ABSTRACT
One aspect of the development of religious pluralism in the Middle Colonies was the relatively early attempt of religious groups to define their institutional structures, disciplinary procedures and systems of authority the better to bind their adherents together and to distinguish them from others. The Quakers in Pennsylvania inaugurated an hierarchical system of meetings from 1683 onwards and vested authority in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting over the meetings of Pennsylvania and the two Jerseys in 1684. A combination of ministers and non-ministerial 'weighty Friends' dominated policy-making and the exercise of discipline. Yet such authority did not go unchallenged and, as in the case of the 'Keithian' schism of 1692, could contribute to further fragmentation.
