part 2: From the middle of the 19th century Century up to their self-dissolution 189, 61, 2011, pp. 445-470
- ↑ Claus Bernet: 80 years of the German annual meeting - or are we older? Quäker 5/2007, ISSN 1619-0394 , p. 229