Quakers worship God by working through people. Quakers believe that their faith must express itself in action and service. They try to seek direct divine guidance without sacraments, rituals, hymns, formal programs and priesthood. They try to live by the Inner Light, which they don’t consider conscience, but it is that force which enlightens conscience. The description of the Inner Light is “that of God in every person.” They discern the Inner Light when they silently and patiently wait for God to speak to them during worship hours. At times during worship, an individual might give a testimony or share a spiritual thought.
In all Quaker business meetings, the attenders seek decisions not by majority rule but by the “sense of the meeting,” which means unanimity. All hold equal power in the meeting.
Quakers on the whole have an uncommon faith in the transforming power of love. They have worked diligently for other races, such as abolitionists during the Civil War days and before. They have opposed war as a matter of principle. They stand for the application of Christ’s way of life, not only to relations between races but to all social and economic problems as well.
Religion for Quakers is not something apart from life, not something for special days or sacred places. It is the whole of life. It is a way of life. It is something that one does and is. Quakers are concerned to live in simplicity and sincerity, to speak and to practice truth, to proclaim their faith by deed and action.
— Adapted from a personal statement written by Adele Looney