British Q uakerism 1 8 60- 1 92 0 The Transformation of a Religious Community T H OMAS C . KE N N EDY Fig. I John Wilhelm Rowntrcc (1S6R- 1YOS), C. 19 00 OXFORD U N IVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS (;rc,lt Cl.ircndou Succr. Ovford OX.:: (II)P ( UIl]\ LTqt) Prcs-, 1 l'xprn,>ly ,ll'l'fnl'fl,Hl nuder rcnu- ,Igrl'ed xvnh tlurl'pfo!-';r.lP ,LllLjlllrlCS, III (lcl. l(jl(l), ,lJ1d ,1 krrcr ttl Mirusu-r- tiorn Edw.ird Cirubb , j L'\llHIlWcd \UPpurt of thl' FSC \\-1'> iIllport,lllt lWC-Ill'>t' the COlIlmlttee rl'l-l,j,'cd Ilt.l direct tiILlIll'1.tl h'ld\.l1lg ffo!1l the Sl'l' 'J'L 15 I)l'l. 1()J(l. ():-;I. -; IZ. (l. M. to l:.. C .. 2S i\1,lfCh j()I() Jnd 'Note" llllllll'etillg'> of the FS(' 11)")', () AprIl. 4 M,l\. KJUlle & I, Jul\ 11) I (,. 1\(' Fill". LSF. 'A C/lIllllish Terrell' ofDarkness' 335 with the NCF and absorbim; something of that body's infectious l'nthusias11l and 'immense enerh'Y" Fletcher told a Conference of Young Friends that this socialist/pacifist Fellowship was a harbinITer of 'the religious revival tor which the churches were look EYl'n old-line Liberal [olin W. Graham rcmiudcd. readers of The Friend that Quakerism might not have been able to cope with the conscriprion crisis without the help of Such expressions of solidarity with this novel ally reAeetu! the mixture of excitement and apprehension that surrounded Lo ndon Yearly J'vkcring's deepening confrontation with the State. Quaker" 10Ilg perceived as of civic virtue, seemed to be IT\'erting, in the COl1lpaIlY of extreme social r.rdirulv, to seventccnth-ccntury patterns of hch.iviour. Still, by l11id-10 I () even souic anti-war Qlukc'r, were becol1ling quietly or openly tl'r pl'.Il'l' llll'l'tillg by N(:! lL'.ldl'r\ CiJtf()fd Allell ,llld Fl'lllll'r Brl)ckw.lY, '1llIght ILl"\..' hCClllll.ldc III Yl'Jr]y Ml'l,tlllg.J. W. to R. C., ().JuJle Iljl(),JWCP. '1, E. C;., '()n till' N-CF', 11-, 14-July ]()I(l, C;rubh W Tfl'a\Ufcr fUf rlll' NC}-, ill' \\,1" pruh,lhly Jlut '\TlI-1I1t(ll"Illed .lhOllt till' bro,hi "p within rlll' Fe]]()\\'"hlp \\hldl Irlc]ulkd ,1 fur ntlIlllwr u( nlliltallt '>oci.dl\h who werc lllUIT thall Jll[]-\\,1r, Ed"h Ellh (l, E.) tIl ROM, lSJIlI1L' 11)1/" F\C fib, LSF. -" This '\[T"aregy W-IS devised by Lord Kltlhenef ill conjunction \\'ltl1 the War ()tflce I )irt'ltof of PCf'ionJI S (WLP). ',-l Ghoulish Terror Darkness' trorn the beginning, protested against this sort of hands-off policy, Meeting for Sufferings supported the Service Committee's nocompromise stand. SJ Increasing tensions among Friends over these matters mirrored growing differences between the FSC and the No-Conscription Fellowship as to how to respond to Government treatment of Imprisoned COs. M;l11Y of those initially willing to suffer imprisonment were deeply shocked by the harshness of the conditions they (ICed as prisoners in the third division of Britain's penal system, a status reserved tor the lowest class of C01111110n criminal. I u late September 1o? What dirfcrcncc had this transformation nude in the condition of British Friends? What influence did the changed condition of Quakerism have WIth regard to relations between Friends and the British State; Why IS any of this important in the history of religion in modem Britain; What difference docs any of this make to anybody who was not a Quaker? These arc S0111e of the questions to be answered in the (ollowing recapitulation. To the reader's satisfaction it is to be devoutly hoped. Whether or not the religion practiced by early Victorian evangelic'll Friends had strayed significantly from ideas and practices established by (;corge Fox .md his followcr in the [()50S, whatever eners'Y and creativity flowed out from the Society of Friends during the fIrst half of the nineteenth century derived from its evangelical wing. By I S60 the urgency .uid vigour of evangelical Friends had induced the leadership of London Yearly Meeting to embark upon a series ofsignificant reforms, the first ,llnong British Quakers in over a century. But while internal provisions tor easing dress, speech, and marriage regulations began the process ofbringing British Quakers out of their 'closed-in hedge of prickly-pear', Friends were inevitably slow to respond to new ideas or attitudes, even those that might be shaking the foundations of the world outside the Meeting House. Thus, during the decade of the [S60s the leaders of British Quakerism were beginning to make compromises with ideas that had been fresh in the I S30S and I S-j.os. At the same time, an increasing number of younger Quakers were being educated in the world of 'crcaturcly' things and becoming entangled with the thoughts and ways of that world. Because this mid-Victorian generation was being exposed to theological and scientific ideas which could not be accommodated by __1 _ -1-2 2 Hri tisli Qlldi,crislJ1 1860-1920 evangelical belief and practices, ditticulty and upheaval \\TIT inevitable. The events in M;lnchestLT surrounding the putative revolt of David DUll can and his tl.)1I0WLTS reflected a \videning gap between the assLTtive, progressive VISion ofhcttcr-cduc.ircd. more worldlvwise Friends. .ind the c.rutiou-, posture of the cv.iugclic.rls who dominated Loudon Yearly MeetIng. David Duncan \\;10, surficiently lc.irncd am! egotistical to challenge the PO\\LTS t h.rt were. locally and natiou.rlly, to a showdown Oil ,I broad-based agend'l of modern thought. He f.iilcd ruiscr.ihlv not simply bcr.iusc he was premature in his vixion of what might be 'lcceptablc to Friends but .il-.o because he had no tl.)lIowing outside M,lIlchester. Had I )unclil lived long enough to c1l.lllenge his disownment trom M;111chestLT Meeting in some national QlLlker Iorun i, he might have made a heginning ;\0, the prophet of the new. libcr.il vision of QU'lkLTism. Still, given his obvious Uuit.iri.m tcndcncic, it seelllS improbable that he could h.tvc provided the lcadLT,hip tor ,1Il c.irlv hloso,omillg Df the Quaker Rcn.iissancc. Mmt likclv, Dune.in would have carried his lkvDtCCS DUt of the SDcietv Df Fricnds into souushort-lived, long-tl.)rgottl'n theistic congreg,ltiDII. What Dunr.m did do. however, \V,lS to bump up the level of argument ,111lOng thoughtful QU;lhTS who were prepared to debate the else tor change within a solidly Christian context. These WLTe the reform-minded Fricnds vvho en