F ox, G eorge (1624–1691)

Abstract

George Fox was a British Seeker, religious reformer, and founder of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Born in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire, the son of Christopher Fox, a weaver and churchwarden, Fox was reared in a devout Puritan home and his parents were influential in his spiritual formation. He was trained in country business and enjoyed rural life, but became aware of perceived inconsistency and hypocrisy in the lives of observed “Christians.” Fox went on a spiritual journey in 1643, characterized by solitary wandering throughout England, and through various movements, including Baptists, Seekers, Levellers, and Ranters. In 1647, overcome by despair that he could find no resource to guide him to consistent spiritual truth, Fox had a mystical experience of the love of God. Buoyed by his experience outside of any institutionalized authority, Fox spread the message that practices, doctrines, and traditions had separated people from the truth. The truth, which brought a changed life, was personal, immediate, and unmediated in the Inner Light of Christ.