Quakerism/Society of Friends

[Lobotomy]

There's a Quaker church in my town and I've been looking at their website. Apparently in the past they've fought for LBGT rights and they say that some of their members don't even consider themselves Christian. They also seem to not really have a handful of leaders for the church, it's more like a collective effort. I'm an atheist but I'm considering checking them out sometime. Anyone have any experience with Quakers?

[ComradeMan]

There's a Quaker church in my town and I've been looking at their website. Apparently in the past they've fought for LBGT rights and they say that some of their members don't even consider themselves Christian. They also seem to not really have a handful of leaders for the church, it's more like a collective effort. I'm an atheist but I'm considering checking them out sometime. Anyone have any experience with Quakers?

I don't know much about them as there aren't so many in Italy. But I have heard they are pacifists and do not "judge" at all.

[graymouser]

The Quaker religion in history has represented a sort of ultra-liberal wing of the bourgeoisie, if that makes sense. They are religious pacifists and have played important roles as abolitionists historically. At the same time, Quaker business owners have not been better bosses than any other sort, for what that's worth. Quakers have been conscientious objectors and so on. In the antiwar movement, they are like other religious pacifists and aim toward civil disobedience type action more than mass action.

The anti-war coalition that I'm a part of meets at the Friends Center in Philadelphia, and the woman who helps us get the room is herself a Quaker - I believe she's a nontheist.

Quakers aren't bad, if you had to pick a religion. I'm not a pacifist but that's me. I am not sure how a revolutionary could square that, but if it's something that is deeply compelling to you, you should go. And do find out what kind of worship they do before you check it out - if it's silent worship you'll mostly want to go and, ah, be quiet.

[Lenina Rosenweg]

The Quakers, officially the "Society of Friends" are nice people. They are known for activism, via the Friends Service Committee and other organizations.They're not communists but tend to be more liberal left in their orientation. They are pacifists and are active in anti-war movements.

The Quaker's church services are much different from other Christian groups. They meditate and speak when the "light of God" moves them to speak. I am not sure to what extent they regard themselves as Christian today, my understanding is that they regard themselves as Christian but are open ended about how one interprets this.They are the best of the Protestant groups.

They are very nice progressive minded people. They don't believe in proselytizing.They have always been small but they have played a role in US history far beyond their numbers. If you are a communist you may find their politics a bit stifling.

If you want to piss off a Quaker (not that there's a reason to do so) remind them of how Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover were Quakers (although i think Nixon converted to Episcopalianism)

[Red And Black Sabot]

Around here we have American Friends and Services Committee which is a quaker run organization. Sort of the activist branch of the quaker church. They haven't been all that friendly toward anarchists but they do open their doors for larger community meetings (one of Atlanta's larger police accountability groups meets there as well as the democratic socialists and etc) plus the friends school of atlanta (a private quaker school) let the IWW have our organizer training in one of their class rooms and let the coalition of immokalee workers park their touring museum in their lot. They are all definitely really nice people even though I tend to disagree with them. They generally don't go much further than progressive liberal or center left. They've also been involved in organizing a few anti-war marches and SCAP is a group under AFSC that does counter recruitment at schools around here. I think any radical might find room to work with them on certain projects if you keep in mind that they aren't necessarily radical.

[Susurrus]

Didn't they used to have communes?

[Dumb]

I've been to a couple of their meetings before. From a radical and/or Marxist and/or anarchist perspective, you will find the Quakers very sympathetic to anti-imperialism (in fact, very active in anti-war projects). While they're somewhat soft on private property, though, it's not like they're married to the concept in any way; Quakers were themselves quietly persecuted in the McCarthy era, so any reluctance to embrace Marxism full-on doesn't match the intensity of their resentment towards the U.S. government.

All in all, I can't think of a more fertile ground (within White America, at least) to sow a truly left-wing seed here or there, unless you yourself are married to the need for revolution right this second that absolutely has to involve massive firearms. (If you're, say, a Luxemburgist, for example, the Quakers ought to be a good fit).

Of course, there's more to consider than the "what's in it for the Left?" aspect, but that's my take on that one aspect.

[eric922]

From what I remember the Quakers were very important in the abolitionist movement, which was about as left wing as you could get for the time.