Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis considers Quaker social reform activism in England from 1780 -1870 and explores the underlying motivations of those involved.An industrialising British society had given rise to major economic and social changes, resulting in rising poverty and crime.This in turn led to an interest by the middle and upper classes, of which Quakers were members, in reforming the morals of society and ensuring the transmission of middle-class values to create a civil society.The extent to which Quakers were involved with this moral reformation is explored, along with examining how integral their religious doctrine was to their involvement.Quaker humanitarianism is also considered in order to show that Quaker reform activism was informed not only by their theology, but also by their overriding concern with the welfare of all human beings.A growing interest in the well-being of others began to emerge in the early 2 William Allen, Life o f William Allen, with selections from his correspondence.In Two Volumes, Vo l. 1 Philadelphia, Henry Longstreth (1847), p.232 3 This thesis will generally use the term Quakers when referring to the Relig ious Society of Friends, but will somet imes use "Friend" or "Friends".
Author: Ann M. Jones
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W78680393