People who engage in Quaker practices but who do not believe in the supernatural From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nontheist Quakers (also known as nontheist Friends) are those who engage in Quaker practices and processes, but who do not necessarily believe in a theistic God or Supreme Being, the divine, the soul or the supernatural. Like traditional Quakers, also known as Friends, nontheist Friends are interested in realizing peace, simplicity, integrity, community, equality, love, joy, and social justice in the Society of Friends and beyond.
Logo of the nontheist Friends
Quakers in the unprogrammed or "silent worship" tradition of Quaker practice began to examine the significance of nontheistic beliefs in the Society of Friends during the 20th century. Non-theism among Quakers probably dates to the 1930s, when some Quakers in California branched off to form the Humanist Society of Friends (today part of the American Humanist Association), and when Henry Cadbury professed agnosticism in a 1936 lecture to Harvard Divinity School students.[1] The term "non-theistic" first appeared in a Quaker publication in 1952 on conscientious objection.[2][non-primary source needed] In 1976, a Friends General Conference Gathering hosted a Workshop for Nontheistic Friends (Quakers).[3]
There are three main nontheist Quakers' web sites, including the Nontheist Friends' Official Website,[4] Nontheist Friends Network Website (a listed informal group of Britain Yearly Meeting),[9] and the Nontheist Friends' wiki subject/school at World University and School,[10] which was founded by Scott MacLeod.
The exact number of nontheist Quakers is currently unknown. According to a 1996 survey, 72% of British Quakers believed in God. However, a 2013 survey found that 15% of Quakers in Britain did not believe in God, up from 3% in 1990.[11] One study of Friends in the Britain Yearly Meeting, some 30% of British Quakers had views described as non-theistic, agnostic, or atheist.[12][13] These surveys should not be seen as representative of the global Quaker population which is majority Evangelistic (Gurneyite).
Boulton, David (Ed). 2006. Godless for God's Sake – Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism. Nontheist Friends.
Cresson, Os, and David Boulton (Foreword). 2014. Quaker and Naturalist Too. Morning Walk Press.
Cadbury, Henry (1936). "My Personal Religion". Retrieved July 17, 2007. Unpublished manuscript in the Quaker Collection at Haverford College; lecture given to Harvard divinity students in 1936.
Morgan, Robert (1976). Report from the Workshop for Non-Theistic Friends – Friends General Conference, Ithaca, NY, June, 1976. 'The author of this report is 'Workshop for Non-Theistic Friends'. The workshop was led by Robert Morgan (1916–1993), a Friend from Pittsburgh PA.' Morgan was therefore 'recording clerk' for this report).
Crom, Scott. 1972. "The Trusting Agnostic." Quaker Religious Thought. Vol. 14(2): 1–39. Includes two carefully thought out replies and Crom's response.
Dawkins, Richard. 2002. An Atheist's Call to Arms. Accessed online video: July 17, 2007. Monterey, CA: Ted Talks.
Durham, Geoffrey. (ed.). (in Press – Sep 2010). The Spirit of the Quakers. (Contains a nontheistic Friends' perspective by Alpern, Robin). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Fager, Chuck. 2014. Remaking Friends: How Progressive Friends Changed Quakerism & Helped Save America. (A second volume provides the source documents he used in his study: Angels of Progress: The Documentary History of the Progressive Friends). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Hecht, Jennifer Michael. 2003. Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson. Harper Collins.