What is a Quaker Book of Faith and Practice?

What do Quakers believe? How do we practice our faith? The best place to look for the answers might be in a book of faith and practice. Here’s what they are and how they evolved over time.

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.

11 thoughts on “What is a Quaker Book of Faith and Practice?

  1. clear … concise … flexible …open … rules … no rules … guide lines … suggestions … a faith from the idividual…..no wonder I appreciate the Quakers

  2. So difficult to make accurate statements on this topic. My Faith and Practice says at the beginning that it is NOT rules, per the Elders at Balby. Saying that the Yearly Meeting is the “highest authority” also troubles me. It is not. The terms Liberal and Orthodox are also incomplete, imprecise and nearly useless to listeners outside of Friends. I could write and essay but not here.

  3. Honouring and serving each other, honouring the GAOTU (Grand Architect of the Universe) and all the creations is quite enough!
    That is my thumbnail sketch of Quakerism.
    Is there more?

  4. I generally find Thomas Hamm to be an excellent source on Quakerism. I think it would be useful to mention that some F&Ps are intended to be descriptive rather than prescriptive in many unprogrammed YMs (excepting most big “C” Conservative YMs). Illinois Yearly Meeting just finished a 27 year process of writing a new F&P and it is descriptive of what we do with some guidelines for our mostly bottom up polity.

  5. Queries and Advices were my favorite part of the Faith and Practice books from the meetings I have attended and from the British Faith & Practice. But these books are a view of Quakerism frozen in time.
    For me the books I return to serve me better: Listening Spirituality – Volume 1: Personal Spiritual Practices Among Friends and Listening Spirituality – Volume II: Corporate Spiritual Practice Among Friends.

  6. the recent book of Quaker Life and Practice is not as good as the latest Faith and Practice reprinted in 1972. the older book was a classic it included Human Relations in well composed format it included James Whitier great poetry and most of all it included the Peace Statement opposing damaging wars that ruined human beings, undermined world economies and laid waste to clean air, water and the enviroment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maximum of 400 words or 2000 characters.

Comments on Friendsjournal.org may be used in the Forum of the print magazine and may be edited for length and clarity.