Young Person's Guide to Quakers

Who are the Quakers?

To recognise the extraordinary in the ordinary...

`Quakers' started as a nickname - their real name is the Religious Society of Friends - but
they are quite happy to be called either Friends or Quakers.
The Religious Society of Friends is a small group (about 20,000 in Britain, much larger
numbers in the Americas and Africa) with a special view of what religion means, and of
Christianity in particular.
Anybody can attend the local Quaker Meeting for Worship. After a while, if they find
they share Friends' outlook, they can become a member and take a bigger part in the
Society's life.

Quakers and Christianity

Quakerism started in England in the 1650s, the time of the Commonwealth, when George
Fox gathered groups of 'seekers' or dissidents together. They felt that the Churches over
the centuries had led people right away from the real aims of Christianity, and got bogged
down with traditions and ritual and power politics.
Quakers were trying to lead a renewal - to see how they could live life more simply and
truthfully, following Jesus' example more closely. So there's no doubt that Quakerism is
rooted in Christianity, and many Quakers centre their faith on Jesus.
On the other hand, some Quakers find that traditional religious language doesn't describe
their inner experiences, and they look both within Christianity and beyond. The Society
appears very different from any other Christian group, without the usual priests, services,
creeds and church buildings.

Is Quakerism a religion, or an approach to religion

?
"An `inner light' within each human being"
It is the job of religion to help us find meaning in our lives, to reach the underlying reality
the inexpressible truth. Throughout time, churches and faiths have struggled to help
people recognize the extraordinary in the ordinary, or as Quakers would put it, to find
something of God in their daily lives. So Quakers recognize all the great faiths as ways to
spiritual fulfilment, and of course, they are willing to learn from and work with other
faiths and churches. But for Quakers, there is something uniquely helpful and inspiring in
the Quaker approach to religion.

Well, what do Friends believe?

Friends have always questioned anything they were told to believe! It is part of their
'seeking for truth', in the old phrase. It is based on the experience that there is a real and
direct relationship between each person and God - though Quakers will use a variety of
words and ways to try to do the impossible in describing 'God'. Ultimately, though, all
individuals have to find their own way to religious truth, being aware of God in their own
lives, learning from the wisdom of the past as expressed in a variety of religious writings,
and comparing their experiences with others in their Meeting.
You may be thinking, 'Where does Jesus come in?' Quakers don't spend much time
discussing theology - for instance, whether Jesus was the 'son of God'. They would say
the important thing is to learn from Jesus' teaching and way of life - and get on with it

Putting faith into practice

In Britain, most Friends regard the Bible as by far the greatest printed source of
inspiration, but not the only one; they read it along with all the other books, old and new,
which can guide us in life.

But they are not among those who take any 'holy' book as being literally the 'Word of
God' - they see too many puzzling contradictions. They find modern scholarship very
useful in getting to grips with the Bible and other great books.
You will find a lot of beliefs and attitudes in common among Quakers, but you can't list
them in a formula, or use them as a test of membership, as some other Churches do with
an approved Creed. Friends do like to talk of an 'Inner Light' within every human being.
Some would call this 'conscience' or 'moral sense', but Friends feel it is something more:
part of spiritual and religious experience, which gives you a sense of direction in your
search for the right way to live.

Meeting for Worship

It's hard being a 'seeker' on your own. In the Meeting for Worship, Friends share with
each other what they have found out for themselves, and gain from each other in this way.
If everyone can have a direct relationship or 'communion' with God, then no priest is
needed to act as a go-between, and Friends have no priests or ministers (though members
share out the practical tasks that need doing in any group).
Friends find that this ' communion' can best be experienced if they meet in silence, with
nothing pre-planned. Meeting for Worship couldn't be simpler: you go in and sit down in
a room and settle in silence, a silence which can become very deep and powerful, a direct
relationship between each person and God.
After a time, someone may feel that they must stand up and speak briefly in their own
words, or pray, or read from the Quaker Faith and Practice or some other book. But silent
waiting is the frame work of the Meeting for Worship - and the regular Meetings are
something no Quaker would want to miss.

No communion, no service?
If there is something of God in every person - and every time and place and thing - then
there is no need for special feast days, ceremonies and sacraments such as baptism or
holy communion. In the same way, the Meeting House is not a consecrated building like
a church: it can just as well be used for music, eating, discussion or fun as for worship.
For Quakers there should be no split between religion and daily life. Everything,
including joy and suffering and the good and the bad things we do, are part of living and
growing and learning. But the effect of Quaker worship was described by an early Friend:
'I felt the evil weakening in me and the good raised up'.
Perhaps this is why Quakers are generally very tolerant and hopeful.

The things Friends aim at - and often miss

Because they feel there is 'something of God' in every one, Quakers aim to find that
'something' in all their dealings - with nice people and not-so-nice, with old and young,
with black and white, with poor and rich, with men and women, gay and straight. They
take this to be the meaning of 'love God and love one another'. They try to live a fairly
simple life: not to get too involved with money, or possessions, or status, not to lose sight
of what is really important.

The things Friends actually do

Quakers feel that unless you have experienced a belief inwardly, as true and valuable, you
won't let it rule your life: and if it doesn't do that, what use is a belief? It's no good having
a faith if you don't put it into practice. Quakers have always tried to be honest at work
(which for many Quaker businesses has proved to be the best policy). They aim at
truthfulness at all times, which is why, for example, a Quaker won't swear an oath in
court - it would suggest that the rest of the time you can have different standards of truth.
The most obvious way Christianity should be worked out is by caring for one another,
and for the world in which we live. From the start, Quakers have felt strong concerns to
improve social conditions nad the environment: slaves, prisoners, mental patients,
refugees, old people, war casualties - quite a few charities and campaigns for reform have
started as the concern of a Quaker.
Above all, Quakers say that if you follow the teaching and life of Jesus, you must rule out
war and violence as a way of solving problems. They try never to give up on getting in
touch with that of God in every person. So Friends have always worked for peace,
refusing to contribute to war and military action. There are Quaker Centres bringing
diplomats into contact in various cities around the world, and international projects that
bring young people together.
William Penn, the founder of a state that lasted for 75 years without a military force, said
that true Godliness shouldn't turn people out of this world, but should make them more
able to live in it. Is this an impossible aim? Quakers believe it is possible - and in today's
situation, vital.

Don't stop here - find out for yourself

Junior Yearly Meeting

You would be welcome at Meeting for Worship. Talk with Friends there and ask them
about activities for young people.
If you write to Quaker Home Service (YP), Friends House, Euston Road, London NW1
2BJ, they will send you free booklets and tell you about Quakers in your area.
Or you can look up your local meeting on our parent web site.
Produced by Children and Young People's Committee, Quaker Home Service, Friends House, Euston
Road, London NW1 2BJ. 0171 663 1013