Quakerism (the Religious Society of Friends) emerged in the seventeenth century, during a time when philosophical debates about the nature of knowledge led to the emergence of modern science. The Quakers, in conversation with early modern philosophers, developed a distinctive epistemology rooted in their concept of the Light Within: a special internal sense giving access to divine insight. The Light Within provided illumination both to properly understand the Bible and to ‘read’ the Book of Nature. In Quaker Epistemology, Laura Rediehs argues that Quaker epistemology can be thought of as an expanded experiential empiricism, integrating ethical and religious knowledge with scientific knowledge. This epistemology has carried through in Quaker thought to the present day and can help address today’s epistemological crisis. This work will be of great interest to both philosophers interested in the epistemological implications of Quaker thought, and scholars of Quaker Studies interested in connecting Quaker thought to philosophical historical epistemology.

This book focuses primarily on what we have termed the ‘Quaker Condition’. It looks sociologically at the condition of present-day British Quakerism. This original and innovative collection contributes to several different, though obviously connected, fields within the study of religion. It operates on five levels. In the first place, the volume is the first to represent, substantially, the contribution of social science to the study of Quakerism and therefore provides useful comparative material for those whose focus is on other faith groups. Second , the book focuses largely on British Quakerism and so enriches the pool of resources relating to the sociology of British religion and British culture more generally Third , there are very few sociological volumes dedicated to the analysis of a single faith group. Fourth, the book represents an in-depth study of a liberal faith group, when liberal religion is the focus of much scholarly debate at present particularly with reference to the secularisation thesis. The study of British Quakerism is especially fascinating in this regard, given how the group can be described almost as hyper- or ultra-liberal, prefiguring many of the developments which may overtake currently more conservative groups. Fifth, the volume represents a particularly collective way of working of interest to all those concerned with the methodology of social research, with the design and construction of the volume jointly agreed by all the authors. Regular meetings of the group and a conference based on these chapters has culminated in a book far more interwoven and layered than a typical ‘edited collection.’

This book provides the most comprehensive theological analysis to date of the work of early Quaker leaders. Spanning the first seventy years of the Quaker movement to the beginning of its formalization, Early Quakers and their Theological Thought examines in depth the lives and writings of sixteen prominent figures. These include not only recognized authors such as George Fox, William Penn, Margaret Fell and Robert Barclay, but also lesser-known ones who nevertheless played equally important roles in the development of Quakerism. Each chapter draws out the key theological emphases of its subject, offering fresh insights into what the early Quakers were really saying and illustrating the variety and constancy of the Quaker message in the seventeenth century. This cutting-edge volume incorporates a wealth of primary sources to fill a significant gap in the existing literature, and it will benefit both students and scholars in Quaker studies.

In this introductory volume to the Brill Research Perspectives series on Quaker Studies, Quaker Studies, An Overview: The Current State of the Field, C. Wess Daniels, Robynne Rogers Healey, and Jon Kershner investigate Quaker Studies, divided into the three fields of history, theology and philosophy, and sociology. With a focus on schisms, transatlantic networks, colonialism, abolition, gender and equality, and pacifism from Quaker origins onward, Healey explores the rich diversity and complexity of research and interpretation that has emerged in Quaker history. Kershner explores comparisons and divergences in contemporary Quaker theology and philosophy. Special attention is paid to Quaker biblical hermeneutics, mysticism, ethics, epistemology and Global Quakerism. Daniels looks at the sociology of Quakerism as a new field of study that has only recently begun to be explored and developed. He surveys the field of sociological work done within Quakerism from the 1960s to the present day.

This handbook provides an in-depth survey of historical readings of Quakerism; a treatment of its key theological premises and its links with wider Christian thinking; an analysis of its distinctive ecclesiastical forms and practices; chapters on its social, economic, political, and ethical outcomes; as well as an extensive bibliography.

An introduction to Quaker history, theology and practice that addresses the diversity of Quakerism today.

Arguing that commitments by certain dissenting Protestants to the right of private judgment in matters of Biblical interpretation helped promote religious liberty and religious disestablishment in the early modern West, this text describes a continuous strand of this religious thought - as well as the thinkers who spread it.