[27][28] Religious strife in the Kingdom of England had existed for centuries, with proto-Protestant groups (mainly the Lollards) popping up before the English Reformation brought radical ideas to the mainstream.

[38] With the restructuring of the family and household came new roles for women; Fox and Fell viewed the Quaker mother as essential to developing "holy conversation" in her children and husband.

[44] Some Friends migrated to what is now the north-eastern region of the United States in the 1660s in search of economic opportunities and a more tolerant environment in which to build communities of "holy conversation".

[48] Early colonial Quakers also established communities and meeting houses in North Carolina and Maryland, after fleeing persecution by the Anglican Church in Virginia.

With increasing financial success, Orthodox Quakers wanted to "make the Society a more respectable body – to transform their sect into a church – by adopting mainstream Protestant orthodoxy".

Conversely, within the Hicksite movement the rejection of the market economy and the continuing focus on community and family bonds tended to encourage women to retain their role as powerful arbiters.

Hicks' Gospel preaching and teaching precipitated the Great Separation of 1827, which resulted in a parallel system of Yearly Meetings in America, joined by Friends from Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Baltimore.

Supported by many of the older, longstanding members in the London Yearly Meeting, Braithwaite saw the Richmond Declaration of Faith as being a bulwark against "unsound and dangerous doctrine" in times when Friends were "in a state of discipline and warfare".

At the war's end in 1783, Yarnall family members along with fellow Meeting House Friends made a failed petition to the Continental Congress to abolish slavery in the United States.

[98] One example of a reversal in sentiment about slavery took place in the life of Moses Brown, one of four Rhode Island brothers who, in 1764, organized and funded the tragic and fateful voyage of the slave ship Sally.

[107] Due in part to the emphasis on immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit, Quaker doctrines have only at times been codified as statements of faith, confessions or theological texts.

They believe in and hold high regard for penal substitution of the atonement of Christ on the Cross at Calvary, biblical infallibility, and the need for all to experience a relationship with God personally.

Many Gurneyite Friends combine "waiting" (unprogrammed) worship with practices commonly found in other Protestant Christian churches, such as readings from the Bible and singing hymns.

While Liberal Friends recognise the potential of these outward forms for awakening experiences of the Inward Light of Christ, they are not part of their worship and are thought unnecessary to authentic Christian spirituality.

They often adopt non-propositional Biblical hermeneutics, such as believing that the Bible is an anthology of human authors' beliefs and feelings about God rather than the Holy Writ and that multiple interpretations of the Scriptures are acceptable.

[128] Quakers bear witness or "testify" to their religious beliefs in their spiritual lives,[129] drawing on the Epistle of James exhortation that "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead".

[131] In the United Kingdom, the acronym STEPS is sometimes used (simplicity, truth, equality, peace, and sustainability) to help remember the testimonies, although most Quakers just use the full words.

[citation needed] In his book Quaker Speak, British Friend Alastair Heron, lists the following testimonies of common practical values in Quaker belief:[132] integrity (or truth), peace, penal reform, plain language, relief of suffering, simplicity, social order, Sunday observance, sustainability, temperance and moderation; and opposition to the following: betting and gambling, capital punishment, conscription, hat-honour (the largely historical practice of dipping one's hat toward social superiors), oaths, slavery, times and seasons, and tithing.

Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting Friends put their faith in action through living their lives by the following principles: prayer, personal integrity, stewardship (which includes giving away minimum of 10% income and refraining from lotteries), marriage and family (lifelong commitment), regard for mind and body (refraining from certain amusements, propriety and modesty of dress, abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and drugs), peace and nonviolence (including refusing to participate in war), abortion (opposition to abortion, practical ministry to women with unwanted pregnancy and promotion of adoption), human sexuality, the Christian and state (look to God for authority, not the government), capital punishment (find alternatives), human equality, women in ministry (recognising women and men have an equal part to play in ministry).

[134] The Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association lists as testimonies integrity, peace, simplicity, equality, and community; areas of witness include children, education, government, sexuality, and harmony with nature.

[138] Like other Christian denominations derived from 16th-century Puritanism, many Friends eschew religious festivals (e.g. Christmas, Lent, or Easter), and believe that Christ's birth, crucifixion and resurrection, should be marked every day of the year.

Memorial services give all a chance to remember the lost individual in their own way, comforting those present and re-affirming the love of the people in the wider community.

In jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is not recognised by civil authorities, some meetings follow the practice of early Quakers in overseeing the union without reference to the state.

Small groups of Friends in Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, and Ukraine attend meetings for worship there.

Throughout the years, the members of the Ramallah Friends Meeting organised numerous community programs such as the Children's Play Centre, the First Day School, and women's activities.

By the early 1990s the Meetinghouse and Annex, which housed meeting rooms and bathroom facilities, fell into disrepair as a result of damage inflicted by time and the impact of conflict.

A further blow to the Friends and the wider Palestinian community was the high level of emigration brought on by the economic situation and the hardships arising from continuing Israeli military occupation.

In 2002 a committee consisting of members of the Religious Society of Friends in the US and the Clerk of the Ramallah Meeting began to raise funds for the renovations of the buildings and grounds of the Meetinghouse.

[183] Since the late 20th century, in part due to the allowance of Religious pluralism & Universalism, some attenders at Liberal Quaker Meetings have actively identified with world faiths other than Christianity, such as Judaism, Islam,[184] Buddhism[185] and Paganism.

This occurrence evolved from the idea in Liberal Quaker circles that the Inward light is found in Christians and non-Christians alike and influenced the Holy Writ of other faiths.