What Do Quakers Believe?

As an experiential religion with no creed, there isn’t always an easy answer to what Quakers believe. In this QuakerSpeak video, twenty-six Quakers were asked about belief, and the resulting conversations were powerful.

Quaker Beliefs:

At the core of Quaker faith is our trust that everyone can have direct, inward experience of the Divine, and that inside each of us there is “that of God” or an Inner “Light.” The sharing of the Inner Light makes our worship a deep expression of the common spirit that we feel together.

The lack of a creed or clear description of Quaker beliefs has sometimes led to the misconception that Friends do not have beliefs or that one can believe anything and be a Friend. Most Quakers take the absence of a creed as an invitation and encouragement to exercise an extra measure of personal responsibility for the understanding and articulation of Quaker faith. Rather than rely on priests or professional theologians, each believer is encouraged to take seriously the personal disciplines associated with spiritual growth. Out of lives of reflection, prayer, faithfulness, and service flow statements of belief, both in word and in deed.
—Pacific Yearly Meeting