The early Quakers denounced the clergy and social élite but how did that affect Friends' relationships with others? Drawing upon the insights of sociologists and anthropologists, this lively and original study sets out to discover the social consequences of religious belief. Why did the sect appoint its own midwives to attend Quaker women during confinement? Was animosity to Quakerism so great that Friends were excluded from involvement in parish life? And to what extent were the remarkably high literacy rates of Quakers attributable to the Quaker faith or wider social forces? Using a wide range of primary source material, this study demonstrates that Quakers were not the marginal and isolated people which contemporaries and historians often portrayed. Indeed the sect had a profound impact not only upon members but more widely by encouraging a greater tolerance of diversity in early modern society. Adrian Davies has written an excellent local study on Quakerism. The research is impeccable, and early modern historians will have constant recourse to it for insights into the transition of a sect into a denomination ... Davies makes a balanced and valuable contribution to the debate on the social origins of Quakerism ... it is a book to which historians will constantly return for answers.