Final Blog Project- Quakerism

A Brief History of the Quakers:
   
George Fox, Founder of Quakerism 
 
                In the Mid 17th century George Fox started questioning why he had to go to a priest or pastor to make a connection with God. Fox went around England and found people who shared similar beliefs; this is where Quakerism started to bloom. Quakers were persecuted in England under the Quaker Act of 1662 (later this was stopped by the Act of Toleration in 1689). During the time of persecution some Quakers were able to escape to America where they were semi-accepted in Rhode Island and West Jersey. A huge step for Quakers was in was in 1682 when William Penn founded Pennsylvania on Quaker principles, shortly after he signed a peace treaty with the Delaware tribe.

What Quakers Believe in:

             Quakers are considered a Christian Denomination but do not use the sacraments (baptism the Eucharist). Quakers call themselves "Friends" and believe in simplicity. Cutting out the ancillary things in life (like shopping, material things) helps a friend focus more on their inner light. Unlike Catholosism, Quakers do not have life size statues or stained glass windows in their church, instead they have benches in an unadorned room. Friends reject symbolism, but by rejecting symbolism in itself is symbolic. Quakers believe that symbols distract from the main focus which is the inner light.
A common meeting house set-up.

                    Not only do Quakers believe in simplicity in their church, but also within themselves. Many Quakers choose to keep their look simple with no make up, hair dye, or flashy outfits. Often people today do not know a lot about Quakers and think they dress like suto-pilgrims. Friends dress just like everyone else that you may see strolling down a street.
 Stereotypical Quaker (You may recognize him from the oatmeal tin) 

 

                 Meeting houses would be the equivalent to a church but are much smaller and are simply houses (no groin vaults or arches).
 Friends Meeting House, Uxbridge MA


So, what is a Quaker meeting?

                    Most Quaker meetings are held in complete silence for about an hour each week. Some groups read the bible  before silence. Silence is a time to reflect and open yourself up to the Holy Spirit. If someone feels compelled to stand up and say something they may, but instead of the congregation responding everyone stays in silence to reflect on what they have heard. Many Quakers have had experiences where they felt the overwhelming power of God during silence. For someone who has never been to a silent meeting before they may feel uncomfortable, often not knowing what to do when suddenly all stimulants are taken away.

Here's a video from England I found where Friends explain what Quakerism is to them and about meeting:

             Like many religions, Quakerism has different sects; Liberal Friends, Conservative Friends, Pastoral Friends, and the Evangelical Friends.

            Liberal Friends: are a sect of friends who are much less structured than other groups. They simply sit in silence without any scripture reading. They welcome anyone in, whether they are Christian or not. Liberal friends also involve themselves in community service.

            Conservative Friends: : "Conserve" the Quaker traditions from the 19th century. Like Liberal Friends, Conservative Friends have an un-programmed service. Some also choose dress and speak plainer.

             Pastoral Friends: Have a Pastor lead their worship, unlike Conservative and Liberal Friends. They also emphasize the scriptures during their services. Pastoral friends are also known for their missionary work.

             Evangelical Friends: Put a lot of emphasis on the scriptures, they also have a programmed service and practice at a church instead of a meeting house. They are also known for being missionaries.

                Although singing is not popular among the Friends' services, there are some songs that do reflect values and are taught in Quaker schools. This one's called Simple Gifts and here, it is sung by Jewel. This song is pretty straight forward it talks about finding true simplicity, very Quaker.

                  Quakers believe in peace and oppose war and violence. They were famous during the Vietnam War for their anti-war protests. Quakers were also extremely famous in history for their work against slavery. In fact George Fox spoke out against slavery when he visited America. In 1688 in Philadelphia (once called Germantown) Quakers protested against slavery. Then in 1974 John Woolen used his influence in the Friends society to explain the horrors of slavery. Friends were famous for harboring run away slaves, giving a helping hand for those who were breaking free from injustice.
Susan B Anthony

                  A very famous Quaker who embodied much of what friend hold important was Susan B Anthony. Anthony was widely know for her work to push for women's suffrage. She also played an important role in New York's anti-slavery movement. Anthony worked for human rights and equity; prominent beliefs in Quakerism.

Quaker T-shirt design

            Peace within one's self is central to Quaker belief, because, without inner-peace, one cannot share and create peace with others. Some Quaker groups explore how to become a peaceful society, here is a peace testimony that a group of students developed at a Quaker all girls school in Providence, RI.

Peace Testimony

Lincoln School

                 We don’t know if universal peace is possible. We don’t even know if it’s possible for each of us to become a completely peaceful person. But we do know that these two are connected. We know that we cannot be a peaceful community without being people of peace.

                  It is not enough to make rules so we can get along, while in our hearts we carry hard feelings or ill will. We must each start with ourselves, not just saying we want peace, but taking action every day to make peace with ourselves and those around us. This means being truthful and trustworthy even when it is difficult. It means being respectful of each other even when we do not like each other or are angry. It means living with kindness and humility rather than criticism or judgment. It means speaking out when we witness actions that divide rather than unite. It means listening past our differences until we can hear and know the inner goodness we all share. We know we are not many and most of us are young, but we also know that every act of trust, honesty, kindness, and love increases the trust, honesty, kindness, and love in the world.

           We believe these are the seeds of peace.



            This is a really striking idea, even if one does not agree with Quakerism or holds other religious principles, everyone can learn from this and if we all tried to add these qualities to our lives society would be much more peaceful. Quaker's hold some important central values; peace, simplicity, equity and love for others, these are not widely outrageous views, but ones that go unpracticed very often. Hopefully this entry will educated people on Quakerism and perhaps persuade them to adopt a few Quaker principles of their own.