"What’s made the greatest impression on me is the strength, tenacity, and commitment to their faith of women throughout the entirety of Quaker history....I hope that my research will inform Christian spaces on the important role that women of faith have played as agents of faith. Moreover, I hope that my research will inform secular spaces on the important role of faith as a driver of important social justice movements that make our world more just."
— Dr. Robynne Rogers Healey, Professor of History
Robynne Rogers Healey is a professor of history and the co-director of the Gender Studies Institute at Trinity Western University. She is associate editor (history) of the Brill Press series Research Perspectives in Quaker Studies, convenes the Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists, and serves as publications chair for the Canadian Friends Historical Association. Her book-length publications include From Quaker to Upper Canadian: Faith and Community Among Yonge Street Friends, 1801–1850 (2006), Quaker Studies: An Overview, the Current State of the Field (2018, with C. Wess Daniels and Jon R. Kershner), Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690–1830 (2021), and Gender and Quakerism in Transition, 1800–1920 (forthcoming under contract, with Carole Dale Spencer).
During Women’s History Month at TWU, we seek to hear from experts across campus about the impact of women in history and society. Here below, we ask Dr. Healey about women in Quaker history.
Hi Dr. Healey, what things have stood out to you in your research on women in Quaker history? What has surprised or impressed you the most?
What’s made the greatest impression on me is the strength, tenacity, and commitment to their faith of women throughout the entirety of Quaker history. There are too many to mention, but here are a few examples of remarkable well-known Quaker women. Margaret Fell Fox(1614–1702), considered the “mother of Quakerism,” used her considerable privilege as a member of the gentry to organize communications, raise and disperse funds to support missions and those imprisoned because of their faith, and to petition Parliament for freedom of conscience. Mary Dyer (c. 1611–1660) was a Quaker hanged in Boston Common for repeatedly defying the Massachusetts law that banned Quakers from the colony; she was a martyr for religious freedom. Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780–1845) is well-known for her social and prison reform work as well as for her philanthropy; today the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) supports some of society’s most vulnerable populations and is a testament to Fry’s influence.
Lucretia Mott (1793–1880) was an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and social reformer; she dedicated her life to speaking out against racial and gender injustice. Ursula Franklin (1921–2016) was a physicist and metallurgist (the first female full professor at the University of Toronto), feminist, and pacifist who worked tirelessly for peace and social justice; she famously said, “peace is not the absence of war—peace is the absence of fear.”
There are also many, many remarkable Quaker women who are less well-known. We need to study these women too. I have just finished some work on Elizabeth Stephenson Robson (1771–1843), a British Quaker minister, who spent four years in North America between 1824 and 1828 when North American Quakers were in the midst of a bitter theological dispute. During her time in North America, she logged over 18,000 miles of travel, some of it in primitive and very difficult conditions, attended 1,134 meetings, and recorded 3,592 family visits. That is commitment!
How does your research inform society’s view of women and gender?
Women have always played an active role in Christianity, from the origins of our faith. My research has both shaped and informed my own views on the importance of Christian egalitarianism. The church, especially the evangelical church, includes a significant group of folks who hold a complementarian view of women in the church. I hope that my research will inform Christian spaces on the important role that women of faith have played as agents of faith. Moreover, I hope that my research will inform secular spaces on the important role of faith as a driver of important social justice movements that make our world more just.
During Women’s History Month, what do you wish to celebrate or affirm?
I want to celebrate all women for the everyday contributions they have made. Even as I’ve noted several well-known women in my responses here above, I am working to uncover the history of women who are not as well-known. It is easy to get caught up in the idea of doing something “big” to make change. The daily actions of faithful women have shaped—and will shape—the world in significant ways.
See also: Dr. Robynne Healey's interview in Learning Matters Podcast :
TWU Learning Matters Podcast
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has five campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, Ottawa, and Bellingham, WA. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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