British Quakers: Mission and message - Boundaries
Stuart Masters, in the third article of the series, considers the boundaries of Quakerism and looks at the experience of early Friends
The earliest Friends saw no need for a formal membership system. They wasted no time on establishing processes for receiving, assessing and recording membership applications. However, this does not mean that the maintenance of a clear Quaker identity was unimportant to them. Indeed, in terms of belonging, they drew the boundary lines very firmly, based on quite explicit expectations of belief, behaviour and appearance.
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