The Society of Friends began in the 1650s in England. A man named George Fox spent several years struggling to figure out how to be a good Christian. He finally heard God's voice telling him that Christ would make it clear to him what he should do. Fox went around preaching to people. He told them they could talk to God themselves - that they did not need a priest or minister to do it for them. He told them that if they listened within themselves they would hear Christ telling them what to do. Fox found other people who had similar experiences. Together they started a religious movement that later became the Religious Society of Friends.