The Unique Traditions Of The Religious Society Of Friends And Their Significances To Its Existence In England And The United States

Abstract

The Religious Society of Friends, sometimes called as the Quakers, has had unique traditions which make it distinguished from other denominations since its birth in 1647. This article then discusses the uniqueness of the Friends specifically in early years of its development around seventeenth and eighteenth century in England and United States. This is a qualitative descriptive article using American Studies interdisciplinary theory. It is found that the unique traditions are doing simple life while spreading spirit of peace, refusing to take an oath when attending trial meetings, rejecting to pay taxes to country, refusing to take off hats in official meetings, and using archaic pronouns ‘thou-thee’ in their communication. These unique traditions serve as forms of the Christian Reformation and still exist because they are the manifestations of the Quakerism in which the Friends believe Jesus Christ always living in all hearts of human beings as the Inner Light. Besides, due to its development with the traditions, the Religious Society of Friends implicitly campaigns the enforcement of human right principles and contribute to create a multicultural view in England and United States in modern or contemporary era.