Birthright Membership

This was adopted for Quakers by the London yearly meeting of 1737. If the father was a member of a meeting, the wife and all their children were to be enrolled as members of the meeting and eligible for financial aid if needed. No profession of faith was required of such persons, and membership continued after the death of the husband and father. This plan enrolled many members who had no change of heart, and it diminished evangelism as a mode of winning members. Birthright membership was replaced after 1900 by associate membership.