Friends
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Friends. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
2026 Editor's Note: This page uses language about other peoples, religions, or nationalities that was commonplace when the book was published and is offensive by today's standards. The text has been left exactly as it was printed, rather than cut or softened, so that the historical record — including how ordinary such language once was — is preserved. (Ed: ET 2026-07-22) a religious society. They are commonly called Quakers. The denomination had its rise in England about the middle of the seventeenth century, largely through the preaching of George Fox, who is considered the founder of the sect. At that time the Church of England persecuted all who did not conform to its worship. In 1656, according to the account of Fox, there were over 1,000 Friends in prison. Many died in prison; others were sold into slavery; others died from mob violence. The crimes of which they were accused were such as refusal to pay church tithes, to take oath in court, and to remove their hats. They disturbed the public peace by preaching in open places, and broke the Sabbath by traveling beyond the bounds of the parish to remote places of meeting. In 1656 two Quaker women came to New England . They were imprisoned and sent back. Others could not be deterred from coming. Although the Puritans had themselves been persecuted by the Church of England they were none the less indignant that the Quakers should follow them into their retirement in the New World and make trouble. Prejudice was so strong that men and women were stripped to the waist, tied at the cart's tail, and whipped publicly through the streets. Four Quakers, one of them a woman, were hanged on Boston Common. In spite of persecution, however, the Quakers increased throughout New England. In 1681 the colony of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, largely as a place of refuge for oppressed Friends. The population of Philadelphia still shows traces of the original Quaker stock. It has been called the Quaker City. At the present time the various societies of Friends number about 140,000 members. About four-fifths of these are in the United States . There are about 20,000 in England, Ireland, and Australia. Plain living, sobriety in dress, industry, thrift, and shrewdness are the traditional characteristics of Friends. They decline to take oath, interpreting literally Christ's injunction, "Swear not at all." They do not believe in a paid ministry. Their meetings are conducted in silence unless someone feels impelled to deliver a message--to speak. Consistent Quakers refuse to perform military service. They speak of first day, second day, third day, etc., refusing to use the heathen names of the days of the week or of the month. Marriage is celebrated by the joining of hands in the presence of witnesses. No sacraments are celebrated. They believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and in communion of the soul with its Maker, but not in outward baptism and the Lord's Supper. The basis of their teaching is a belief that, in religious matters, each soul is illumined directly by the Holy Spirit and stands face to face with its Maker without need of priest or intermediator.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
SOCIETY OF, the organization commonly called Quakers, founded in the middle of the 17th century by George Fox. They are distinguished from other Christian bodies by the special stress they lay on the immediate teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and their belief that no one should be paid or appointed by human authority for the exercise of the gift of the ministry. In obedience to this belief they hold their meetings without any prearranged service or sermon, and sometimes in total silence. The Friends believe that the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper are to be taken spiritually, and not in an outward form. Their protests against the use of oaths and against the exaction of tithes and church rates cost them much suffering and frequent imprisonment during the first 50 years of their existence. The simplified dress which Friends adopted from conviction 200 years ago became stereotyped into a uniform. This dress has generally been given up, as have the "testimony" against music and singing in its rigid application, and the peculiarities of speech, such as the use of "thee" and "thou" instead of "you" (though many Friends still retain this custom among themselves), and the avoidance of all titles of courtesy. Of late years there has been a very decided evangelical movement among Friends, under the influence of which the old quietism is dying out. As a result of this change the influence of the Society beyond its own borders, through home and foreign missions and adult First Day (Sunday) Schools has developed to a remarkable extent. There is in the United States a numerous body of Friends called Hicksites (from their founder, Elias Hicks), who separated from the orthodox community. They hold latitudinarian views. The Wilburite section are conspicuous in Pennsylvania by their adherence to the livery and the "plain language." Large numbers of persons who do not appear in the statistical returns attend the Mission meetings of the Society of Friends, and very large numbers come under their influence the foreign mission field. In the World War (1914-1918) the Friends were not enlisted as combatants because of their principles, but they performed valiant services behind the lines in hospitals, in helping refugees, etc., and in rebuilding devastated towns. See Fox, GEORGE: HICKS, ELIAS, The Orthodox body had in 1919 94,111 communicants, 790 churches and 1,232 ministers. The other three bodies had 20,603 communicants, 218 churches and 50 ministers.