Who are the Quakers?
Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends, a community which
began in England about three hundred and fifty years ago. Friends were
probably first called "Quakers" by a seventeenth-century judge who wanted
to insult them; Friends, however, accepted the name.
What do Quakers believe?
Friends rely on direct experience of the Inner Light, which the Gospel
According to John identifies with the divine Logos, the
eternal and living Word of God, and which Friends see manifested in the
ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently, Friends reject formal creeds
and doctrines. They expect their community to be held together not by
conformity of thought but by love. Their religious life is centered on
seeking to discern and follow the divine Light.
What are the Quaker "testimonies"?
Through their openness to the guidance of the Light, Friends have been led
to live in certain ways. Friends often try to describe their way of life
by enumerating certain principles, or testimonies, which seem essential to
it. These include simplicity of life, equality of both sexes and of all
persons, personal integrity, active concern for the liberation of the
oppressed, love of enemies, the cultivation of non-violence, open worship,
and free ministry.
In practice, the testimonies take sometimes a positive form, sometimes a
negative one. Positive forms include the Quaker United Nations Office,
which assists with international conflict resolution, and the American
Friends Service Committee, which provides relief to both sides in armed
conflicts and also works for social and racial justice and harmony.
Negative forms include Friends' refusal to swear, to gamble, or to take
part in war. Some testimonies, such as the simplicity of Friends'
meetinghouses or the lack of ritual in Quaker worship, are highly positive
to Friends but may seem negative to others.
How do Friends worship?
In traditional Quaker worship, there are no pastors, rituals, or
programmed activities such as readings or music. Worship is held "on the
basis of silence," so that each worshiper may, in unity with all those
assembled, open her mind and heart to the leading of the divine Spirit.
Historically, this has been called "waiting on the Lord." During the
silence, which usually lasts for about an hour, anyone who discerns a call
to ministry may rise and speak. (Friends have never restricted ministry to
ordained persons, males, or any other group.) When the meeting for
worship has been "gathered into the Life," those present feel themselves
joined together in love, transformed in spirit, and strengthened for
service.
How do Friends make decisions?
Friends make their decisions in a spirit of worship, waiting upon the
Light for guidance. All persons have an equal say in the process, because
the Light is accessible to all. No vote is ever taken; when the community
comes to be united as of one mind, then it recognizes that a decision has
been reached.
Do Friends believe in the Bible?
Friends see the Bible as a precious record that has been left to us by
writers who were inspired by their encounters with God. Friends assert,
however, that the same encounter and inspiration are available to us
today. Quakers have always maintained that only those who are themselves
inspired by the same Spirit that inspired the scriptures can understand
the meaning of the Bible. So it is the experience of the Light in one's
heart, and not the Bible, that is the primary source of truth for Quakers.
Since the Bible is not the Word of God for Friends, but only a pointer to
the living Word, Quakers are not concerned with such questions as biblical
inerrancy. The Bible is for them a tool, not a rule.
How do Quakers view other faiths?
As John Woolman, the Quaker "saint" and anti-slavery activist, wrote long
ago, the pure Light of God in each human heart is "confined to no form of
religion, nor excluded from any, where the heart stands in perfect
sincerity." Having experienced for themselves the truth of Woolman's
statement, Quakers do not seek to "convert" others to Quakerism, but only
to help others to discover the leadings of the divine Light within and
among themselves.
What is Friends' history in the United States?
Quakers arrived in the colonies of North America in the middle of the
seventeenth century. In some places, they were persecuted and killed by
the Puritans. Baptist leader Roger Williams, who believed that God abhors
intolerance, sheltered some Friends in Rhode Island. When King Charles II
ceded the colony of Pennsylvania to the Quaker William Penn, Friends
established a government there based on Quaker principles. Members of any
faith were permitted to live in the colony. Native Americans were
compensated for their lands and were not warred against. Quaker merchants
established strict standards of honesty in business. This "holy
experiment," centered in Philadelphia ("the City of Love"), lasted until
non-Quakers gained control of the state legislature and began a war
against Native Americans.
Quakers have been active in many of the great movements of United States
history. Due to the efforts of Friends like John Woolman, by the time of
the Revolutionary War Quakers as a group had renounced slavery. Friends
were among the most active and vocal abolitionists, working also in the
"Underground Railroad" to help slaves escape to freedom. Quakers have
also made important contributions in prison reform, education, social
work, racial equality, the peace movement, and the women's
movement.
Is there a very brief summary of Quakerism?
Because Quakerism is a way of life rather than a system of belief, the
best brief summary of what it is about is probably George Fox's
exhortation to early Friends. "Be patterns, be examples," Fox wrote, "in
all places, islands, countries, nations, wherever you come, that by your
life and example you may preach among all sorts of people, and to them.
Then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of
God in every one, whereby in them you may be a blessing, and make the
witness of God in them to bless you...."
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