The Religious Society of Friends (better known as the Quakers) are a diverse global community. You may have heard about Quakers sitting in silence, waiting for a message from the Holy Spirit. That’s a crucial element of how Friends meet in worship—but individual Quaker communities can, and often do, have their own way of doing things. So we’ve created this website to share information about Quaker beliefs and discuss how you might see Friends practicing their faith today.
We can also help you find a Quaker meetinghouse near you, if you’d like to speak with local Quakers or experience a meeting for yourself.
What Do Quakers Believe?
There are two fundamental aspects to Quaker faith. First, Friends believe that all people are capable of directly experiencing the divine nature of the universe—which is known by many names, God or the Holy Spirit or simply Spirit being among the most common. You don’t need a priest or any other kind of spiritual intercessor; you don’t need to perform any kind of ritual. When you need to hear from God, you will. When Spirit has a message for you to share, you should share it.
That leads us to the second key principle, our belief in continued revelation. In the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, we read many stories of God communicating directly with people. Friends believe God’s revelations have never stopped, and that God might reach out to any one of us at any time. When Quakers come together to meet for silent worship, we participate in a shared space in which we strive to become better able, and help each other become better able, to recognize such divine messages.
Read more about what Quakers believe.
How Do Quakers Worship?
Quakers can, and sometimes do, meet for worship just about anywhere; in keeping with the words of Jesus, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Most Quaker communities, or meetings, though, are likely to come together for worship at a meetinghouse. (Some Quaker meetings with a more explicitly Christian orientation might call themselves a “Friends Church,” but they’re basically meetinghouses.)
At least once a week, the members of a meeting will gather for silent worship.
Learn more about how Quakers worship.
How Do Quakers Live?
George Fox, whose visions helped shape the Society in its early days, offered Friends some crucial advice on how to live:
“Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations wherever you come,” he wrote; “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 everyone; whereby in them you may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you.”
Read more about how Quakers live.
History
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) are a movement within Christianity that began in 1650s England. Early Friends sought to revive “primitive Christianity” by going back to the roots of Jesus’ teachings around non-violence, simple living, God’s concern for the marginalized, the immediate and equal access to God’s Spirit.
Read more about who Quakers are here:
QuakerSpeak
Meet Friends from many different backgrounds as they discuss the core questions of Quaker faith.
To see more videos, follow us on YouTube or visit the QuakerSpeak website.