Quakers

Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, originally known as simply the Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after John 15:14 in the Bible. Originally, others referred to them as Quakers because the founder of the movement, George Fox, told a judge to "quake before the authority of God" along with their critics stating that they would shake or tremble while preaching.

The Friends are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to be guided by the inward light to "make the witness of God" known to everyone. Quakers have traditionally professed a priesthood of all believers inspired by the First Epistle of Peter. To differing extents, the Friends avoid creeds and hierarchical structures. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, orthodox, independent, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity. Today, some Friends approach spirituality from a universalist perspective rooted in religious pluralism, occasionally practicing multiple religious belonging, while still others approach the faith from nontheist perspectives. In 2017, there were an estimated 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa followed by 22% in North America.