Page "Ordination of women" Paragraph 120

* Early 19th century: A fundamental belief of the Society of Friends ( Quakers ) has always been the existence of an element of God's spirit in every human soul.

Thus all persons are considered to have inherent and equal worth, independent of their gender, and this led to an acceptance of female ministers.

In 1660, Margaret Fell ( 1614 – 1702 ) published a famous pamphlet to justify equal roles for men and women in the denomination, titled: " Women's Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed of by the Scriptures, All Such as Speak by the Spirit and Power of the Lord Jesus And How Women Were the First That Preached the Tidings of the Resurrection of Jesus, and Were Sent by Christ's Own Command Before He Ascended to the Father ( John 20: 17 ).

" In the United States, in contrast with almost every other organized denomination, the Society of Friends ( Quakers ) has allowed women to serve as ministers since the early 19th century.

Furthermore, in England in the 17th century Elizabeth Hooton became the first female Quaker minister.