Abstract
Many Quaker meetings in the United States struggle with attracting and retaining newcomers. While it is true that demographics matter (i.e., Friends are largely older, affluent, cis-gender, and white), a less recognized spiritual factor also affects the growth of our meetings—spiritual authority. While spiritual authority is distributed along the gender continuum, this paper focuses on the spiritual authority of women.1 This focus is particularly important given the preponderance of women in unprogrammed meetings. Friends who are women limit their spiritual development, as well as that of their meetings, when they and the Friends around them do not exercise their spiritual authority by welcoming the stranger.
Recommended Citation
Pfaltzgraff-Carlson, Rhonda
(2023)
"Welcoming the Stranger: The Spiritual Authority of Quaker Women,"
Quaker Religious Thought: Vol. 141, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt/vol141/iss1/3