Quakers - Theology

Theology

The theological beliefs of Quaker yearly meetings vary considerably. Tolerance of dissent widely varies among yearly meetings.

Most Friends believe in continuing revelation, which is the religious belief that truth is continuously revealed directly to individuals from God. George Fox, an "early Friend", described it as "Christ has come to teach His people Himself." Friends often focus on trying to hear God. As Isaac Penington wrote in 1670, "It is not enough to hear of Christ, or read of Christ, but this is the thing—to feel him to be my root, my life, and my foundation..." Quakers reject the idea of priests, believing in the priesthood of all believers. Some Friends express their concept of God using various phrases which include the inner light, or inward light of Christ, the Holy Spirit or other phrases.

Diverse theological beliefs, understandings of the "leading of the Holy Spirit", and statements of "faith and practice" have always existed among Friends. Due in part to the emphasis on the immediate guidance of the Spirit, Quaker doctrines have only sometimes been codified as statements of faith, confessions or theological texts; those that do exist include the Letter to the Governor of Barbados (Fox, 1671), An Apology for the True Christian Divinity (Barclay, 1678), A Catechism and Confession of Faith (Barclay, 1690), The Testimony of the Society of Friends on the Continent of America (adopted jointly by all orthodox yearly meetings in USA, 1830), the Richmond Declaration of Faith (adopted by Five Years Meeting, 1887), and Essential Truths (Jones and Wood, adopted by Five Years Meeting, 1922). As a public statement of faith, most yearly meetings publish their own Book of Discipline, that expresses Christian discipleship within the experience of Friends in that yearly meeting.