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The Society of Friends began in England in the 1650s. Quakers believe that there is something of God in everybody. They do not have clergy or rituals and their meetings for worship are often held in silence.

Introduction

Quakers – the Religious Society of Friends

Quakers are members of a group with Christian roots that began in England in the 1650s.

The formal title of the movement is the Society of Friends or the Religious Society of Friends.

In Britain there are 17,000 Quakers, and 400 Quaker meetings for worship each week. 9,000 people in Britain regularly take part in Quaker worship without being members of the Religious Society of Friends.

Quakers (Society of Friends)

The essence of the Quakers

Quakers believe that there is something of God in everybody and that each human being is of unique worth. This is why Quakers value all people equally, and oppose anything that may harm or threaten them.

Quakers seek religious truth in inner experience, and place great reliance on conscience as the basis of morality.

They emphasise direct experience of God rather than ritual and ceremony. They believe that priests and rituals are an unnecessary obstruction between the believer and God.

Quakers integrate religion and everyday life. They believe God can be found in the middle of everyday life and human relationships, as much as during a meeting for worship.

What Quakers believe

Among key Quaker beliefs are:

• God is love
• the light of God is in every single person
• a person who lets their life be guided by that light will achieve a full relationship with God
• everyone can have a direct, personal relationship with God without involving a priest or minister
• redemption and the Kingdom of Heaven are to be experienced now, in this world

Quakers (Society of Friends) The abolition campaign was started by the Society of Friends, known as the Quakers. Quakers believe that all people are created equal in the eyes of God.

Quakers want to make this a better world

Quakers work actively to make this a better world. They are particularly concerned with:

• human rights, based on their belief in equality of all human beings
• social justice
• peace
• freedom of conscience
• environmental issues – Quakers seek to live simply so as to reduce the burden on the world
• community life

Holy Books

Quakers do not regard any book as being the actual ‘word of God’.

Most Quakers regard the Bible as a very great inspirational book but they don’t see it as the only one, and so they read other books that can guide their lives.

贵格会（Quaker），又称公谊会或者教友派（Religious Society of Friends），是基督教新教的一个派别。该派成立于17世纪的英國，创始人为乔治·福克斯，因一名早期领袖的号诫“听到上帝的话而发抖”而得名「貴格」（Quaker），中文意译为“震颤者”，但也有说法称在初期宗教聚會中常有教徒全身顫抖，因而得名。该派反对任何形式的战争和暴力，不尊敬任何人也不要求别人尊敬自己，不起誓。主张任何人之间要像兄弟一样，主张和平主义和宗教自由。

贵格会信徒曾受到英国政府迫害，与清教徒一起移民到美洲，但又受到清教徒的迫害，大批贵格会教徒逃离马萨诸塞州而定居在罗得岛州和宾夕法尼亚州等地。由于宾西法尼亚州有大量贵格会教徒聚居，习惯上以Quaker City作为费城（Philadelphia）的别名，因而费城人也被称为Quaker。

该教会坚决反对奴隶制，在美国南北战争前后的废奴运动中起过重要作用。贵格会在历史上提出过一些很进步的思想，其中一部分现在得到广泛接受。

貴格會後傳播到美國、肯亞和玻利維亞。贵格会也曾经传入中国。美国差会(俄亥俄年议会,Ohio Yearly Meeting)在1887年派遣第一位传教士Esther H. Butler来华，在江苏南京（1890）和六合（1898）工作，1953年迁往台湾继续工作；英国差会（称为公谊会）曾经在四川的重庆、成都、三台等地工作。

貴格會的人數现在大約只有六十萬。

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/quakers_1.shtml

http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/image72756-.html