Iowa
History Project
____________________________________
~~~*~~~
______________________
Many of the fundamental testimonies for which the Friends still
seem to stand out in the public mind had served their purpose long before the
first Quakers had served their purpose long before the first Quakers came to
Iowa. But during the last three-quarters of a century the Friends in Iowa have
had ample opportunity to assert their position upon the problems of justice to
the Indian and freedom to the negro, and to express their hatred of war.
Against the evils of the past the
people called Quakers were persistent and courageous in their opposition. But
an entirely new set of problems now confronts the American people Social
immorality, economic injustice, civic unrighteousness, and ecclesiastical
formalism—these are among the evils which are claiming the attention of
churches and of reformers at the present time.
In view of the conditions which
prevail throughout the entire field of Iowa Quakerism it is not surprising that
on every hand thinking Friends are asking themselves the question whether or
not the Quakers any longer have a distinctive message. Still to a large extent
rural in its membership, the Society of Friends in Iowa has not been brought
into direct contact with those forces of economic discontent which are
disturbing our large industrial centers. The Quakers have been inclined to hold
aloof from the political conflicts which have from time to time convulsed the
country.(183) —except in their opposition to the liquor
traffic. Usually well trained in the home, few Quaker children find their way
into the criminal,(184) pauper, or socially
degenerate classes of society. Few in numbers as they are in comparison to the
whole population of the State, and gifted with a natural religious inclination,
the Society of Friends has been comparatively successful in preserving its
religious integrity, in spite of the worldliness which has invaded even the
most obscure country districts.
Almost universally the Friends in
Iowa, including even the Conservatives, have brushed aside those external
eccentricities which once marked them out as a peculiar and seclusive people.
The orthodox body, as has been seen in the preceding chapters, has adopted
modern methods of church activity, if not with the same degree of energy which
some other denominations show, still with results which are in marked contrast
with their earlier policy of seclusion. To be specific, the Orthodox Friends in
Iowa have launched boldly into foreign mission work, spending large sums of
their strongest leaders into the field. They are continually placing greater
and greater emphasis upon the importance of higher education, thus preparing
their youth to meet the competition of modern life. And they are insisting
through every possible channel upon the maintenance of the purity of their
ministry and religious doctrines. But with all these changes the question still
remains: has the Society of Friends a message for the world to-day?
Until about ten years ago there was
little evidence in this country that any satisfactory answer to this question
was forthcoming.(185) But now it is safe to say that Quakerism is
being given a new meaning in terms of modern life. The ideal of social service
has been developed in its midst; and this religious society, which once so
scrupulously refrained from contact with the “profane” world, is now preparing
itself to take an active part in the work of uplifting humanity. The fact is
gradually being recognized that the great need of the world is not more
religion, but that religion as it is should touch the common plane of the
common man’s daily life.
183- Politically, the Friends
have generally allied themselves, first with the Whig and later with the
Republican party. In marked contrast to their usual passive attitude toward
politics stands the campaign of 1896 when the Orthodox Friends in Iowa became
so wrought up that “but little evangelistic work could be done in our meetings
until late in the season”, because, says the General Superintendent, of the
deceptive absorption of a political campaign”.—Minutes of Iowa Yearly Meeting
of (Orthodox) Friends, 1897, p. 24.
184- The following table is of interest as a comparison between the
number of communicants of the various religious denominations in Iowa, and the
number of inmates in the State penitentiaries in 1906 declaring their
affiliations or preferences for the same denominations:
|
Name of Denomination |
Number of Communicants
|
Ft. Madison Males |
Anamosa
Males |
Anamosa
Females |
Totals |
Relative Percentage of Inmates Based on Whole Number of Communicants |
|
Baptists |
44,096 |
31 |
4 |
.. |
45 |
.00079 |
|
Christian |
57,425 |
34 |
3 |
4 |
41 |
.00071 |
|
Methodist |
164,329 |
63 |
11 |
1 |
75 |
.00045 |
|
Roman Catholic |
207,607 |
43 |
35 |
1 |
80 |
.00038 |
|
United Brethren |
11, 246 |
3 |
.. |
1 |
4 |
.00035 |
|
Friends |
10,088 |
2 |
.. |
.. |
2 |
.00019 |
|
Presbyterian |
60,081 |
7 |
1 |
.. |
8 |
.00013 |
|
Lutheran |
117,668 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
15 |
.00012 |
|
Congregational |
37,061 |
2 |
.. |
.. |
2 |
.00005 |
The above table
was compiled from the Special Reports of the Bureau of Census, Religious
Bodies, 1906, Pt. I, pp. 190, 191, 192, 193, 194; and Report of the
Board of Control of State Institutions of Iowa, 1906, p. 383.
185- A brief sketch of the young people’s forward movement both in
England and in America may be found in an article by Horace Mather Lippincott
and John S. Hoyland, entitled The Movement, published in An Account
of the Young Friends’ Conference at the Shittier Fellowship Guest House,
pp. 21-28.