Margaret Fell, 1694
The Religious Society of Friends was founded in the mid-17th century in the wake of the English Civil War. Early Quakers rejected the idea that people needed intermediaries to the divine, believing instead that everyone could have a direct, unmediated relationship with God. This was based on Scripture and the Bible but what what really mattered was not the objective reality of the words on the page, but rather the direct experience.
Under the 1662 Quaker Act, thousands of people were imprisoned, and many others were persecuted and even killed for their beliefs. George Fox told one judge that the only authority he trembled before was God, leading the judge to scornfully dismiss him as a 'quaker' – a name which stuck.
Today there are about 20,000 Quakers in the UK and around 400 meeting houses. The vast majority of Quakers join as adults, attracted by our non-doctrinal approach and commitment to working towards peace, equality, simplicity, sustainability, and truth. They come from all faith backgrounds and none, responding to George Fox's call 'to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone'.
To discover more about Quaker history, go to the Quakers in the World website.