The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) founded organization working for peace and social justice
in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a
combined effort by American members of the Religious Society of Friends
to assist civilian victims of World War I.
It continued to engage in relief action in Europe and the Soviet Union
after the Armistice of 1918. By the mid-1920s it focused on improving
racial relations in the U.S., as well as exploring ways to prevent the
outbreak of another conflict before and after World War II. As the Cold War
developed, it moved to employ more professionals rather than Quaker
volunteers, over time attempting to broaden its appeal and respond more
forcefully to racial injustice, women's issues, and demands of sexual
minorities for equal treatment. They also work for world peace.
Background
Quakers traditionally oppose violence in all of its forms and therefore many refuse to serve in the military, including when drafted. AFSC's original mission grew from the need to provide conscientious objectors (COs) with a constructive alternative to military service. In 1947 AFSC received the Nobel Peace Prize along with its British counterpart, the Friends Service Council (now called Quaker Peace and Social Witness) on behalf of all Quakers worldwide.
Although established by Friends, acting individually, AFSC and the
Society of Friends have no legal connections, as stated by its long-time
Executive Secretary Clarence Pickett in 1945.
History
In April 1917—days after the United States joined World War I by declaring war on Germany and its allies—a group of Quakers met in Philadelphia to discuss the pending military draft and how it would affect members of peace churches such as Quakers, Mennonites, Brethren, and the Amish. They developed ideas for alternative service that could be done directly in the battle zones of northern France.
A historic AFSC logo
They also developed plans for dealing with the United States Army, since it had been inconsistent in its dealing with religious objectors to previous wars. Although legally members of pacifistchurches
were exempt from the draft, individual state draft boards interpreted
the law in a variety of ways. Many Quakers and other COs were ordered to
report to army camps for military service. Some COs, unaware of the
significance of reporting for duty, found that this was interpreted by
the military as willingness to fight. One of AFSC's first tasks was to
identify CO's, find the camps where they were located, and then visit
them to provide spiritual guidance and moral support. In areas where the
pacifist churches were more well known (such as Pennsylvania), a number of draft boards were willing to assign COs to AFSC for alternative service.
In addition to conducting alternative service programs for COs,
AFSC collected relief in the form of food, clothing, and other supplies
for displaced persons
in France. Quakers were asked to collect old and make new clothing; to
grow fruits and vegetables, can them, and send them to AFSC headquarters
in Philadelphia. AFSC then shipped the materials to France for
distribution. The young men and women sent to work in France, working
with British Quakers, provided relief and medical care to refugees,
repaired and rebuilt homes, helped farmers replant fields damaged by the
war, and founded a maternity hospital.
After the end of the war in 1918, AFSCs began working in Russia,
Serbia, and Poland with orphans and with the victims of famine and
disease, and in Germany and Austria, where they set up kitchens to feed
hungry children. Eventually AFSC was chartered by President Herbert Hoover to provide the United States sponsored relief to Germans.
During the 1930s and through World War II, AFSC helped refugees escape from Nazi Germany, aiding people who were not being helped by other organizations, primarily non-religious Jews and Jews married to non-Jews. They also provided relief for children on both sides of the Spanish Civil War, and provided relief to refugees in Vichy France. At the same time AFSC operated several Civilian Public Service camps for a new generation of COs. When Japanese Americans were "evacuated"
from the West Coast into inland concentration camps, the AFSC headed
the effort to help college students transfer to Midwest and East Coast
schools in order to avoid camp, and worked with Japanese Americans
resettling in several cities during and after the war. After the war ended, they did relief and reconstruction work in Europe, Japan, India, and China.
In 1947 they worked to resettle refugees during the partition of India. Between 1937 and 1943, the AFSC built the Penn-Craft community for unemployed coal miners in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. In 1947 the AFSC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their war relief efforts. Shortly afterwards the AFSC became one of the first NGOs to be given Consultative Status at the United Nations. The Quaker United Nations Office was established. On 7 December 1948 the UN Secretary General Trygve Lie
officially invited the AFSC to take part in a 1-year emergency relief
program for Palestinians outside the newly established state of Israel. The program had a budget of $32 million, of which $16 million was from the USA. The AFSC was given responsibility for the Gaza Strip. Those displaced into Lebanon, Syria and Jordan where allocated to the IFRC and those in what has become the West Bank as well as those remaining in Israel came under the care of the ICRC.
In the Gaza Strip the Egyptian Army
had established 8 improvised refugee camps containing at least 200,000
people, mostly in tents, 56% had come from Gaza District, 42% from Lydda
District. The AFSC remit was food distribution, public health and
education. The program was run by 50 volunteers, not all Quakers but
most from pacifist, conscientious objector background. They had a policy
of employing people from the camps and ultimately had over 1000
Palestinians on the payroll. One of the first tasks was registering the
refugees, which was done by village of origin, and establishing a
rationing system and baby milk program. The target was that everyone
should get 2000 calories per day.
This was followed by establishment of clinics distributing medicines,
malaria control spraying and water distribution. By March 30, 1949,
rudimentary school places had been created for 16,000 children.
In the absence of any political progress in the repatriation of the
displaced people they were working with and lacking the resources or
willingness to commit to a long-term aid program, in April 1950 the AFSC
transferred their entire program to the newly created UNRWA.
As the Cold War
escalated, AFSC was involved in relief and service efforts, often
supporting civilians on both sides of conflicts around the world
including the Korean War, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Algerian War, and the Nigerian-Biafran War. Beginning in 1966, AFSC developed programs to help children and provided medical supplies and artificial limbs to civilians in both North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
Unable to secure U.S. State Department approval to send medical
supplies to North Vietnam, the committee dispatched goods through
Canada. AFSC also supported draft counseling for young American men
throughout the conflict.
In 1955, the committee published Speak Truth to Power: A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence, drafted by a group including Stephen G. Cary, A. J. Muste, Robert Pickus, and Bayard Rustin.
Focused on the Cold War, the 71-page pamphlet asserted that it sought
"to give practical demonstration to the effectiveness of love in human
relations". It was widely commented on in the press, both secular and religious, and proved to be a major statement of Christian pacifism.
In fiscal year 2020, AFSC had revenues of US$37.2 million and expenses of US$33.8 million. AFSC had net assets of US$100.6 million.
Programs and projects
Today
AFSC programs address a wide range of issues, countries, and
communities. AFSC describes the programs as united by "the unfaltering
belief in the essential worth of every human being, non-violence as the
way to resolve conflict, and the power of love to overcome oppression,
discrimination, and violence".
AFSC employs more than two hundred staff working in dozens of
programs throughout the United States and works in thirteen other
nations. AFSC has divided the organization's programs between 8 geographic regions, each of which runs programs related to peace, immigrant rights, restorative justice, economic justice, and other causes. AFSC's international programs often work in conjunction with Quaker Peace and Social Witness (formerly the British Friends Service Council) and other partners.
AFSC carries out many programs around the world. The organization's 2010 annual report
describes work in several African countries, Haiti, Indonesia, and the
United States. Recently AFSC opened a traveling art exhibit called Windows & Mirrors, examining the impact on the war in Afghanistan on civilians.
Cost of War project
Cost of War are real-time cost-estimation exhibits, each featuring a counter/estimator for the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War. These exhibits are maintained by the National Priorities Project.
As of June 1, 2010 both wars had a combined estimated cost of over
1 trillion dollars, separately the Iraq War had an estimated cost of
725 billion dollars and the Afghanistan War had an estimated cost of
276 billion dollars. The numbers are based on US Congress appropriation reports and do not include "future medical care for soldiers and veterans wounded in the war".
