Our Faith
What Do Quakers Believe?
Quakers have a wide range of beliefs. We use a variety of religious languages to describe our shared experience. We do not have a creed, but in general we agree that:
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Everyone is equal and precious before God.
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All people can have a direct experience of the Divine, individually and in shared worship. We have many ways of naming our experience. Some of them are God, Christ, Spirit, Inward Teacher, Inward Light, and Seed, among others.
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By whatever name, this experience of the Divine is universal, ongoing, and available to everyone.
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The live and teachings of Jesus are and example of faithfulness to God.
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Paying attention to and following the Divine changes us. We try to live out our convictions every day in our actions.
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We look for the Divine in every person we meet.
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Our guiding principle is love.
Quaker Testimonies
Quaker’s experience of the Divine affects:
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What we do in our personal lives.
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What we believe.
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Changes we work for in the wider world
As a group, we find that listening to and following God leads to:
“Testimonies” are what Quakers call the ways we have found to live and act based on our beliefs.
Integrity – living as whole people who act on what we believe, tell the truth, and do what we say we will do.
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Simplicity – focusing on what is truly important and letting other things fall away.
Equality – treating everyone, everywhere, as equally precious to God; recognizing that everyone has gifts to share.
Community – supporting one another in our faith journeys and in times of joy and sorrow; sharing with and caring for each other.
Peace – seeking justice and healing for all people; taking away the causes of war in the ways we live.
Care for the earth – valuing and respecting all of God’s creation; using only our fair share of the earth’s resources; working for policies that protect the planet.
We do not always hear and follow Divine guidance; being in community with other Quakers helps us to be faithful.
