The Quaker Way

“…be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come; that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them. Then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one; whereby in them ye may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you.”

– George Fox, 1656

The Quaker faith is based on the knowledge that God is present in us and by quieting our minds and listening deeply, we can directly experience God’s presence. It is the shared practice of worship, not a fixed set of beliefs that identify us as Quakers. We have no formal creed or dogma. We have no liturgy or rituals, but as we sit in silent worship as a community we carefully listen with an expectation of Divine guidance for ourselves and our community. In striving to express the inexpressible, we speak of “that of God within us,” “the Light Within”, “the Inward Christ”. Whatever term we may use, we all understand that we are speaking of a universal divine inheritance present in all creation.

There is great diversity of belief within our faith community. Some Quakers have a conception of God that is similar to that of other Christians, others conceive of God in a very different way. Regardless of our how different Friends perceive the Divine, it is the knowledge of this Presence in us that compels us to the unwavering understanding that a person’s life testifies to his or her spiritual beliefs. These spiritual insights, which we call our Quaker values or testimonies, spring from living in harmony with our beliefs. As Quakers, we strive to live our daily lives in accord with the values of peace both at home and internationally, equality for all of God’s children, personal integrity, simplicity, and stewardship of the world with which we have been entrusted. It is not always easy, and we do not always get it “right”, but, with the help and support of our faith community, we do the best we can.

We invite you to learn more about Quakerism by exploring the resources on our Going Deeper page.