I go to a Quaker college (not a strict one, it's just that it was founded by Quakers and we have about an 11% Quaker population) and have been learning some of the basics from our religious director. Before I got here I thought it was basically Amish, I'm embarassed to say. Here's some of the beliefs I've learned, although since there are divisions within Quakerism it won't be true of every group:
Each person has the ability to communicate with God on their own, with no intermediary. The conscience, or "inner light", is God's presence within the individual and serves as a guide. While other guides like the Bible (or other holy text of your religion) can be important and useful, they are only supplements to your personal connection to the divine.
Simplicity and humility keep us from immersing ourselves in the shallow aspects of this world. This includes simple clothing and speech, and also a lack of symbolism. Quakers don't use symbols in their religious life; the ideal church meeting takes place with no special decoration and no rituals.
All humans are equal under God; don't use honorific titles or gestures. (At my school we call all our teachers and even the President by their first names.) This is where the whole thing with "thou" and "thee" came from; those used to be more casual terms, and "you" was reserved for your social superiors. So, Quakers would only use "you" during prayer.
I'll add more when I have time...including the story behind the Irish saying "Quakers...you don't spit in their soup!" I love that one.
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09-23-2006, 02:56 PM
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