Organisation and power in the Society of Friends (1852-1859) - article ; n°1 ; vol.19, pg 31-49

Elisabeth Alloisichei

Description

Archives des sciences sociales des religions - Année 1965 - Volume 19 - Numéro 1 - Pages 31-49
19 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Archives-des-sciences-sociales-des-religions
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1965
• Nombre de lectures: 17
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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Allo Isichei
Organisation and power in the Society of Friends (1852-1859)
In: Archives des sciences sociales des religions. N. 19, 1965. pp. 31-49.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Allo Isichei. Organisation and power in the Society of Friends (1852-1859). In: Archives des sciences sociales des religions. N.
19, 1965. pp. 31-49.
doi : 10.3406/assr.1965.2571
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/assr_0003-9659_1965_num_19_1_2571ORGANISATION AND POWER
IN THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
1852-18
cleavages decisions sect distribution represent the executive of of democratic study tration being Its rest dictory accompanied of bility the the authority members growth In directly because group dictated Christadelphians of of Plymouth an of theories responsibility about the minimal this power officials extremely formal which of of or tend necessarily by here process by actual informal theological obliquely of Brethren contradictory This its not has organisation authority organisational and organisation individualistic power ideology discrepancy as to of the where the analysis decision unchanging its upon perceive its interpretation illustrates informal existence cannot 1) raison component the is and is and of insensitive arrangements substructure making absence appears the likely confused be être the group concentration this an will of consequent mirrored American has informal second many to an individuals of of mechanisms in schism God meant to develop ideology extreme ideas central of change are different pattern in for theology but Baptist is contradiction of the changes about not the the and form power stressing body tacitly development The dichotomy dictated so group obvious as and the Convention the in developments which with does of fissiparous in the locus accepted mutually formal resultant Its the power the which by the alternative individualistic is organisation between liberty of and thought utility experience hands structure is repeated to is concen contra history desira nature in make often case and but the its to to of
Ecclesial independence has undoubtedly been cause of divisions and
schisms the absence of central arbitrating authority has enabled schisms to
ramify. 2)
The history of nineteenth century American Quakerism is largely pattern
of repeated schisms in England however schisms within the sect were infre-
am indebted to Dr B.R Wilson for his detailed criticisms of this article in draft
Paul HARRISON Authority and Power in the Free Church Tradition 1959 passim
accept his definitions of power and authority but his elaboration of theory of power for
non-authoritarian groups chapter 11 does not apply to the type of power elite produced in
Quakerism
Bryan WILSON Sects and Society 1961 273
31 ARCHIVES DE SOCIOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS
quent and insignificant and detailed analysis of power and organisation reveals
the existence of informal power concentrations 3)
study of the American Baptist convention is in part an analysis
of number of competing theories of church government The antagonism is
much more fundamental however when it occurs not between several ideals
of policy but between polity as such and belief in the ultimate authority of the
enlightened individual Many sects have experienced this kind- of tension between
recognition that organisation was necessary and strong conviction that it
was undesirable In some sects however the dichotomy between group
authority and private judgment was moderated by generally held belief in the
paramount authority of the Bible but Fox asserted the inspiration of the
Spirit in the heart of the individual as an authority above that of Scripture
Thus when preacher spoke of the Scriptures. by which they were to try all
doctrines religions and opinions. couîd not hold but was made to cry out
and say Oh no it is not the Scriptures. 5)
theory of the Light Within made all forms of ecclesiastical constraint
seem intolerable The black earthy spirit of the priests wounded my life.
In its first phase the movement had no formal organisation held together
by the personal charisma of Fox but it soon became clear to him that some
organisation was necessary if the movement was to survive Some of his followers
opposed this development bitterly as contrary to the genius of Quakerism but
most like Penn realised its necessity In 1675 Penn
