Category: Women in Religion

Role of Quakers in the American Revolution Image: Quaker Founder George Fox The Religious Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers has opposed war and violence from its inception, and has sought instead to do away with the causes of war and alleviate the suffering it causes. George Fox, the founder of the Friends, preached in the 1640s that there was a divine spark within each person, which means that all human beings are infinitely precious in God’s sight, and no one is justified in taking the life of another.

Women in Religion: Leader of the Shakers Image: Mother Ann Lee The second of eight children, Ann Lee was born on February 29, 1736, in a poor district of Manchester, England, known as Toad Lane. Her father John Lee was a blacksmith whose meager income barely fed his family. Except for a parish church record of her baptism in 1742, very little is known of Ann Lee’s childhood. Since education for a girl of Lee’s station was out of the question, she was illiterate and found employment in the textile mills of Manchester. By her twenties, she was serving as a cook in the public infirmary and madhouse. Lee exhibited a religious bent early in life, found living in the…

Quaker Woman Image: Assembly of Quakers A woman preaches before an assembly of Quakers in London in 1723. Early Life Little is known about Elizabeth Ashbridge beyond what is recorded in her brief autobiography, Some Account of the Fore Part of the Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge, first published in England 1774. The book is a frank account of her unhappy marriage and her search, with the help of various religious groups, for a sincere religious faith. It is remarkable both as the spiritual testament of an intelligent and courageous woman, and also as a revealing (and often unflattering) depiction of life in colonial America in the first half of the 18th century. Elizabeth Ashbridge was born in 1713 in the…

The Year: 1656 Image: Panel B2 of the Quaker Tapestry, which was devoted to Mary Fisher Quaker Beginnings In the 17th century, the Quakers – also known as the Society of Friends – were a form of Protestant Christianity that was started by George Fox in England in 1652. According to tradition, Fox was standing on Pendle Hill in northwest England when he received a vision from God directing him that instead of simply obeying doctrines and rules, he should focus on the Inner Light—the ability of every person to directly receive God’s love. George Fox believed there was no need for ordained ministers and traditional forms of worship, and began to preach this new form of Christianity throughout England….

Defied Puritan Law Banning Quakers Image: Mary Dyer Memorial at the Boston State House Mary Barrett was born in 1610 in London, England. In St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on October 27, 1633, Mary married William Dyer, a milliner and a Puritan. Mary and William emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. They settled in Boston, and on December 13, 1635, they were admitted to the Boston church. They were numbered among the intelligent citizens, being above the average in education and culture. William became a freeman of the Colony in 1636, and he held many positions of public importance. Banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony The Dyers became early supporters of Anne Marbury Hutchinson. When Anne was excommunicated, Mary…