What Do Quakers Believe?

What do Quakers believe? As an experiential religion with no creed, there isn’t always an easy answer. We asked 26 Quakers about belief, and the resulting conversations were powerful.

Is QuakerSpeak worth $1 a video?

Jon Watts

Jon Watts launched and directed the QuakerSpeak project for its first 6 seasons. Keep up to date with Jon’s work at his website.

9 thoughts on “What Do Quakers Believe?

  1. Hi. I wonder if I might be able to find quakers in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’d love to learn more. Thank you.

  2. A brilliant compilation of aspects of quaker beliefs which gives seekers an insight into Q diversity. V good tool to use in explaining Q to others. To see v different people express their views is mind opening, helpful.
    Anne. Northern Ireland

  3. I was pleased that Thomas and Stephanie included the Christ oriented beliefs of George Fox and early Quakers. As a Convinced Quaker I came to the Friends with my faith as a born again Christian intact and only laying aside the trappings of “denominational” Christianity and, in my case, its theology of fear. In my own Waiting Worship it is indeed the Light of Christ that illuminates me.
    I have always revered the book of John and was reassured that my change was for the better when members at my Meeting told me that many Quakers considered John to be the “Quakers book” and have participated our in studies of John. However, the Holy Bible is far down on the list of books for our members.
    The welcoming of people of all faiths and even those of “strange” or no faiths (believing only in what can be scientifically proven rather that accepting something on faith) without demanding that they accept the prescribed dogma is one of the things I love about the Society of Friends.
    One of the things that has always made me un-comfortable about Friends is that they seem to go out of their way to avoid discussing Christ. I have visited several Meeting in traveling about the U.S. and in the un-structured liberal Meetings this seems to be summed up as “the early Quakers were Bible and Christ oriented” and let it go at that. In my Meeting it is sometimes seems to be avoided at all costs for fear of offending someone.
    This makes it difficult to explain Quaker theology to non Quakers so I have resorted to simply telling them that some of us are Christians, some of us are not, all are welcome.

  4. Some are Christians and some are athiests. In the end I gave up my life long membership. Time to grow up and grow down deep to my roots.

  5. That there is that of God in everyone doesn’t seem to mean an atheist would want to be at a meeting for worship. Certainly an agnostic would be welcome and open-minded enough to benefit.

  6. And yet people who do not believe in a God are members. Some of them are life long members. It is, I think, the searching for something deeper that is the quintessential part of being a Quaker as well as accepting those who are on their spiritual path.

  7. To Esteban Gomez-Alaniz

    You may go to the Friends World Committee for Consultation World Office at
    http://fwcc.world/
    I believe that they will have information about any Quaker meetings that may be near you.
    I’m sad that noone saw or responded to your comment since you posted it almost a year ago.

  8. A link to this QuakerSpeak would be an excellent addition to every Meeting website.

    P.S. To the individual who feels that Jesus is absent from today’s unprogrammed Quakers, our meeting in Downingtown, PA has an active Bible Study group. I’ve come to learn that many unprogrammed meetings engage in this enlightening exercise. The more I learn about the teachings of Jesus, the more I aspire to be the kind of person he challenged us to become.

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