Quaker Theology

Issue #22 – Winter/Spring 2013

Surveys Quaker history, division, cultural influence, and peace witness across several centuries and continents. Continued coverage of Indiana Yearly Meeting documents its formal separation into conservative and progressive bodies over authority, theology, and LGBTQ inclusion. Studies of Howard and Anna Brinton examine their influential role in reshaping twentieth-century liberal Quaker identity, while a chart of 350 years of North American Friends places recurring schisms within a broader historical pattern. Other contributions explore grassroots Quaker peacebuilding in East Africa, the complicated relationship between Quaker silence and slavery in two abolitionist novels, and the ways music can participate in both violence and resistance. Together, the issue challenges simplified accounts of Quaker unity, abolitionism, and peacemaking while recovering the complex people and practices through which the tradition has evolved.

  • Introduction to Issue #22

    This issue is the largest we have ever published. It wasn’t planned that way: good stuff just kept coming in. And it covers a wide range of topics and concerns, from Quaker peace work in Kenya, to the theological character of a recent award-winning novel about a Quaker who becomes a slaveowner. There is also…

  • “An Excerpt from Howard and Anna Brinton: Re-inventors of Quakerism In the Twentieth Century, An Interpretive Biography”*

    This excerpt from Anthony Manousos’s interpretive biography traces the family histories and formative years of Howard and Anna Brinton, showing how their contrasting Quaker backgrounds prepared them to become influential interpreters and “reinventors” of twentieth-century Quakerism. Howard grew up amid the Orthodox–Hicksite divisions of southeastern Pennsylvania, while Anna was shaped by the independent Western Quaker…

  • Indiana Yearly Meeting Update & Documents

    This article details the schism within Indiana Yearly Meeting (IYM) caused by theological and social conflicts, particularly over LGBTQ inclusion, leading to a formal “reconfiguration” process that divided meetings into two groups: one with more conservative, centralized authority, and a newly forming, more progressive New Association of Friends. It includes perspectives from participants, official statements,…

  • “A Peace of Africa, Reflections on Life In The Great Lakes Region”

    This article reviews David Zarembka’s book *A Peace of Africa*, highlighting his journey from conventional international development work to grassroots Quaker peacebuilding in East Africa’s Great Lakes region. It explores the challenges of ethnic conflict, corruption, and NGO inefficacy in Africa, emphasizing Zarembka’s commitment to honest, community-rooted peacemaking and social entrepreneurship. The review also reflects…

  • Questions for Howard: Being a Kind of Review of the New Biography of Howard & Anna Brinton

    By Chuck Fager “The time has come–indeed, it is long overdue–for a critical assessment of Howard’s major works: Friends for Three Hundred Years (1952) and Guide to Quaker Practice (1943), which continue to be best sellers among liberal Friends.” –Anthony Manousos in Howard and Anna Brinton:                                …

  • The Still Small Voice in the Wilderness

    The Treatment of Silence in Two Abolitionist Quaker Narratives—Tracy Chevalier’s The Last Runaway and Linda Spalding’s The Purchase This post reviews Tracy Chevalier’s *The Last Runaway* and Linda Spalding’s *The Purchase*, exploring how both novels challenge prevailing myths about Quaker abolitionism by portraying complex Quaker characters grappling with slavery, silence, and spirituality. It examines the…

  • Studying Music and Violence

    The article explores the complex relationship between music and violence through the author’s personal journey and academic research. It discusses how music has intersected with historical and political violence, from wartime propaganda to protest movements, and the author’s evolving understanding of music as a medium deeply entwined with cultural and political meaning. The piece also…

  • “Three Hundred Fifty Years of the Society of Friends in North America: 1661-2011″*

    This post reviews Geoffrey Kaiser’s comprehensive chart depicting 350 years of Quaker history in North America, highlighting the complex schisms primarily between evangelical and liberal Friends. Kaiser, influenced by Robert Barclay’s theology, emphasizes the universality of the Inner Light and explores ongoing theological and social tensions within Quakerism, including acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals. The chart…

  • About the Contributors

    Stephen Angell is the Leatherock Professor of Quaker Studies at Earlham School of Religion, Richmond Indiana, and Associate Editor of Quaker Theology. Stephanie Crumley-Effinger is a member of the faculty of Earlham School of Religion. Since 2000 she has taught one of ESR’s core ministry formation courses, Discernment of Calling and Gifts for Ministry, and…