Exhibits
Based
on National Priorities Project Cost of War concept, American Friends
Service Committee (AFSC) launched an exhibit title titled "Cost of War"
in May 2007, at the close of the National Eyes Wide Open
Exhibit. It features ten budget trade-offs displayed on 3x7 foot
full-color vinyl banners. AFSC uses to cost of the Iraq War estimated by
economists Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz
in the article "Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three
Years After The Beginning Of The Conflict", written in January 2006 that
estimates the total daily cost of the Iraq War at $720 million. AFSC uses The National Priorities Project's
per unit costs for human needs such as health care and education to
make budget comparisons between the U.S. budget for human needs to "One
Day of the Iraq War". The ten banners read:
One Day of the Iraq War = 720 Million Dollars, How Would You Spend it?
One Day of the Iraq War = 84 New Elementary Schools
One Day of the Iraq War = 12,478 Elementary School Teachers
One Day of the Iraq War = 95,364 Head Start Places for Children
One Day of the Iraq War = 1,153,846 Children with Free School Lunches
One Day of the Iraq War = 34,904 Four-Year Scholarships for University Students
One Day of the Iraq War = 163,525 People with Health Care
One Day of the Iraq War = 423,529 Children with Health Care
One Day of the Iraq War = 6,482 Families with Homes
One Day of the Iraq War = 1,274,336 Homes with Renewable Energy
In 2004, AFSC started the project Eyes Wide Open in Chicago. Eyes Wide Open is an exhibition on the human cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The exhibit featured boots in a military array representing US deaths
in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and shoes representing Iraqi and Afghan
civilians. It was exhibited in 48 states and the District of Columbia,
drawing national coverage.
Throughout much of the group's history the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies have monitored the work of this and many other similar organizations.
Since the 1970s, criticism has also come from liberals within the
Society of Friends, who charge that AFSC has drifted from its Quaker
roots and has become indistinguishable from other political pressure groups.
Quakers expressed concern with AFSC's abolition of their youth work
camps during the 1960s and what some saw as a decline of Quaker
participation in the organization.
In June 1979, a cover article in The New Republic attacked AFSC for abandoning the tradition of pacifism. The criticisms became prominent after a gathering of Friends General Conference in Richmond, Indiana, in the summer of 1979 when many Friends joined with prominent leaders, such as Kenneth Boulding, to call for a firmer Quaker orientation toward public issues.
Subsequent to the FGC Gathering, a letter listing the points of
criticism was signed by 130 Friends and sent to the AFSC Board. In 1988,
the book Peace and Revolution by conservative scholar Guenter Lewy repeated charges that AFSC had abandoned pacifism and religion. In response to Lewy's book, Chuck Fager published Quaker Service at the Crossroads in 1988.
In 2010, Fager described that AFSC was "divorced" from Quakers'
life as faith community due to "an increasingly pronounced drift toward a
lefty secularism" since the 1970s. It was reported that the Committee in 1975 adopted "a formal decision to make the Middle East its major issue".
Some Jewish supporters of Israeli government policies have accused AFSC of having an anti-Jewish bias. In 1993, Jacob Neusner called the Committee "the most militant and aggressive of Christian anti-Israel groups".
The AFSC's position on its web site is that it "supports the use
of boycott and divestment campaigns targeting only companies that
support the occupation, settlements, militarism, or any other violations
of international humanitarian or human rights law. Our position does
not call for a full boycott of Israel nor of companies because they are
either Israeli or doing business in Israel. Our actions also never focus
on individuals."
Some 89% of Quakers worldwide belong to evangelical and programmed branches that hold services with singing and a prepared Bible message coordinated by a pastor. Some 11% practice waiting worship or unprogrammed worship (commonly Meeting for Worship),
where the unplanned order of service is mainly silent and may include
unprepared vocal ministry from those present. Some meetings of both
types have Recorded Ministers present; Friends recognised for their gift of vocal ministry.
The proto-evangelical Christian movement dubbed Quakerism arose in mid-17th-century England from the Legatine-Arians and other dissenting Protestant groups breaking with the establishedChurch of England. The Quakers, especially the Valiant Sixty,
sought to convert others by travelling through Britain and overseas
preaching the Gospel. Some early Quaker ministers were women.
They based their message on a belief that "Christ has come to teach his
people himself," stressing direct relations with God through Jesus Christ and direct belief in the universal priesthood of all believers. This personal religious experience of Christ was acquired by direct experience and by reading and studying the Bible. Quakers focused their private lives on behaviour and speech reflecting emotional purity and the light of God, with a goal of Christian perfection.
During and after the English Civil War (1642–1651) many dissenting Christian groups emerged, including the Seekers and others. A young man, George Fox, was dissatisfied with the teachings of the Church of England and nonconformists. He claimed to have received a revelation that "there is one, even Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition",
and became convinced that it was possible to have a direct experience
of Christ without the aid of ordained clergy. In 1652 he had a vision on Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England, in which he believed that "the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered". Following this he travelled around England, the Netherlands, and Barbados
preaching and teaching with the aim of converting new adherents to his
faith. The central theme of his Gospel message was that Christ has come
to teach his people himself. Fox considered himself to be restoring a true, "pure" Christian church.
In 1650, Fox was brought before the magistratesGervase Bennet and Nathaniel Barton, on a charge of religious blasphemy.
According to Fox's autobiography, Bennet "was the first that called us
Quakers, because I bade them tremble at the word of the Lord". It is thought that Fox was referring to Isaiah 66:2 or Ezra 9:4. Thus the name Quaker began as a way of ridiculing Fox's admonition, but became widely accepted and used by some Quakers.
Quakers also described themselves using terms such as true
Christianity, Saints, Children of the Light, and Friends of the Truth,
reflecting terms used in the New Testament by members of the early
Christian church.
James Nayler, a prominent Quaker leader, being pilloried and whipped
Quakerism gained a considerable following in England and Wales, not least among women. An address "To the Reader" by Mary Forster accompanied a Petition to the Parliament of England presented on 20 May 1659, expressing the opposition of over 7000 women to "the oppression of Tithes". The overall number of Quakers increased to a peak of 60,000 in England and Wales by 1680 (1.15% of the population of England and Wales). But the dominant discourse of Protestantism viewed the Quakers as a blasphemous challenge to social and political order, leading to official persecution in England and Wales under the Quaker Act 1662 and the Conventicle Act 1664. This persecution of Dissenters was relaxed after the Declaration of Indulgence (1687–1688) and stopped under the Act of Toleration 1689.
One modern view of Quakerism at this time was that the direct
relationship with Christ was encouraged through spiritualisation of
human relations, and "the redefinition of the Quakers as a holy tribe,
'the family and household of God'". Together with Margaret Fell, the wife of Thomas Fell, who was the vice-chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
and an eminent judge, Fox developed new conceptions of family and
community that emphasised "holy conversation": speech and behaviour that
reflected piety, faith, and love.
With the restructuring of the family and household came new roles for
women; Fox and Fell viewed the Quaker mother as essential to developing
"holy conversation" in her children and husband.
Quaker women were also responsible for the spirituality of the larger
community, coming together in "meetings" that regulated marriage and
domestic behaviour.
The persecution of Quakers in North America began in July 1656 when English Quaker missionaries Mary Fisher and Ann Austin began preaching in Boston. They were considered heretics because of their insistence on individual obedience to the Inner light. They were imprisoned for five weeks and banished by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their books were burned, and most of their property confiscated. They were imprisoned in terrible conditions, then deported.
In 1660, English Quaker Mary Dyer was hanged near Boston Common for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony. She was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs. In 1661, King Charles II forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism. In 1684, England revoked the Massachusetts charter, sent over a royal governor to enforce English laws in 1686 and, in 1689, passed a broad Toleration Act.
William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and West Jersey, as a young man
Some Friends migrated to what is now the north-eastern region of the
United States in the 1660s in search of economic opportunities and a
more tolerant environment in which to build communities of "holy
conversation". In 1665 Quakers established a meeting in Shrewsbury, New Jersey (now Monmouth County), and built a meeting house in 1672 that was visited by George Fox in the same year. They were able to establish thriving communities in the Delaware Valley,
although they continued to experience persecution in some areas, such
as New England. The three colonies that tolerated Quakers at this time
were West Jersey, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania,
where Quakers established themselves politically. In Rhode Island, 36
governors in the first 100 years were Quakers. West Jersey and
Pennsylvania were established by affluent Quaker William Penn
in 1676 and 1682 respectively, with Pennsylvania as an American
commonwealth run under Quaker principles. William Penn signed a peace
treaty with Tammany, leader of the Delaware tribe, and other treaties followed between Quakers and Native Americans. This peace endured almost a century, until the Penn's Creek Massacre of 1755.
Early colonial Quakers also established communities and meeting houses
in North Carolina and Maryland, after fleeing persecution by the
Anglican Church in Virginia.
In a 2007 interview, author David Yount (How the Quakers Invented America)
said that Quakers first introduced many ideas that later became
mainstream, such as democracy in the Pennsylvania legislature, the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution from Rhode Island Quakers, trial by jury, equal rights for men and women, and public education. The Liberty Bell was cast by Quakers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Early Quakerism tolerated boisterous behaviour that challenged
conventional etiquette, but by 1700, they no longer supported disruptive
and unruly behaviour. During the 18th century, Quakers entered the Quietist
period in the history of their church, becoming more inward-looking
spiritually and less active in converting others. Marrying outside the
Society was cause for having one's membership revoked. Numbers dwindled,
dropping to 19,800 in England and Wales by 1800 (0.21% of the
population), and 13,859 by 1860 (0.07% of population).
The formal name "Religious Society of Friends" dates from this period
and was probably derived from the appellations "Friends of the Light"
and "Friends of the Truth".
Showing the divisions of Quakers occurring in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Splits
Around the time of the American Revolutionary War,
some American Quakers split from the main Society of Friends over
issues such as support for the war, forming groups such as the Free Quakers and the Universal Friends.
Later, in the 19th century, there was a diversification of theological
beliefs in the Religious Society of Friends, and this led to several
larger splits within the movement.
Hicksite–Orthodox split
The
Hicksite–Orthodox split arose out of both ideological and socioeconomic
tensions. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Hicksites tended to be agrarian
and poorer than the more urban, wealthier, Orthodox Quakers. With
increasing financial success, Orthodox Quakers wanted to "make the
Society a more respectable body – to transform their sect into a church –
by adopting mainstream Protestant orthodoxy".
Hicksites, though they held a variety of views, generally saw the
market economy as corrupting, and believed Orthodox Quakers had
sacrificed their orthodox Christian spirituality for material success.
Hicksites viewed the Bible as secondary to the individual cultivation of
God's light within.
With Gurneyite Quakers' shift toward Protestant principles and
away from the spiritualisation of human relations, women's role as
promoters of "holy conversation" started to decrease. Conversely, within
the Hicksite movement the rejection of the market economy and the
continuing focus on community and family bonds tended to encourage women
to retain their role as powerful arbiters.
Elias Hicks's religious views were claimed to be universalist
and to contradict Quakers' historical orthodox Christian beliefs and
practices. Hicks' Gospel preaching and teaching precipitated the Great Separation
of 1827, which resulted in a parallel system of Yearly Meetings in
America, joined by Friends from Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Indiana,
and Baltimore. They were referred to by opponents as Hicksites and by
others and sometimes themselves as Orthodox. Quakers in Britain
recognised only the Orthodox Quakers and refused to correspond with the
Hicksites.
Beaconite controversy
Isaac Crewdson was a Recorded Minister in Manchester. His 1835 book A Beacon to the Society of Friends insisted that the inner light was at odds with a religious belief in salvation by the atonement of Christ.
This Christian controversy led to Crewdson's resignation from the
Religious Society of Friends, along with 48 fellow members of Manchester
Meeting and about 250 other British Quakers in 1836–1837. Some of these
joined the Plymouth Brethren.
Rise of Gurneyite Quakerism, and the Gurneyite–Conservative split
Joseph John Gurney was a prominent 19th-century British Friend and a strong proponent of evangelical views
Orthodox Friends became more evangelical during the 19th century and were influenced by the Second Great Awakening. This movement was led by British Quaker Joseph John Gurney. Christian Friends held Revival meetings in America and became involved in the Holiness movement of churches. Quakers such as Hannah Whitall Smith and Robert Pearsall Smith became speakers in the religious movement and introduced Quaker phrases and practices to it. British Friends became involved with the Higher Life movement, with Robert Wilson from Cockermouth meeting founding the Keswick Convention.
From the 1870s it became common in Britain to have "home mission
meetings" on Sunday evening with Christian hymns and a Bible-based
sermon, alongside the silent meetings for worship on Sunday morning.
The Quaker Yearly Meetings supporting the religious beliefs of Joseph John Gurney were known as Gurneyite yearly meetings. Many eventually collectively became the Five Years Meeting and then the Friends United Meeting, although London Yearly Meeting,
which had been strongly Gurneyite in the 19th century, did not join
either of these. Such Quaker yearly meetings make up the largest
proportion of Quakers in the world today.
Some Orthodox Quakers in America disliked the move towards
evangelical Christianity and saw it as a dilution of Friends'
traditional orthodox Christian belief in being inwardly led by the Holy Spirit. These Friends were headed by John Wilbur,
who was expelled from his yearly meeting in 1842. He and his supporters
formed their own Conservative Friends Yearly Meeting. Some UK Friends
broke away from the London Yearly Meeting for the same reason in 1865. They formed a separate body of Friends called Fritchley General Meeting,
which remained distinct and separate from London Yearly Meeting until
1968. Similar splits took place in Canada. The Yearly Meetings that
supported John Wilbur's religious beliefs were known there as
Conservative Friends.
Richmond Declaration
In 1887, a Gurneyite Quaker of British descent, Joseph Bevan Braithwaite, proposed to Friends a statement of faith known as the Richmond Declaration. This statement of faith was agreed to by 95 of the representatives at a meeting of Five Years Meeting
Friends, but unexpectedly the Richmond Declaration was not adopted by
London Yearly Meeting because a vocal minority, including Edward Grubb, opposed it.
Missions to Asia and Africa
Friends' Syrian Mission, 1874, built this mission house in Ramallah
Following the Christian revivals
in the mid-19th century, Friends in Great Britain sought also to start
missionary activity overseas. The first missionaries were sent to Benares (Varanasi), in India, in 1866. The Friends Foreign Mission Association was formed in 1868 and sent missionaries to Madhya Pradesh, India, forming what is now the Mid-India Yearly Meeting. Later it spread to Madagascar from 1867, China from 1896, Sri Lanka from 1896, and Pemba Island from 1897.
The theory of evolution as described in Charles Darwin'sOn the Origin of Species (1859) was opposed by many Quakers in the 19th century,
particularly by older evangelical Quakers who dominated the Religious
Society of Friends in Great Britain. These older Quakers were suspicious
of Darwin's theory and believed that natural selection could not explain life on its own. The influential Quaker scientist Edward Newman said that the theory was "not compatible with our notions of creation as delivered from the hands of a Creator".
However, some young Friends such as John Wilhelm Rowntree and Edward Grubb supported Darwin's theories, using the doctrine of progressive revelation. In the United States, Joseph Moore taught the theory of evolution at the Quaker Earlham College as early as 1861. This made him one of the first teachers to do so in the Midwest.
Acceptance of the theory of evolution became more widespread in Yearly
Meetings who moved toward liberal Christianity in the 19th and 20th
centuries. However, creationism predominates within evangelical Friends Churches, particularly in East Africa and parts of the United States.
Quaker Renaissance
In
the late 19th century and early 20th century, the so-called Quaker
Renaissance movement began within London Yearly Meeting. Young Friends
in London Yearly Meeting at this time moved away from evangelicalism and
towards liberal Christianity. This movement was particularly influenced by Rowntree, Grubb, and Rufus Jones. Such Liberal Friends promoted the theory of evolution, modern biblical criticism,
and the social meaning of Christ's teaching – encouraging Friends to
follow the New Testament example of Christ by performing good works.
These men downplayed the evangelical Quaker belief in the atonement of Christ on the Cross at Calvary.
After the Manchester Conference in England in 1895, one thousand
British Friends met to consider the future of British Quakerism, and as a
result, Liberal Quaker thought gradually increased within the London
Yearly Meeting.
After
the two world wars had brought the different Quaker strands closer
together, Friends from different yearly meetings – many having served
together in the Friends Ambulance Unit or the American Friends Service
Committee, or in other relief work – later held several Quaker World
Conferences. This brought about a standing body of Friends: the Friends World Committee for Consultation.
Evangelical Friends
A growing desire for a more fundamentalist approach among some Friends after the First World War began a split among Five Years Meetings. In 1926, Oregon Yearly Meeting seceded from the Five Years Meeting, bringing together several other yearly meetings and scattered monthly meetings.
In the 1650s, individual Quaker women prophesied and preached
publicly, developing charismatic personae and spreading the sect. This
practice was bolstered by the movement's firm concept of spiritual
equality for men and women.
Moreover, Quakerism initially was propelled by the nonconformist
behaviours of its followers, especially women who broke from social
norms. By the 1660s, the movement had gained a more structured organisation, which led to separate women's meetings. Through the women's meetings, women oversaw domestic and community life, including marriage. From the beginning, Quaker women, notably Margaret Fell, played an important role in defining Quakerism. Others active in proselytising included Mary Penington, Mary Mollineux and Barbara Blaugdone. Quaker women published at least 220 texts during the 17th century.
However, some Quakers resented the power of women in the community. In
the early years of Quakerism, George Fox faced resistance in developing
and establishing women's meetings. As controversy increased, Fox did not
fully adhere to his agenda. For example, he established the London Six
Weeks Meeting in 1671 as a regulatory body, led by 35 women and 49 men.
Even so, conflict culminated in the Wilkinson–Story split, in which a
portion of the Quaker community left to worship independently in protest
at women's meetings.
After several years, this schism became largely resolved, testifying to
the resistance of some within the Quaker community and to the spiritual
role of women that Fox and Margaret Fell had encouraged. Particularly
within the relatively prosperous Quaker communities of the eastern
United States, the focus on the child and "holy conversation" gave women
unusual community power, although they were largely excluded from the
market economy. With the Hicksite–Orthodox split of 1827–1828, Orthodox
women found their spiritual role decreased, while Hicksite women
retained greater influence.
Quakers have a long history of establishing educational institutions. Initially, Quakers had no ordained clergy, and therefore needed no seminaries for theological training. In England, Quaker schools sprang up soon after the movement emerged, with Friends School Saffron Walden being the most prominent. Quaker schools in the UK and Ireland are supported by The Friends' Schools' Council. In Australia, Friends' School, Hobart,
founded in 1887, has grown into the largest Quaker school in the world.
In Britain and the United States, friends have established a variety of
institutions at a variety of educational levels. In Kenya, Quakers founded several primary and secondary schools in the first half of the 20th century before the country's independence in 1963.
The Quaker Edith Pye
established a national Famine Relief Committee in May 1942, encouraging
a network of local famine relief committees, among the most energetic
of which was the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, Oxfam. Irving and Dorothy Stowe co-founded Greenpeace with many other environmental activists in 1971, shortly after becoming Quakers.
Some Quakers in America and Britain became known for their involvement in the abolitionist movement. In the early history of Colonial America, it was fairly common for Friends to own slaves, e.g. in Pennsylvania. During the early to mid-1700s, disquiet about this practice arose among Friends, best exemplified by the testimonies of Benjamin Lay, Anthony Benezet and John Woolman, and this resulted in an abolition movement among Friends.
Nine of the twelve founding members of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, or The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, were Quakers: John Barton (1755–1789); William Dillwyn (1743–1824); George Harrison (1747–1827); Samuel Hoare Jr (1751–1825); Joseph Hooper (1732–1789); John Lloyd; Joseph Woods Sr (1738–1812); James Phillips (1745–1799); and Richard Phillips.
Five of the Quakers had been amongst the informal group of six Quakers
who had pioneered the movement in 1783, when the first petition against
the slave trade was presented to Parliament. As Quakers could not serve
as Members of Parliament, they relied on the help of Anglican men who
could, such as William Wilberforce and his brother-in-law James Stephen.
One example of a reversal in sentiment about slavery took place in the life of Moses Brown, one of four Rhode Island brothers who, in 1764, organized and funded the tragic and fateful voyage of the slave shipSally.
Brown broke away from his three brothers, became an abolitionist, and
converted to Christian Quakerism. During the 19th century, Quakers such
as Levi Coffin and Isaac Hopper played a major role in helping enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad. Black Quaker Paul Cuffe, a sea captain and businessman, was active in the abolitionist and resettlement movement in the early part of that century. Quaker Laura Smith Haviland, with her husband, established the first station on the Underground Railroad in Michigan. Later, Haviland befriended Sojourner Truth, who called her the Superintendent of the Underground Railroad.
However, in the 1830s, the abolitionist Grimké sisters
dissociated themselves from the Quakers "when they saw that Negro
Quakers were segregated in separate pews in the Philadelphia meeting
house."
Quakers' theological beliefs vary considerably. Tolerance of dissent widely varies among yearly meetings. Most Friends believe in continuing revelation: that God continuously reveals truth directly to individuals. George Fox, an "early Friend", said, "Christ has come to teach His people Himself." Friends often focus on trying to feel the presence of God. As Isaac Penington
wrote in 1670, "It is not enough to hear of Christ, or read of Christ,
but this is the thing – to feel him to be my root, my life, and my
foundation..." Quakers reject the idea of priests, believing in the priesthood of all believers. Some express their concept of God using phrases such as "the inner light", "inward light of Christ", or "Holy Spirit".
Diverse theological beliefs, understandings of the "leading of
the Holy Spirit" and statements of "faith and practice" have always
existed among Friends.
Due in part to the emphasis on immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit,
Quaker doctrines have only at times been codified as statements of
faith, confessions or theological texts. Those that exist include the Letter to the Governor of Barbados (Fox, 1671), An Apology for the True Christian Divinity (Barclay, 1678), A Catechism and Confession of Faith (Barclay, 1690), The Testimony of the Society of Friends on the Continent of America (adopted jointly by all Orthodox yearly meetings in the United States, 1830), the Richmond Declaration of Faith (adopted by Five Years Meeting, 1887), and Essential Truths (Jones and Wood, adopted by Five Years Meeting, 1922). Most yearly meetings make a public statement of faith in their own Book of Discipline, expressing Christian discipleship within the experience of Friends in that yearly meeting.
Conservatives
Conservative Friends worshipping in London in 1809. Friends are in traditional plain dress. At the front of the meeting house, the Recorded Ministers sit on a raised ministers' gallery facing the rest of the meeting, with the elders sitting on the bench in front of them, also facing the meeting. Men and women are segregated, but both are able to minister.
Conservative Friends (also known as "Wilburites" after their founder, John Wilbur),
share some of the beliefs of Fox and the Early Friends. Many Wilburites
see themselves as the Quakers whose beliefs are truest to original
Quaker doctrine, arguing that the majority of Friends "broke away" from
the Wilburites in the 19th and 20th centuries (rather than vice versa).
Conservative Friends place their trust in the immediate guidance of God. They reject all forms of religious symbolism and outward sacraments, such as the Eucharist and water baptism.
Conservative Friends do not believe in relying upon the practice of
outward rites and sacraments in their living relationship with God
through Christ, believing that holiness can exist in all of the
activities of one's daily life – and that all of life is sacred in God.
Many believe that a meal held with others can become a form of communion with God and with one another.
Conservative Friends in the United States are part of three small
Quaker Yearly Meetings in Ohio, North Carolina and Iowa. Ohio Yearly
Meeting (Conservative) is generally considered the most Bible-centred of
the three, retaining Christian Quakers who use plain language, wear
plain dress, and are more likely to live in villages or rural areas than
the Conservative Friends from their other two Yearly Meetings.
In 2007, total membership of such Yearly Meetings was around 1642, making them around 0.4% of the world family of Quakers.
Evangelical Friends regard Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour, and have similar religious beliefs to other evangelical Christians. They believe in and hold a high regard for penal substitution of the atonement of Christ on the Cross at Calvary, biblical infallibility, and the need for all to experience a relationship with God personally.
They believe that the Evangelical Friends Church is intended to
evangelise the unsaved of the world, to transform them spiritually
through God's love and through social service to others. They regard the Bible as the infallible, self-authenticating Word of God. The statement of faith of Evangelical Friends International
is comparable to that of other Evangelical churches. Those who are
members of Evangelical Friends International are mainly located in the
United States, Central America and Asia.
Beginning in the 1880s, some Friends began using outward
sacraments in their Sunday services, first in Evangelical Friends
Church–Eastern Region (then known as Ohio Yearly Meeting [Damascus]).
Friends Church–Southwest Region also approved such a practice. In places
where Evangelical Friends engage in missionary work, such as Africa,
Latin America and Asia, adult baptism by immersion in water occurs. In
this they differ from most other branches of the Religious Society of
Friends. EFCI in 2014 was claiming to represent more than 140,000
Friends, some 39% of the total number of Friends worldwide.
Gurneyite Friends (also known as Friends United Meeting Friends) are
modern followers of the Evangelical Quaker theology specified by Joseph John Gurney, a 19th-century British Friend. They make up 49% of the total number of Quakers worldwide. They see Jesus Christ as their Teacher and Lord
and favour close work with other Protestant Christian churches.
Gurneyite Friends balance the Bible's authority as inspired words of God
with personal, direct experience of God in their lives. Both children
and adults take part in religious education, which emphasises orthodox
Christian teaching from the Bible, in relation to both orthodox
Christian Quaker history and Quaker testimonies. Gurneyite Friends
subscribe to a set of orthodox Christian doctrines, such as those found
in the Richmond Declaration
of faith. In later years conflict arose among Gurneyite Friends over
the Richmond Declaration of faith, but after a while, it was adopted by
nearly all of Gurneyite yearly meetings. The Five Years Meeting of
Friends reaffirmed its loyalty to the Richmond Declaration of faith in
1912, but specified that it was not to constitute a Christian creed.
Although Gurneyism was the main form of Quakerism in 19th-century
Britain, Gurneyite Friends today are found also in America, Ireland,
Africa and India. Many Gurneyite Friends combine "waiting"
(unprogrammed) worship with practices commonly found in other Protestant
Christian churches, such as readings from the Bible and singing hymns. A
small minority of Gurneyite Friends practice wholly unprogrammed
worship.
Holiness Friends are heavily influenced by the Holiness movement, in particular John Wesley's doctrine of Christian perfection,
also called "entire sanctification". This states that loving God and
humanity totally, as exemplified by Christ, enables believers to rid
themselves of voluntary sin. This was a dominant view within Quakerism
in the United Kingdom and United States in the 19th century, and
influenced other branches of Quakerism. Holiness Friends argue (leaning
on writings that include George Fox's message of perfection) that early Friends had this understanding of holiness.
Today, some Friends hold holiness beliefs within most yearly meetings, but it is the predominant theological view of Central Yearly Meeting of Friends,
(founded in 1926 specifically to promote holiness theology) and the
Holiness Mission of the Bolivian Evangelical Friends Church (founded by
missionaries from that meeting in 1919, the largest group of Friends in
Bolivia).
Liberal Quakerism generally refers to Friends who take ideas from
liberal Christianity, often sharing a similar mix of ideas, such as more
critical Biblical hermeneutics, often with a focus on the social gospel. The ideas of that of God in everyone and the inner light were popularised by the American Friend Rufus Jones in the early 20th century, he and John Wilhelm Rowntree originating the movement. Liberal Friends predominated in Britain in the 20th century, among US meetings affiliated to Friends General Conference, and some meetings in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Africa.
These ideas remain important in Liberal Friends' understanding of
God. They highlight the importance of good works, particularly living a
life that upholds the virtues preached by Jesus. They often emphasise
pacifism, treating others equally, living simply, and telling the truth.
Like Conservative Friends, Liberal Friends reject religious symbolism
and sacraments such as water baptism and the Eucharist. While Liberal
Friends recognise the potential of these outward forms for awakening
experiences of the Inward Light of Christ, they are not part of their worship and are thought unnecessary to authentic Christian spirituality.
The Bible remains central to most Liberal Friends' worship. Almost all meetings make it available in the meeting house,
(often on a table in the centre of the room), which attendees may read
privately or publicly during worship. But Liberal Friends decided that
the Scriptures should give way to God's lead, if God leads them in a way
contrary to the Bible. Many Friends are also influenced by liberal
Christian theologians and modern Biblical criticism.
They often adopt non-propositional Biblical hermeneutics, such as
believing that the Bible is an anthology of human authors' beliefs and
feelings about God, rather than Holy Writ, and that multiple
interpretations of the Scriptures are acceptable.
Liberal Friends believe that a corporate confession of faith
would be an obstacle – both to authentic listening and to new insight.
As a non-creed form of Christianity, Liberal Quakerism is receptive to a
wide range of understandings of religion. Most Liberal Quaker Yearly
Meetings publish a Faith and Practice containing a range of religious experiences of what it means to be a Friend in that Yearly Meeting.
Universalist Friends affirm religious pluralism:
there are many different paths to God and understandings of the divine
reached through non-Christian religious experiences, which are as valid
as Christian understandings. The group was founded in the late 1970s by
John Linton, who had worshipped with the Delhi Worship Group in India
(an independent meeting unaffiliated to any yearly meeting or wider
Quaker group) with Christians, Muslims and Hindus worshipping together.
After moving to Britain, Linton founded the Quaker Universalist Fellowship in 1978. Later his views spread to the United States, where the Quaker Universalist Fellowship was founded in 1983.
Most of the Friends who joined these two fellowships were Liberal
Friends from the Britain Yearly Meeting in the United Kingdom and from
Friends General Conference in the United States. Interest in Quaker
Universalism is low among Friends from other Yearly meetings. The views
of the Universalists provoked controversy in the 1980s
among themselves and Christian Quakers within the Britain Yearly
Meeting, and within Friends General Conference. Despite the label,
Quaker Universalists are not necessarily Christian Universalists, embracing the doctrine of universal reconciliation.
A minority of Friends have views similar to post-Christian non-theists in other churches such as the Sea of Faith, which emerged from the Anglican
church. They are predominantly atheists, agnostics and humanists who
still value membership in a religious organization. The first
organisation for non-theist Friends was the Humanistic Society of Friends, founded in Los Angeles in 1939. This remained small and was absorbed into the American Humanist Association.
More recently, interest in non-theism resurfaced, particularly under
the British Friend David Boulton, who founded the 40-member Nontheist Friends Network in 2011.
Non-theism is controversial, leading some Christian Quakers from within
Britain Yearly Meeting to call for non-theists to be denied membership. In one study of Friends in the Britain Yearly Meeting, some 30% of Quakers had views described as non-theistic, agnostic, or atheist.
Another study found that 75.1% of the 727 members of the Religious
Society of Friends who completed the survey said that they consider
themselves to be Christian and 17.6% that they did not, while 7.3%
either did not answer or circled both answers.
A further 22% of Quakers did not consider themselves Christian, but
fulfilled a definition of being a Christian in that they said that they
devoutly followed the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. In the same survey, 86.9% said they believed in God.
Quakers bear witness or testify to their religious beliefs in their spiritual lives, drawing on the James advice that faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
This religious witness is rooted in their immediate experience of God
and verified by the Bible, especially in Jesus Christ's life and
teachings. They may bear witness in many ways, according to how they
believe God is leading them. Although Quakers share how they relate to
God and the world, mirroring Christian ethical codes, for example the Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon on the Plain, Friends argue that they feel personally moved by God rather than following an ethical code.
Some theologians classify Friends' religious witness into categories—known by some Friends as Testimonies.
These Friends believe these principles and practices testify to,
witness to, or provide evidence for God's truth. No categorisation is
universally accepted.
In the United Kingdom, the acronym STEPS is sometimes used
(Simplicity, Truth, Equality, Peace, and Sustainability) to help
remember the Testimonies, although most Quakers just use the full words.
In his book Quaker Speak, British Friend Alastair Heron, lists
the following ways in which British Friends have historically applied
the Testimonies to their lives: Opposition to betting and gambling, capital punishment, conscription, hat honour (the largely historical practice of dipping one's hat toward social superiors), oaths, slavery, times and seasons, and tithing. Promotion of integrity (or truth), peace, penal reform, plain language, relief of suffering, simplicity, social order, Sunday observance, sustainability, temperance and moderation.
In East Africa, Friends teach peace and non-violence, simplicity,
honesty, equality, humility, marriage and sexual ethics (defining
marriage as lifelong between one man and one woman), sanctity of life
(opposition to abortion), cultural conflicts and Christian life.
In the United States, the acronym SPICES is often used by many
Yearly Meetings (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and
Stewardship). Stewardship is not recognised as a Testimony by all Yearly
Meetings. Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting Friends put their faith in
action through living their lives by the following principles: prayer,
personal integrity, stewardship (which includes giving away minimum of
10% income and refraining from lotteries), marriage and family (lifelong
commitment), regard for mind and body (refraining from certain
amusements, propriety and modesty of dress, abstinence from alcohol,
tobacco and drugs), peace and non-violence (including refusing to
participate in war), abortion (opposition to abortion, practical
ministry to women with unwanted pregnancy and promotion of adoption),
human sexuality, the Christian and state (look to God for authority, not
the government), capital punishment (find alternatives), human
equality, women in ministry (recognising women and men have an equal
part to play in ministry).
The Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association lists as
testimonies: Integrity, Peace, Simplicity, Equality and Community; Areas
of witness lists Children, Education, Government, Sexuality and Harmony
with Nature.
Former Friends Meeting House, Coanwood, Northumberland, England, dating from 1720
Calendar and church holidays
Quakers
traditionally use numbers for referencing the months and days of the
week, something they call the plain calendar. This does not use names of
calendar units derived from the names of pagan deities. The week begins
with First Day (Sunday) and ends with Seventh Day (Saturday).
Months run from First (January) to Twelfth (December). This rests on
the terms used in the Bible, e.g. that Jesus Christ's followers went to
the tomb early on the First Day. The plain calendar emerged in the 17th century in England in the Puritan
movement, but became closely identified with Friends by the end of the
1650s, and was commonly employed into the 20th century. It is less
commonly found today. The term First Day School is commonly used for what is called by other churches Sunday School.
From 1155 to 1751, the English calendar (and that of Wales,
Ireland and the British colonies overseas) marked March 25 as the first
day of the year. For this reason, Quaker records of the 17th and early
18th centuries usually referred to March as First Month and February as
Twelfth Month.
Like other Christian denominations derived from 16th-century Puritanism, many Friends eschew religious festivals (e.g. Christmas, Lent, or Easter), and believe that Christ's birth, crucifixion and resurrection, should be marked every day of the year. For example, many Quakers feel that fasting in Lent, but then eating in excess at other times of the year is hypocrisy. Many Quakers, rather than observing Lent, live a simple lifestyle all the year round (see testimony of simplicity). Such practices are called the testimony against times and seasons.
Some Friends are non-Sabbatarians, holding that "every day is the
Lord's day," and that what should be done on a First Day should be done
every day of the week, although Meeting for Worship is usually held on a
First Day, after the advice first issued by elders in 1656.
In programmed worship there is often a prepared Biblical
message, which may be delivered by an individual with theological
training from a Bible College. There may be hymns, a sermon, Bible
readings, joint prayers and a period of silent worship. The worship
resembles the church services of other Protestant denominations, although in most cases does not include the Eucharist. A paid pastor may be responsible for pastoral care. Worship of this kind is celebrated by about 89% of Friends worldwide.
It is found in many Yearly Meetings in Africa, Asia and parts of the US
(central and southern), and is common in programmed meetings affiliated
to Friends United Meeting, (who make up around 49% of worldwide membership), and evangelical meetings, including those affiliated to Evangelical Friends International, (who make up at least 40% of Friends worldwide.) The religious event is sometimes called a Quaker meeting for worship
or sometimes a Friends church service. This tradition arose among
Friends in the United States in the 19th century, and in response to
many converts to Christian Quakerism during the national spiritual revival
of the time. Friends meetings in Africa and Latin America were
generally started by Orthodox Friends from programmed elements of the
Society, so that most African and Latin American Friends worship in a
programmed style.
Some Friends hold Semi-Programmed Worship, which brings
programmed elements such as hymns and readings into an otherwise
unprogrammed service of worship.
