Have The Quakers Given Up On God?

By Derek Welch --
07 May 2018 --

Quakers’ Unique Interpretation Of Christianity Has Made Radical Changes

Of all Christian denominations, Quakers have always been at the forefront of social justice. They banned members from owning slaves nearly 100 years before the United States legally ended slavery. They included women as equal members since the 1700s. Quakers were many of the organizers of the Suffrage Movement. Quakers have led anti-war protests for hundreds of years. But this new change seems to violate the very foundation of their religion.

Have The Quakers Given Up On God?[/tweetthis]

At a general meeting, Quakers are considering eliminating God from “guidance to meetings.” The official reason given is that God is making some of the members feel “uncomfortable.”

What?

How can a Christian denomination with 300,000 members feel uncomfortable with God? Isn’t that the whole point of being Christian?

What has occurred is that a sizeable minority of Quakers think of the organization exclusively as a political/social movement. The other major area of discussion was to consider making official talking points about transgenderism, same-sex marriage, climate change, and social media.

This is not the only Christian denomination to support these issues. Methodists are now allowing LGBTQ members into church leadership, Episcopalians split over allowing LGBTQ as clergy, and Pope Francis has said Catholics use social media to talk about the dangers of climate change. But Quakers have a high percentage of members who do not believe in God. In fact, a recent poll found nearly half of Quakers in western, developed nations declare themselves “unable to profess a belief in God.”

The cause of this shift is unknown. Perhaps being a Quaker has become a haven for the lapsed Christian. Quakers do not have any ceremonies. The central emphasis is on an individual’s connection with God: “Christ has come to teach his people himself.” But without a centralized leadership system, this democratization of faith allowed people too much autonomy. In a religion where you entirely get to pick your relationship with God, God doesn’t become the central figure, the individual does. So social issues that affect modern society are moved to a higher importance than the Almighty.

Or this may be precisely what being a Christian is. That God cares more about people doing good toward others in whatever iteration occurs then merely trying to follow a set of old rituals. Given the history of corruption and abuse associated with almost every clergy group, having it diffused to individuals opens discussion and avoids the danger of one person speaking for the entire faith.

It is unclear what direction Quakers will take. While this discussion is happening more in Western nations, the majority of the group is centered in Africa, a product of missionary work. This raises a new question: is this just a western narrative that is taking over the expression of faith for the entire population?

No other faith leaders have spoken up about the possible changes.