Concerns and leadings commonly shared by Quakers through history are called testimonies. This body of testimonies defines and characterizes the Quaker way of life.
While the specifics of Friends' practice have varied as times have changed, Friends today continue to have concerns and underlying beliefs similar to those of past generations. The word testimonies is used to refer to this common set of deeply held, historically rooted attitudes and modes of living in the world.
Testimonies bear witness to the truth as Friends in community perceive it -- truth known through relationship with God. [Faith and Practice, p. 67]
The Quaker testimonies may be held to include the following: simplicity; integrity; equality; peace; stewardship and economic justice; social and criminal justice; and civic engagement.
Simplicity lies at the core of Quaker living. It is the reflection of the individual's and community's direct connection with truth. We strive for directness and clarity in our communication and in our relationships with others. Our actions and words in daily life are manifestations of our beliefs and intentions. Like the other testimonies, simplicity has roots in the moral teachings of Jesus Christ and the example of early Christian communities. We may consider it to be an elaboration of the words of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew:
Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath, but must fulfill your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all ... . All you need say is “Yes ” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no ... .[Matthew 5: 33-37]
The following advice from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, dated 1894, describes how elaboration of this simple tenet might affect our daily lives:
The Spirit of Truth which led our early Friends to lay aside things unbecoming the Gospel of Christ still leads in the same path all who submit to its guidance; we therefore earnestly encourage all Friends to watch over themselves in this respect, and seriously to consider the plainness and simplicity which the Gospel enjoins, manifest it in their conversation, apparel, furniture, buildings, salutation, and manner of living, exercising plainness of speech without respect of persons in all their converse among men, not balking their testimony by varying their language according to their company. [Faith and Practice, p. 155]
We try to keep our lives simple. We take others at face value, and we expect others to do the same for us. We strive to keep the noise and clutter of popular culture and the economy of consumption from obscuring our priorities and sense of purpose.
Integrity, hand-in-hand with simplicity, is the quality of being honest and forthright in our speech and actions, of making our words and deeds a clear reflection of our beliefs in both our private and our public lives. We strive to promote truth, justice, and the well-being of all, even when it conflicts with our own immediate self-interest. We try to be trustworthy and always respectful of human dignity in dealing with others. We strive neither to deceive nor to be deceived, neither to manipulate nor to be manipulated, neither to intimidate nor to be intimidated, neither to exploit nor to be exploited. Integrity is summarized in the following advice from Jane Stokes:
Whichever sphere of activity we are involved in, we have to be responsive to the Spirit's leadings and try to put into practice our deepest beliefs, for our faith is a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week faith, which is not excluded from our workplace, wherever that may be. Everything in the end can be distilled to relationships -- our relationships with each other and the earth. Our work must benefit our relationships rather than damage them, and we must ensure that neither the earth nor other people are exploited. Caring, not exploitation, is the key. [Advice 271 (by Jane Stokes, 1992) in Faith and Practice, p. 168]
Given the Friends' fundamental belief that every human being is capable of direct communication and communion with God, human equality becomes self-evident. We are all God's children, all God's chosen people. No nation or ethnicity or race or gender is superior to another in the eyes of God. Human diversity, as part of the marvelous natural diversity of life on this planet, should be a source of wonder and joy at the beauty of creation, not an excuse for division and oppression of one group by another.
Recognizing that God's light is in every person overcomes our separation and our differences from others and leads to a sympathetic awareness of their need and a sense of responsibility toward them. Friends believe that the more widely and clearly the Light is recognized and followed, the more will humanity come into accord. [Faith and Practice, pp. 16-17]
The testimony of equality has led Friends to become advocates for human rights at all levels of government and human interaction.
We believe there is that of God in every person, and thus we believe in human equality before God. Friends pioneered in recognizing the gifts and rights of women. Women were ministers and leaders of the early meetings. [Faith and Practice, p. 75]
The Society of Friends was also one of the first Christian denominations to call for the abolition of slavery. Quaker participation in the slave trade was prohibited in the mid 1700's, a century before slavery was abolished in America.
