An excellent and stimulating read ~ Rev Gareth Jones, Interfaith Officer, The Methodist Church in Scotland, personal communication

Very fascinating and very useful. ~ Dr Carol Boulter, Reading Interfaih Group, personal communication

'Reading this book gave me a fascinating insight into what world faiths can have in common and how Quaker values have often been a fruitful meeting point for those faiths. I recommend it wholeheartedly.' ~ James Stacey, Quaker, teacher and poet, n/a

I think that Open to New Light is amazing, excellent, exactly what I wanted to know about, in the most effective, concise form possible. I love it. Without even a word of exaggeration! ~ Lee Gunn, Researcher, writer and Coventry Friend, n/a

Open to New Light covers a huge amount of ground in an accessible way, in a short space, without making the material seem in any way simplistic or superficial. I am sure the book will be received as a very valuable introduction to the topic. ~ Stuart Masters, Programme Coordinator (History and Theology), Woodbrooke, Birmingham, UK

A Quaker by convincement who has herself been involved in interfaith explorations, Eleanor Nesbitt has given us a well-researched and highly accessible account of liberal Quaker (Society of Friends) encounters with other faith traditions over the past 350 years. As a follow up to her Interfaith Pilgrims (2003), Nesbitt explores how liberal Friends from Britain and North America, pursuing a Quaker approach of “discerning openness,” have interacted with peoples of non-Christian religions (Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Pagan, and humanist) -- in their travels, commonly exhibiting a readiness “to learn from others” and “to work with other communities of faith” and, at home, following “an imperative of being a good neighbour to newcomers from different faith backgrounds.” Nesbitt also provides us with accounts of how Friends have themselves come to be viewed by members of these other religious traditions, discusses cases of individuals who have taken on merged identities (as, for example, “Muslim Quaker” or “Buddhist Quaker” or “Hindu Quaker”), and explores various Quaker interfaith initiatives. Open to a New Light exhibits Nesbitt’s personal and scholarly familiarity with Quakerism as well as her personal and scholarly familiarity with other religious traditions. (She is married to a Hindu man and is herself a leading Sikh studies scholar.) This background makes for a book both heartfelt and knowledgeable and one that should be of interest to Quakers and non-Quakers alike. ~ Professor Verne A. Dusenbery, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Hamline University, St Paul, Minnesota, USA, n/a

Nesbitt provides an accessible and deeply informed account of Quakers engaged in interfaith activity over the last three and a half centuries. This is not purely a historian's view, but that of a practitioner, who lives out her own interfaith quest. Nesbitt's spirit is gentle and open, her writing incisive, always aware of complexities and questions, always searching for a deeper truth to find equality, justice, community, simplicity and peace. I am not a Quaker. I found so much to learn from this book and commend it to all engaged reflectively with interfaith matters. ~ Professor Gavin D'Costa, Emeritus Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Bristol; Professor of Interreligious Dialogue, Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Rome

Eleanor Nesbitt offers a compelling, meticulous and insightful historical account of Quakers' interfaith journey focusing on the 17th and 18th centuries as well as later and contemporary developments in Quaker thought and interreligious engagement. It encompasses a wide range of religious faiths and indigenous traditions that Quakers of varying theological orientations, have interacted with over the last 350 years and how both Quakers and adherents of diverse faiths have been deeply enriched by their interfaith encounters in different contexts. What comes across clearly in Quakers' interfaith engagement is their commitment to 'values of truth and integrity equality and justice, community, simplicity and peace’ and their openness and willingness to see ‘God in everyone’ and ‘God in everything'. This book should be of enormous interest not only to Quakers but also to those of other faiths or none. ~ Dr Sharada Sugirtharajah, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham