The Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends (aka the Quakers) was formed in the early 1650's by a group of seekers in northern England during the Interregnum (the rule of Oliver Cromwell after the regicide of Charles I). Many of the early forms of Quaker peculiarities still exist throughout the Religious Society of Friends today. ::Warning:: Quakerism itself has a large 'denominational-ish' structure with groups of affiliated "Yearly Meetings" that each hold their own "faith and practice". If you were to say the phrase Quakers believe xxx about yyy it would be zzz largely depending on which group of Quakers you were with, so this AMA will focus on the larger and less controversial Quaker beliefs; however, feel free to ask about anything.

To boil down a large variety of concepts into a something digestible, Quakers generally believe in direct revelation between God (whatever that means) and humanity unmitigated by priests, pastors, or strict interpretations of scripture. God (whatever that means) leads Quakers individually and communally. Quakerism has also be described as having a focus on orthopraxy (right action) instead of orthodoxy (right thinking).

Friends Practices

• non-necessity of water baptism
• no communion
• no mandatory tithing
• anti-war
• silent worship
• no oaths
• business meeting decided by 'sense of the meeting' rather than vote
• women's speaking in meeting/church

Friends Facts

Most Quakers live in Africa and we don't have any assisting in this AMA, so there's a rather large voice missing in this conversation.

Some Friends use the term SPICES to remember testimonies Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Sustainability while others believe "spice belongs in the cabinet and if it's old it belongs in your armpit". Testimonies like other things have changed as the Society of Friends has confronted newer issues.

There are many types of Quakers: Christian Quakers, Evangelical Quakers, Conservative Quakers, Liberal Quakers, Buddhist Quakers, non-theist Quakers, Jewish Quakers. For the purpose of this AMA we cannot cover all of them; however feel free to ask about any of them.

Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were Quaker presidents. Oops.

Visual Aides

Friends Americas

PDF Warning

Friends World Map

Quaker Speak is an informational Quaker youtube series.

Attend a Meeting

The best way to learn about Quakers is... to VISIT US! If you are interested in attending a Quaker Meeting the most comprehensive meeting finder is here: http://fwccamericas.org/visitation/find-friends.aspx

Choose your own book adventure

If you're a broad-strokes Christian interested in Quakerism, we suggest Traditional Quaker Christianity

If you're a progressive liberal or just like modern spiritual books interested in Quakerism, we suggest To be Broken and Tender by Margery Post Abbott.

If you're a mystic or spiritualist we suggest the Journal of George Fox or the Journal of John Woolman.

If you like to argue theology, we suggest Robert Barclay's Apology: the most well known Quaker theological work.

If you like to study feminist theology, we suggest starting with Margaret Fell's Women's Speaking Justified or if you want one of the earliest systematic theologies by a woman - Truth's Vindication by Elizabeth Bathurst - which can both be found in the book Hidden in Plain Sight.

If you are a evangelical Christian and don't like Traditional Quaker Christianity then read Reasons for Hope by John Punshon or Living the Quaker Way by Phil Gulley

If you're an academic read Introduction to Quakerism by Pink Dandelion or The Oxford Handbook of Quakerism edited by Stephen Angell and Pink Dandelion

AMA Introductions

u/macoafi I'm a member within Baltimore Yearly Meeting, which is no longer divided and so holds a broad variety of theological opinions. I've been called "conservative liberal" for landing somewhere between the Conservative and Liberal branches, and I'm ok with that. I found Friends while I was an atheist, and over the course of a few years I lost the gut reaction against Christian language and learned to see faith in less childlike terms.

u/havedanson I help out at r/Quakers. I attend a church in Western Yearly Meeting. I was drawn to Quakerism by belief in the power of Jesus Christ to transform peoples lives directly through the Holy Spirit. This occurred through the writing of Robert Barclay though Barclay had affirmed something I had already experienced. I part-time attend Earlham School of Religion where study Quaker history and theology.

u/stoicsmile I'm an attender (not confirmed member) of the Ohio Valley Yearling Meeting. My beliefs tend to align more with the liberal Quaker tradition. I found Quakerism through accidental association with some friends who turned out to be Friends.

Last Things

Lastly, if you like podcasts and are interested in Quakerism u/macoafi hosts an excellent podcast called Quaker Faith and Podcast.

Most of us hang out at r/Quakers and we have a FAQ that might be useful for decipher strange terms like "meeting" "first-day" "yearly meeting". You are always welcome to ask questions there as well anytime.