Quaker Theology

State Authority over Individuals

  • Excerpt from: “Holy Nation: The Transatlantic Quaker Ministry in an Age of Revolution”*

    This article explores how the Society of Friends (Quakers) positioned themselves as a “holy nation,” emphasizing a theological identity that transcended geopolitical boundaries and nation-states in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It highlights their refusal to participate in nationalist demands such as military service and loyalty oaths, their active peace witness, and their establishment of…

  • Milton Mayer, Quaker Hedgehog

    This article profiles Milton Mayer, a twentieth-century Quaker and writer known for his critique of state authority and individual corruption. Mayer’s major work, *They Thought They Were Free*, examines the gradual acquiescence of ordinary Germans to Nazism, highlighting the importance of early resistance to institutional power. His lifelong commitment to moral individualism and opposition to…