In 1757 London Yearly Meeting became alarmed over the involvement of Friends in the slave trade; in the same year, the London Meeting for Sufferings appointed a committee to investigate the problem. The next year saw Philadelphia Yearly Meeting alter its traditional policy. Henceforth, all members who bought or sold Negroes were to be excluded from business meetings or from making financial contributions to the Society. In 1760 New England Quakers made the importation of slaves an offense subject to discipline. This flurry of legislation culminated in 1761, when London Yearly Meeting announced that slave dealers merited disownment. [The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture, by David Brion Davis, Oxford University Press (1966), p. 330]
Equality implies that all humans are neighbors and that the Gospel's command for us to love one another applies to all, leading directly to the testimonies of peace, justice, and stewardship.
Friends have historically maintained that warfare is simply incompatible with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. We seek positive and constructive ways to resolve conflict in the world. We can never overcome violence by engaging in it.
The society of Friends has consistently held that war is contrary to the Spirit of Christ. It stated its position clearly in the Declaration to Charles II in 1660:
Many Friends declare their conscientious objection to military service in times of war and may assume non-military humanitarian roles or participate in other alternative service.
We support those who resist cooperation with conscription and those who oppose war by performing work as conscientious objectors. While counseling against military service, we hold in love our members who feel they must undertake it. [Faith and Practice, pp. 77-78]
We find positive peacemaking in our daily lives to be a higher calling than military service. Friends feel the urgent need to participate in activities and support institutions that promote justice and non-violent conflict resolution. Instead of supporting war:
We would make strenuous efforts to secure international agreements for the elimination of armaments and to remove the domination of militarism in our society. We would work for greater understanding at all levels, from kindergarten to the United Nations, of proven techniques for the non-violent resolution of conflict. And we would promote and assist programs of conversion to peaceful uses of facilities built for war. ... We apply our gifts -- of spirit, of intellect, of time and energy -- to work for a new international order under God, within which our communities will be able to redirect their resources from overdependence on the manufacture of arms to human needs and the preservation of the earth. [Faith and Practice, p. 78]
The peace testimony applies not only to warfare between nations, but also to violence and coercion in our daily lives.
We recognize that the peace testimony requires us to honor that of God in every person, and therefore to avoid not only physical violence but also more subtle forms -- psychological, economic, or systemic. ...
The peace testimony also leads us as individuals to consider seriously our employment, our investments, our purchases, our payment of taxes, and our manner of living as they relate to violence. We must become sensitive to the covert as well as the overt violence inherent in some of our long-established social practices and institutions. We need to avoid, for example, benefiting not only from the manufacture of arms, but also from company practices that do violence to employees, consumers, or the natural world. [Faith and Practice, p. 77]
Friends believe that ownership implies stewardship. Our possessions impose upon us the responsibility to use them wisely and in accordance with the will of God.
All that we have, in our selves and our possessions, are gifts from God, entrusted to us for our responsible use. Jesus reminds us that we must not lay up earthly treasures for ourselves, for where our treasures are, there will our hearts be also. ... Friends need to examine their decisions about obtaining, holding, and using money and other assets, to see whether they find in them the seeds, not only of war, but also of self-indulgence, injustice, and ecological disaster. Good stewardship of economic resources consists both in avoidance of those evils and in actions that advance peace, simple living, justice, and a healthy ecosystem. [Faith and Practice, p. 80]
The Gospel makes it very clear that those who accumulate wealth are expected to share it with the poor. This is one of the strongest recurring themes in the teachings of Jesus.
Friends worldwide have accepted the idea that the testimony of equality in the economic realm implies a commitment to the right sharing of the world's resources. Friends in comfortable circumstances need to find practical expression of the testimony of simplicity in their earning and spending. ... They should consider likewise what portion of that income should be shared beyond the immediate family. [Faith and Practice, p. 80]
Responsible stewardship requires us to consider the well-being not just of those we encounter in our daily lives, but also of all humanity, of all living things, and of the earth itself.
