The Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, began their witness in the 1600s during a time of religious debate when competing doctrines reflected the political, social and intellectual turmoil of seventeenth-century England. George Fox (1624-1691), the founder, preached that people are guided by God's inner light which is present in the hearts and conscience of all people and reflects God's 'divine' will. The Quakers form a small religious membership not larger than 200,000 people sect, its world-wide. Yet, historically, the group's impact on social issues has always outweighed its numerical strength. The earliest Quakers to reside more permanently in South Africa were British settlers, several of whom became outspoken civic leaders. Quaker humanitarian gestures led to the opening of a multi-racial school for poor children in Cape Town (1840) and investigations into the treatment of Afrikaner women and children in concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). Early Quakers are also credited with initiating the Joint Council Movement of Europeans and Africans (1920s), forerunner to the South African Institute of Race Relations. This study traces the Quaker presence in South Africa from its earliest history to the present, with particular emphasis on the twentieth century. Specifically, the examination of the Quaker presence addresses the group's reaction to South African society and politics in reference to segregationist and apartheid legislation. The study includes a comparative analysis of the response among South African Quakers to these issues with Quaker response in England and the United states. The purpose of this analysis is to attempt an assessment of the extent to which South African Quaker practices were consistent with the philosophies of their world-wide religious fellowship. Relevant to the Quaker belief in peace and justice for all, with no discrimination, specific issues that involved South African Quakers and for which sufficient primary sources were available are closely examined. Of particular interest is the opening of a Quaker boarding school during the early 1930s, the Quaker response to the Defiance Campaign in 1952, and South African Quaker response to the call for international sanctions and boycotts against South Africa. More recent Quaker activities, including mediation between the African National Congress and the government, provide significant data. South African Quakers have defined themselves as members of a religious body whose belief of pacifism and commitment to non-violence dictates to a certain extent their obedience to a higher authority -- which some call their conscience and others call God -- if a civil law is deemed immoral and unjust . Thus, the study seeks to define the individual and corporate Quaker witness in South Africa in relation to the Society's principles.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006. / Title from PDF title page screen. Advisor: Stephen Stallcup, Karen Weyler; submitted to the Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 29-30, p. 61-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Divinity School, June 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

This thesis explores conflict and its management among Quakers by probing deeply the dynamics of cultural and social change. This interpretation is based on three months of participant observation, semi-structured interview with informants, and a brief literature review of Quaker literature regarding conflict management. Conflict was examined by revising the model employed by Clifford Geertz to study social change. The model uses the concepts of social structure, culture and self to identify potential areas of conflict among Quakers. Four constructions are identified. The first, 'The Principled Construction of Conflict is based on Quaker principles of conflict and its management found in their formal statements. The 'Conceptual Definitions' come from the informants conscious attempts to define 'conflict.' A 'Folk Construction' is based on the informants informal discussions about conflict. A'Practiced Construction of Conflict' deals with the manner Quakers go about managing conflict in their daily behavior. / Department of Anthropology

The major purpose of this study is to present a narrative account of the activities of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in Indiana during the American Civil War. It is also an attempt to undo a myth that has persisted among many historians for over one hundred years. The Friends' adherence to the belief that all wars were unlawful in the eyes of God has caused many historians to take Quaker nonparticipation in the War Between the States for granted. Much historical writing has focused upon Friends' pacifism refusal to perform military service and the suffering they received as a result. Also mentioned in the historical literature concerning the Society is the benevolent work of Friends for the Blacks, both during and after the war, and in caring for sick and wounded soldiers. Virtually no major work, however, chronicles the nonpacifistic labors of this religious sect.Quaker activities including performance of military service, civilian support of the war, as well as opposition to the Civil War are recounted in this dissertation. Inextricably intertwined with the preceding topics are discussions of Quaker motivation for joining military companies, reactionto military life, and treatment of military Friends by the monthly, or local, meetings.Utilizing church records, Friends' manuscript collections, and cemetery records, the major finding of this work is that far more Quakers from Indiana took up arms in the Civil War than was generally known. Quakers also supported the war effort by donating money, food, clothing, and other accouterments of military life to the soldiers and in a variety of activities not approved by the monthly meetings. So widespread were these war-related gestures that, at least in Indiana, few Friends suffered recriminations because of their pacifism. In general, then, Friends who remained faithful to the peace testimony were able to preserve their conscientious beliefs without fear of reproach.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 100 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-100).

Thesis (M.A.(Th.))--Acadia University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.(Th.))--Acadia University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz 2003. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-220).

Thesis (M.A.)--East Tennessee State University, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available via Internet..