In Brief: Quakerism: The Basics (Second Edition)

By Margery Post Abbott and Carl Abbott. Routledge, 2025. 240 pages. $28.99/paperback or eBook.

This book is about more than the basics. It is a thoroughly readable tour through Quakerism in all of its diversity from 1652 to 2025. Margery Post Abbott and Carl Abbott bring the experience of active and engaged Quakers, the discipline of scholarly historians, and gentle attention to that of God in the varieties of Quakers, Quaker beliefs, and Quaker processes.

The first edition of Quakerism: The Basics, published in 2021, gives a broad overview of Quaker history, Quaker worship and practice, and Quaker action. It encompasses the range of Quaker practice from unprogrammed Quakerism, programmed Quakerism, and Evangelical Quakerism worldwide. The stunning lesson for unprogrammed Friends is that we are strikingly in the minority among Quakers worldwide, that our numbers are stable or declining, and that we tend to be older. Programmed Quakerism and particularly Evangelical Quakerism is flourishing and growing around the world. Both they and we can credibly claim to be the descendants of George Fox and early Friends.

In this second edition, the authors substantially rethought and reorganized chapter 6, “Ministry, Mission, and Testimony.” There is a deeper dive into how Quakers fell short in their approach to slavery and their relationships with Native Americans, while still noting their positive actions. There is new material about Friends as active participants in electoral politics. Friends testimonies are important throughout Quakerism; Evangelical Friends understand testimonies as evidence of the work of Christ in their hearts while Liberal Friends are likely to say the same thing in less religious language. The earlier edition had an appendix on Quakers in fiction; it is joined in the new edition with an appendix on Quakers on screen, including movies and television.

I thought of myself as well-informed about my fellow Quakers, but I now feel so enriched by this thorough and generous volume.

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Patricia McBee is a member of Newtown (Pa.) Meeting and a longtime writer and teacher on Quaker process and spiritual practice