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Basic beliefs and practices of Friends

When Friends are asked, “What do Quakers believe?” they may hem and haw as they search for an honest answer. Quakers have no written doctrine to which all are expected to adhere. There are, however, generally held beliefs among Quakers.

Quakerism began in the seventeenth century with George Fox. Then, as not, the Quaker faith was based on the belief that God’s will is continually and directly revealed to every person who seeks it. For this reason, Quakers are also sometimes called seekers. Although it’s difficult to describe God’s will in words, Quakers refer to it as the Light, and devote their attention to minding the Light or seeking the Light. God is also said to speak to the condition of those who pay attention.

George Fox, an Englishman, saw a need to bring religion back to the simple teachings of Jesus and to re-emphasize the importance of those teachings to each individual. After hearing a voice which said, “There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition,” he began to preach a view of Christianity that cut through ritual, hierarchy, social structure and the politics of faith. Jesus proclaimed the unmediated presence of God to all persons with no limitations of time or space, doctrine or practice, text or book, power or wealth, family, rank or status. And this was George Fox’s message too.

Fox’s fiery teaching “spoke to the condition” of many in mid-seventeenth century England. Soon, thousands were calling themselves Children of the Light. For Quakers, the belief that there is that of God in every person has always been taken seriously. In the heavily stratified society of seventeenth-century England, Quakers held that all people have equal access to God, including children, people of different races, the insane, women, prisoners, the rich and the royal, the poor and the uneducated.