..raised the whole question of Church discipline contending that if the
Church were silent it would be overrun with lukewarm hypocrites and loose
walkers. Church order was no doubt new thing which had come through Fox
but it came in its due season. 7)
But to accept the need for organisation was not to eradicate the ambi
valence with which it was regarded The tension remained to trouble Quaker
consciences especially in periods when Light Within theology was stressed
thus in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when this type of
theology was revived number of books were written dealing with the tension
between authority and the individual conscience 8)
The contradiction was softened however by the adoption of Quaker
democracy system which is designed to answer the classic individualist cri
ticism of the democratic method by lending due weight to minority opinion
In Quaker business meeting decisions are made not by majority vote but by
taking the sense of the Meeting In this process the Clerk who acts as
chairman and as secretary tries to formulate decision which represents
basic consensus of agreement if deep disagreements exist no decision is made
and the matter is postponed All present are free to speak and the sense of
the meeting is based on qualitative as well as quantitative estimate
Parallel detailed research into American Quaker organisation would be necessary to
establish whether there is any connection between the American schisms and different decision
making mechanisms
Cf the Christadelphians and the American Baptist Convention
Journal ed John Nickalls 1952 40
Ibid. 39
Quoted in William BRAITHWAITE The Second Period of Quakerism 1961 ed.) 299
See especially Edmund HARVEY Authority and Freedom in the Experience of the
Quakers 1935 passim Edward GKUBB Authority and the Light Within 1909 passim
32 THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
Every contribution counts as one but some as more than one Penn made
an excellent statement of the Quaker ideal of decision making
In these solemn assemblies for the service there is no one who
presides among them after the manner of the assemblies of other people Christ
only being their President as he is pleased to appear in life and wisdom in any
one or more of them to whom whatever be their capacity or degree the rest
adhere with firm unity. 10)
There is an obvious criticism of this method which applies to all inspira-
tionalist procedures The philanthropist William Alien met it in an aristocratic
home in Switzerland
Then said the Duchess how are we to distinguish between the divine
influence and the working of our own imaginations acknowledged that
this was the point of difficulty. 11)
To discover how this intensely individualistic system worked in practice
it is necessary to analyse Quaker business deliberations and decisions
at time of violent controversy when the issues at stake were deemed more
important than the preservation of mechanisms for reaching agreement The
sixth decade of the nineteenth century is particularly suitable period for such
an analysis in depth 12) for the matters under discussion then were thought
to affect the very existence of the group and the nature of its relationship to
the wider society Essentially the conflict took place between conservatives
who thought of the sect as gathered remnant which should live in the
greatest possible isolation from its environment and reformists 13 who
sought to break down the barriers protecting the sect which were seen as cripp
ling restrictions affecting its life and work in the wider society The most
important practical issues at stake were whether or not to abolish the
two main insulating devices compulsory endogamy and the peculiarities
that is distinctive modes of dress and speech)
Of the many Quaker business meetings the locus of power and of authority
should undoubtedly be sought in the Yearly Meeting which assembled
annually in May Its meeting place until 1905 was always London which in
itself had important effects on the distribution of power 14 Yearly
Meeting stood at the apex of an elaborate organisational pyramid The Pre-
Robert Davis quoted in Hugh DONCASTER Quaker Organisation and Business
Meetings 1958 68
10 PENN The Rise and Progress of the people called Quakers 1834 edition 44
11 Life of William Alien 1846 302
12 The analysis which follows is based on Proceedings of Yearly Meeting skeletal) the
accounts the quasi official monthly journals The Friend and The British Friend and espe
cially on the much fuller MS accounts by Samuel Alexander 1847 and 52 Joseph Rowntree
1855 57 and 58 John Stephenson Rowntree 1854 56 and 59 and William
1856 and 59 all of which are preserved in Friendes House Library London Henceforth these
are referred to by name of author and date only It should be remembered that the Rowntree MS
probably overemphasise the role of Joseph Rowntree and of Yorkshire Friends in general
13 Reformist and conse