Unprogrammed worship (also known as waiting worship, silent worship, or holy communion in the manner of Friends)
rests on the practices of George Fox and early Friends, who based their
beliefs and practices on their interpretation of how early Christians
worshipped God their Heavenly Father. Friends gather together in
"expectant waiting upon God" to experience his still small voice leading
them from within. There is no plan on how the meeting will proceed, and
practice varies widely between Meetings and individual worship
services. Friends believe that God plans what will happen, with his
spirit leading people to speak. A participant who feels led to speak
will stand and share a spoken ministry in front of others. When this
happens, Quakers believe that the spirit of God is speaking through the
speaker. After someone has spoken, it is customary to allow a few
minutes to pass in silence for reflection on what was said, before
further vocal ministry is given. Sometimes a meeting is quite silent,
sometimes many speak. These meetings lasted for several hours in George
Fox's day. Modern meetings are often limited to an hour, ending when two
people (usually the elders) exchange the sign of peace by a handshake.
This handshake is often shared by the others. This style of worship is
the norm in Britain, Ireland, the continent of Europe, Australia, New
Zealand, Southern Africa, Canada, and parts of the United States
(particularly yearly meetings associated with Friends General Conference and Beanite Quakerism)—constituting about 11% of Quakers. Those who worship in this way hold each person to be equal before God and capable of knowing the light of God directly. Anyone present may speak if feeling led to do so. Traditionally, Recorded Ministers were recognised for their particular gift in vocal ministry. This practice continues among Conservative Friends and Liberal Friends (e.g. New York Yearly Meeting), but many meetings where Liberal Friends predominate abolished this practice. London Yearly Meeting of Friends abolished the acknowledging and recording of Recorded Ministers in 1924.
Governance and decision-making are conducted at a special meeting for worship – often called a meeting for worship with a concern for business or meeting for worship for church affairs, where all members can attend, as in a Congregational
church. Quakers consider this a form of worship, conducted in the
manner of meeting for worship. They believe it is a gathering of
believers who wait upon the Lord to discover God's will,
believing they are not making their own decisions. They seek to
understand God's will for the religious community, via the actions of
the Holy Spirit within the meeting.
As in a meeting for worship, each member is expected to listen to
God, and if led by Him, stand up and contribute. In some business
meetings, Friends wait for the clerk
to acknowledge them before speaking. Direct replies to someone's
contribution are not permitted, with an aim of seeking truth rather than
debate. A decision is reached when the meeting as a whole feels that
the "way forward" has been discerned (also called "coming to unity").
There is no voting. On some occasions Friends may delay a decision
because they feel the meeting is not following God's will. Others
(especially non-Friends) may describe this as consensus decision-making;
however, Friends in general continue to seek God's will. It is assumed
that if everyone is attuned to God's spirit, the way forward becomes
clear.
Friends World Committee for Consultation
(FWCC) is the international Quaker organization that loosely unifies
the different religious traditions of Quakers; FWCC brings together the
largest variety of Friends in the world. Friends World Committee for
Consultation is divided into four sections to represent different
regions of the world: Africa, Asia West Pacific, Europe and Middle East,
and the Americas.
A
Friend is a member of a Yearly Meeting, usually beginning with
membership in a local monthly meeting. Means of acquiring membership
vary. For example, in most Kenyan yearly meetings, attenders who wish to
become members must take part in some two years' adult education,
memorising key Bible passages, and learning about the history of
orthodox Christianity and of Christian Quakerism. Within the Britain
Yearly Meeting, membership is acquired through a process of peer review, where a potential member is visited by several members, who report to the other members before a decision is reached.
Within some Friends Churches in the Evangelical Friends Church –
in particular in Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of the United States – an
adult believer's baptism by immersion in water is optional. Within
Liberal Friends, Conservative Friends, and Pastoral Friends Churches,
Friends do not practise water baptism, Christening,
or other initiation ceremonies to admit a new member or a newborn baby.
Children are often welcomed into the meeting at their first attendance.
Formerly, children born to Quaker parents automatically became members
(sometimes called birthright membership), but this no longer applies in
many areas. Some parents apply for membership on behalf of their
children, while others allow children to decide whether to be a member
when they are ready and older in age. Some meetings adopt a policy that
children, some time after becoming young adults, must apply
independently for membership.
Worship for specific tasks
Memorial services
The Quaker testimony of simplicity extends to memorialisation. Founder George Fox is remembered with a simple grave marker at Quaker Gardens, Islington, London.
Traditional Quaker memorial services are held as a form of worship
and known as memorial meetings. Friends gather for worship and offer
remembrances of the deceased. In some Quaker traditions, the coffin or
ashes are not present. Memorial meetings may be held many weeks after
the death, which can enable wider attendance, replacement of grief with
spiritual reflection, and celebration of life to dominate. Memorial
meetings can last over an hour, particularly if many people attend.
Memorial services give all a chance to remember the lost individual in
their own way, comforting those present and re-affirming the love of the
people in the wider community.
A meeting for worship for the solemnisation of marriage in an
unprogrammed Friends meeting is similar to any other unprogrammed
meeting for worship.
The pair exchange promises before God and gathered witnesses, and the
meeting returns to open worship. At the rise of meeting, the witnesses,
including the youngest children, are asked to sign the wedding
certificate as a record. In Britain, Quakers keep a separate record of
the union and notify the General Register Office.
In the early days of the United States, there was doubt whether a
marriage solemnised in that way was entitled to legal recognition. Over
the years, each state has set rules for the procedure. Most states
expect the marriage document to be signed by a single officiant (a
priest, rabbi, minister, Justice of the Peace, etc.) Quakers routinely
modify the document to allow three or four Friends to sign as officiant.
Often these are the members of a committee of ministry and oversight,
who have helped the couple to plan their marriage. Usually, a separate
document containing the vows and signatures of all present is kept by
the couple and often displayed prominently in their home.
In many Friends meetings, the couple meet with a clearness committee
before the wedding. Its purpose is to discuss with the couple the many
aspects of marriage and life as a couple. If the couple seem ready, the
marriage is recommended to the meeting.
As in wider society, there is a diversity of views among Friends on the issue of same-sex marriage.
Various Friends meetings around the world have voiced support for and
recognised same-sex marriages. In 1986, Hartford Friends Meeting in
Connecticut reached a decision that "the Meeting recognised a committed
union in a celebration of marriage, under the care of the Meeting. The
same loving care and consideration should be given to both homosexual
and heterosexual applicants as outlined in Faith and Practice."
Since then, other meetings of liberal and progressive Friends from
Australia, Britain, New Zealand, parts of North America, and other
countries have recognised marriage between partners of the same sex. In
jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is not recognised by civil
authorities, some meetings follow the practice of early Quakers in
overseeing the union without reference to the state. There are also
Friends who do not support same-sex marriage. Some Evangelical and
Pastoral yearly meetings in the United States have issued public
statements stating that homosexuality is a sin.
National and international divisions and organisation
The highest concentration of Quakers is in Africa
The Friends of East Africa were at one time part of a single East
Africa Yearly Meeting, then the world's largest. Today, the region is
served by several distinct yearly meetings. Most are affiliated with the
Friends United Meeting,
practise programmed worship and employ pastors. Friends meet in Rwanda
and Burundi; new work is beginning in North Africa. Small unprogrammed
meetings exist also in Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, South
Africa and Zimbabwe.
In 2012, there were 196,800 adult Quakers in Africa.
Australia and New Zealand
Friends in Australia and New Zealand follow the unprogrammed tradition, similar to that of the Britain Yearly Meeting.
Considerable distances between the colonies and small numbers of Quakers
meant that Australia Friends were dependent on London until the 20th
century. The Society remained unprogrammed and is named Australia Yearly
Meeting, with local organizations around seven Regional Meetings:
Canberra (which extends into southern New South Wales), New South Wales,
Queensland, South Australia (which extends into Northern Territory),
Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. The Friends' School is found in Hobart.
