Quakers as a "Peculiar People"
By the nineteenth century, certain Quaker practices had evolved which tended to distinguish them in their personal lifestyles from the rest of society. The Quaker testimony of simplicity, for example, led many Quakers to adopt a distinctive clothing style, known as plain dress. Similarly, the testimony on plain speech, which led to the use of "thee" instead of "you", continued long past the original reason for it. This style of speech, however, was grammatically distinctive; rather than saying "thou art", Quakers said "thee is". This usage is very rare among Quakers today, although it has not entirely disappeared.
Early Quakers also objected to the names of the days and months in the English language, because many of them referred to pagan gods. As a result, the days of the week were known as "First Day", "Second Day", and so forth. Similarly, the months of the year were "First Month", "Second Month", and so forth. This practice sometimes crops up even today in Quaker meetings for worship or business, particularly in reference to Sunday, which is often referred to as "First Day".
Because of these practices, Quakers were known as a "peculiar people". For the most part, modern Quakers dress and speak in a manner indistinguishable from others. However, they do frequently use certain distinctive terms when describing Quaker theology or practices among themselves, including:
- Convincement - the process of a non-Quaker becoming a Quaker.
- Speaks to my condition - directly addresses my personal understanding.
- That of God in everyone - the belief of an Inner Light within all people.
- Hold in the Light - think about, pray for, or hold special thoughts about another person.