While you are searching up Quakers (Religious Society of Friends),
also search up "Non-Theist Friends/Quakers" and see what you find.
You'll likely be surprised.
First and foremost, Friends are social-action/social-justice oriented...
even the Conservative branches of Friends.
Liberal Quakerism, while still retaining its Christianity is very open to all the different roads we take to find and know better 'Inner Light'...
and is generally open to even what that means.
Therefore knowing that Inner Light and being moved to Goodness and Action be it is a goal.
"Being moved by the Spirit" has been the traditional way of expressing that.
And Friend Meetings (Worship) are often held in 'Expectant Waiting' for the Spirit to move someone to speak.
This isn't to be confused with Pentacostalism however.
Silent Friends Worship is refered to as 'Unprogrammed Worship'...
Evangerlical Quakers, who are also worth doing some reading over, differ in that they have programmed church, which looks very much like most Protestant Services you'd happen upon.
I don't wish to say too much.... reading and making up your own opinion,
then coming back here with some rich questions would be best for understanding.
When I attended a Unitarian Church a lot of members, including myself went back and forth between the Friends Meeting in town, which was a Liberal Meeting.
We didn't go back and forth in an indecisive way.... they both had a lot to offer and myself coming from a Christian background was interested to see a different kind of approach to Christianity.
What I found was an open welcome to explore my faith.
Same as at the Unitarian Universalist Church.
And both of those 'Churches' had hard and soft atheists in them,
as well as many other kind of Knowing.
What prompts the question me, Friend?
Hope this has been a good post for further investigation,
and I look forward to hearing from you again.
:namaste
SageTree
