“Quakerism,” a shorthand term for the faith and practice of the Religious Society of Friends, is a way of worshiping and serving God.

Friends believe that God is a living Spirit with a will that can be known through silent worship, expectant waiting, and corporate discernment. All people everywhere—regardless of their religious belief or doubts, their cultural backgrounds, their race, age, or gender—have access to and Inward Light: the Light that, according to the Gospel of John, “enlightens everyone who comes into the world.” We believe that all who are willing to receive this Light will be guided into what the Psalmist David called “paths of righteousness”: love, justice, peace, and care for the natural world.