An annual meeting each January, is hosted by a different Regional
Meeting over a seven-year cycle, with a Standing Committee each July or
August. The Australia Yearly Meeting published This We Can Say: Australian Quaker Life, Faith and Thought in 2003.
Meetings for worship in New Zealand started in Nelson in 1842 and in Auckland in 1885. In 1889 it was estimated that there were about 30 Quakers in Auckland. The New Zealand Yearly Meeting, today consists of nine monthly meetings. The Yearly Meeting published Quaker Faith and Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, in 2003.
Asia
Quaker meetings occur in India, Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Japan and Nepal.
India has four yearly meetings – the unprogrammed Mid-India Yearly Meeting, programmed Bhopal Yearly Meeting, and the Mahoba Yearly Meeting. Bundelkhand Yearly Meeting
is an evangelical Friends Church affiliated to Evangelical Friends
International. Other programmed and unprogrammed worship groups are not
affiliated to any yearly meeting.
Evangelical Friends Churches exist in the Philippines and Nepal and are affiliated to Evangelical Friends International.
In the United Kingdom, the predominantly liberal and unprogrammed Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, has 478 local meetings, and 14,260 adult members, with an additional 8,560 non-member adults who attend worship and 2,251 children. The number has declined steadily since the mid-20th century. Programmed meetings occur, including in Wem and London. Small groups of Conservative Friends meet in Ripley and Greenwich in England, and Arbroath in Scotland, who follow Ohio Yearly Meeting's Book of Discipline.
Evangelical Friends Central Europe Yearly Meeting has 4,306 members across six nations, including Albania, Hungary and Romania.
Ireland Yearly Meeting is unprogrammed and more conservative than Britain Yearly Meeting. It has 1,591 members in 28 meetings. across the Republic of Ireland, and in Northern Ireland.
German Yearly Meeting is unprogrammed and liberal and has 340 members, worshipping in 31 meetings in Germany and Austria.
Small groups of Friends in Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, and Ukraine attend meetings
for worship there.
Middle East
Middle East Yearly Meeting has meetings in Lebanon and Palestine.
There has been an active and vibrant Palestinian Quaker community in Ramallah
since the late 1800s. In 1910 this community built the Ramallah Friends
Meetinghouse and later added another building that was used for
community outreach. The Ramallah Friends Meeting has always played a
vital role in the community. In 1948 the buildings and grounds became
home to many Palestinian refugees. Throughout the years, the members of
the Ramallah Friends Meeting organised numerous community programmes
such as the Children's Play Centre, the First Day School, and women's
activities.
By the early 1990s the Meetinghouse and Annex, which housed
meeting rooms and bathroom facilities, fell into disrepair as a result
of damage inflicted by time and the impact of conflict. So serious was
the deterioration of the meetinghouse that by the middle 1990s it was
impossible to use the building at all. A further blow to the Friends and
the wider Palestinian community was the high level of emigration
brought on by the economic situation and the hardships arising from
continuing Israeli military occupation. The Meetinghouse, which had
served as a place of worship for the Friends in Ramallah could no longer
be used as such and the Annex could no longer be used for community
outreach.
In 2002 a committee consisting of members of the Religious
Society of Friends in the US and the Clerk of the Ramallah Meeting began
to raise funds for the renovations of the buildings and grounds of the
Meetinghouse. By November 2004 the renovations were complete, and on 6
March 2005, exactly 95 years to the day after the dedication, the
Meetinghouse and Annex were rededicated as a Quaker and community
resource. Friends meet every Sunday morning at 10:30 for unprogrammed
Meeting for Worship. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Quakers can be found throughout the Americas. Friends in the United
States in particular have diverse worship styles and differences of
theology, vocabulary, and practice.
A local congregation in the unprogrammed tradition is called a meeting, or a monthly meeting (e.g., Smalltown Meeting or Smalltown Monthly Meeting).
The reference to "monthly" is because the meeting meets monthly to
conduct the group's business. Most "monthly meetings" meet for worship
at least once a week; some meetings have several worship meetings during
the week. In programmed traditions, local congregations are often
referred to as "Friends Churches" or "Meetings".
Monthly meetings are often part of a regional group called a quarterly meeting, which is usually part of an even larger group called a yearly meeting; with the adjectives "quarterly" and "yearly" referring specifically to the frequency of meetings for worship with a concern for business.
Some yearly meetings, like Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, belong to
larger organisations to help maintain order and communication within
the Society. The three chief ones are Friends General Conference (FGC), Friends United Meeting (FUM), and Evangelical Friends Church International
(EFCI). In all three groups, most member organisations, though not
necessarily members, are from the United States. FGC is theologically
the most liberal of the three groups, while EFCI is the most
evangelical. FUM is the largest. Friends United Meeting
was originally known as "Five Years Meeting". Some monthly meetings
belong to more than one larger organisation, while others are fully
independent.
Service organisations
Star symbol used by many service organisations of the Religious Society of Friends
The Quaker star is used by many Quaker service organizations,
such as The American Friends Service Committee, Canadian Friends Service
Committee and Quaker Peace and Social Witness (previously Friends Service Council). It was originally used by British Quakers performing war relief efforts during the Franco-Prussian War to distinguish themselves from the Red Cross.
Today the star is used by multiple Quaker organizations as their symbol
to represent "a common commitment to service and the spirit in which it
is provided."
Relations with other churches and faiths
Ecumenical relations
Quakers
prior to the 20th century considered the Religious Society of Friends
to be a Christian movement, but many did not feel that their religious
faith fit within the categories of Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant.
Many Conservative Friends, while fully seeing themselves as orthodox
Christians, choose to remain separate from other Christian groups.
Guerneyite Friends would typically see themselves as part of an
orthodox Christian movement and work closely with other Christian
denominations. Friends United Meeting (the international organisation of Gurneyite yearly meetings) is a member of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, which are pan-Christian organisations that include Lutheran, Orthodox, Reformed, Anglican and Baptist Churches, among others.
The majority of other Christian groups recognise Friends among their fellow-Christians.
Some people who attend Quaker Meetings assume that Quakers are not
Christians, when they do not hear overtly Christian language during the
meeting for worship.
Relations with other faiths
Relationships between Quakers and non-Christians vary considerably, according to sect, geography, and history.
Early Quakers distanced themselves from practices that they saw as pagan.
For instance, they refused to use the usual names of the days of the
week, since they were derived from the names of pagan deities. They refused to celebrate Christmas because they believed it was based on pagan festivities.
Early Friends called on adherents of other world religions to
turn to the 'Light of Christ within' that they believed was present in
all people born into the world. For example, George Fox wrote a number of open letters to Jews and Muslims, in which he encouraged them to turn to Jesus Christ as the only path to salvation (e.g. A Visitation to the Jews, To
the Great Turk and King of Algiers in Algeria, and all that are under
his authority, to read this over, which concerns their salvation and To the Great Turk and King of Algiers in Algeria). In the letters to Muslim readers, Fox is exceptional for his time in his sympathetic and wide-ranging use of the Qur'an, and his belief that its contents were consistent with Christian scripture.
Mary Fisher probably preached the same message when she appeared before the Muslim Mehmed IV (the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire) in 1658.
In 1870, Richard Price Hallowell argued that the logical extension of Christian Quakerism is a universal Church, which demands a religion which embraces Jew, Pagan and Christian, and which cannot be limited by the dogmas of one or the other.
Since the late 20th century, some attenders at Liberal Quaker
Meetings have actively identified with world faiths other than
Christianity, such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Paganism.
Nobel Prize in Peace (1947)
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