Quakers
The Religious Society of Friends, known as the Quaker movement, was founded by George Fox around the mid-16th Century in England. Tired of the exisitng Christian denominations with their reliance on hierarchy and structure, George Fox wanted a return to "traditional" Christianity without the added ceremony. Later, with access to an English translation of the Bible, converts to this new movement became known as "Friends of Truth", regarding themselves as Friends of Jesus after the Gospel of John 15:14 ("You are my friends if you do what I command you."). Mocked by others as "trembling with religious zeal", the Friends adopted the term "Quaker" as their own.
From the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting website, the Friends have adopted these tenets as their belief system:
-- There is That of God in all persons, often called the Seed or Christ Within or Inward Light, which can guide and shape each life in accordance with the will of God.
-- God is directly accessible to all persons without the need of either an intermediary priest or ritual.
-- God speaks in a manner that is personal, direct and certain - a continuing revelation. This discernment is clarified through collective worship.
-- The Scriptures can be understood only by entering into the Spirit which produced them. Divine revelation did not end with the publication of the Bible but has continued through history and remains available to the person or worshipping group open to receive it.
-- True religion cannot be learned from books, set prayers or rituals alone, but comes from direct experience of God. --The infinity of Divine Truth cannot be confined by a creed or dogma. To do so would trivialize it and deny the importance of experiencing it directly.
-- Friends continually work to remove the causes of conflict and war, striving to trust in love rather than to react in fear.
-- God's creation should be respected and preserved. Concern for the environment and right sharing of resources are evidence of this respect.
-- The power and love of God is over all, erasing the artificial division between the secular and religious. All of life, when lived in the Spirit, becomes sacramental. Quakerism is thus a way of life, putting faith into daily actions.
The Friends have spread to other parts of the world, traveling to Russia, Australia, Canada, Africa as well as the United States (or the New World as was known in the early years of the movement) and bringing their faith with them. Quaker worship has diverged with time, ranging from traditional unstructured meetings without a minister to lead, to meetings with ministers present and a program.
An unstructured meeting may consist of Friends sitting in silence, comtemplative in prayer. A Friend may speak if desired. The length of a meeting is usually an hour, or sometimes more. A structured meeting may consist of a sermon led by a minister or music, and the lengths also vary.
Quaker belief centers around the tenet of the Inner Light, or the Light of God within everyone. It is a belief that everyone's experience of God is personal and unique. Although the Bible has been used by some Friends as a guide in experiencing God, many Friends generally believe that the Bible should not be the only authority in belief and practice.
Other forms of Christian worship - creed, sacrament, or religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter - are also eschewed by Friends. Baptisms are not performed as membership initiations. Communion is seen as everyday meals with Friends. Christ's life and death is celebrated every day and not on designated days. Although sabbaths are not formally observed, religious worship usually takes place on Sundays (known as First Days) as a matter of convenience. Friends groups may also hold worship on other days of the week as convenient for them.
Quakers have also practiced plainness, in which they eschewed fancy dress of the time. The famous logo of Quaker Oats depicts William Penn in what was considered "plain" dress at his time. Today a Friend's style of dress may consist of non-designer clothing, or clothing that has been made ethically.
(From Wikipedia) Plainness in speech addressed other concerns to materialism: honesty, avoiding class distinction and vestiges of paganism, and the speaking of truth. These principles were put into practice by affirming rather than making an oath or shaking hands to agree upon a deal, setting fixed prices for goods, avoiding the use of honorific titles and using familiar forms for the second person pronoun. Early Friends also objected to the names of the days and months in the English language, because many of them referred to Roman or Norse gods, such as Mars (March) and Thor (Thursday), and Roman emperors, such as Julius (July). As a result, the days of the week were known as "First Day" for Sunday, "Second Day" for Monday, and so forth. Similarly, the months of the year were "First Month" for January, "Second Month" for February, and so forth. For many Friends today, this is no longer a priority, though the tradition is still upkept by some.
Equality between the sexes has been honored by Quakers since the beginning. Margaret Fell-Fox, the wife of George Fox, was also highly literate and published several tracts of her own. Early Quakers attributed inequality between the sexes to the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, but argued that equality was restored when Christ redeemed their sins. Men and women have spoken freely at meetings and other events.
Equality also extended to their refusal to honor anyone by title or rank, instead addressing a person by first and last name. This stemmed from a belief that in the eyes of God there is no hierarchy based by birth, wealth or political power. A Friend today may or may not choose to honor anyone by rank or title.
Quakers have long been at the vanguard of social justice. Early Quakers had owned slaves, believing it was acceptable as long as the slaves' material and spiritual needs were addressed. But it was around 1688 that they questioned the morality of owning slaves, and they began freeing slaves around 1755. They became active in the Abolitionist movement and were prominent participants in the Underground Railroad.
Women's rights were championed by Friends Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Another Friend, Susan B. Anthony, prominent in the abolitionist movement, fought for and achieved the right for women to vote.
Quakers have also championed the peace movement. The American Friends' Service Committee was formed for Friends who would not serve in the armed forces due to religious beliefs. Other organizations founded by Friends include Greenpeace's predecessor (Don't Make a wave Committee), Oxfam and Amnesty International. For a more complete list, click here.
Quakers have also founded many schools in the U.S. and throughout the world. Many of the schools here are independent but have been founded on Quaker values, while others are administered by Quaker administrations (known as Yearly Meetings). Best-known schools are the Sidwell Friends Academy (attended by Chelsea Clinton and now by Malia and Sasha Obama) and Cornell University (founded by a Quaker but independently operated).
Quakers have held leadership roles and advised other leaders. Other than George Fox, the best-known Quaker was William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania. Quakers have served as governors and members of Congress. And two U.S. Presidents were Quakers - Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon. It's interesting to note that their administrations served during volatile times, yet the decisions they made reflected their beliefs (some debate whether Nixon was a "true" Quaker, given the way his presidency ended and his service in the U.S. Navy, but many key policies he enacted were based on the qualities by which he was raised).
Much of this post has been based on information gathered from these sources:
Quakers and the Political Process http://www.pym.org/exhibit/p0123.html
Wikipedia - Religious Society of Friends http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker
© 2009 Lisa Hibbard & the Order for Spiritual Healing and Communication