We recognize that the well-being of the earth is a fundamental spiritual concern. From the beginning, it was through the wonders of nature that people saw God. How we treat the earth and its creatures is a basic part of our relationship with God. ... As Friends become aware of the interconnectedness of all life on this planet and the devastation caused by neglect of any part of it, we have become more willing to extend our sense of community to encompass all living things. [Faith and Practice, p. 81]
And responsible stewardship requires us to consider the impact of our activities upon future generations. A just economy must be indefinitely sustainable.
Wasteful and extravagent consumption is a major cause of destruction of the environment. The right sharing of the world's remaining resources requires that developed nations reduce their present levels of consumption so that people in underdeveloped nations can have more, and the earth's life-sustaining systems can be restored. The earth cannot tolerate indefinitely the present rate of consumption by technologically developed nations. [Faith and Practice, p. 81]
Quakers support the human and civil rights of minority and underrepresented groups in our own society and of oppressed groups around the world. No group of human beings should consider itself to be superior to others.
Enunciation of the principle of equality among human beings in the sight of God is important and necessary, but it is not enough. ... Therefore Friends aid the nonviolent efforts of the exploited to attain self-determination and social, political, and economic justice, and to bring to light structures, institutions, language, and thought processes which subtly support discrimination and exploitation. [Faith and Practice, p. 75]
We recognize that prejudice and exploitation in past decades and centuries has created a social realm where some groups find themselves in a position of privilege and power over others, and that action is necessary, however uncomfortable, to restore equality.
Friends work with groups that have been victimized by prejudice and exploitation. Too often this work has been difficult because of resistance by the prejudiced and by the exploiters, even within the membership of the Religious Society of Friends. The problem of prejudice is complicated by advantages that have come to some at the expense of others. Exploitation impairs the human quality of the exploiter as well as of the exploited. [Faith and Practice, p. 76]
Quakers have periodically endured persecution throughout their history, particularly in times of war. This has resulted in a sensitivity to the rights and welfare of those in prison and detention facilities.
Many early Friends were victims of an arbitrary and unreasonable criminal justice system. ... Believing that the penal system often reflects structural and systemic injustice in our society, Friends seek alternatives. Friends have acted out of conviction that redemption and restorative justice, not retribution, are the right tasks of the criminal justice system. We strongly oppose capital punishment. [Faith and Practice, p. 76]
Recognizing that reform is far more beneficial to prisoners and society than punishment, Quakers find many opportunities for service relating to criminals and the victims of crime.
Seeking to heal the wounds of criminal actions, Friends are called to many different kinds of service in the criminal justice system. Prison visiting, victim support services, conflict resolution training for staff of correctional institutions and offenders, and work to abolish the penalty of death are typical of these services. Such service is undertaken in order to restore the victim, the offender, and the community to the greatest extent possible. [Faith and Practice, p. 76]
Quakers believe that legitimate civil authority comes from God, but also that human institutions are susceptible to corruption and abuse of power. The challenge is to discern legitimate authority from that which conflicts with the will of God.
The attitude of Friends toward the state is conditioned by the fact that the state has many facets. As a necessary instrument for meeting human needs and for maintaining an orderly society with justice under law for all, the state commands respect and cooperation. But when the state acts as a coercive agent resorting to violence, it acts contrary to Quaker principles. [Faith and Practice, pp. 78-79]
Friends recognize that police are necessary to enforce laws and maintain order in society. At the same time, we expect police to use the minimum amount of force needed to achieve their mission.
Friends are not opposed to all forms of physical constraint. It is sometimes necessary and proper for peace officers to use minimal forms of physical constraints in dealing with persons who do injury to others or who will not cooperate with just law. But Friends must be watchful for the use of either physical or psychological violence in maintaining public order. [Faith and Practice, p. 79]
Rather than isolate themselves from society, Friends are encouraged to engage in public service.
As part of their witness to what society may become, Friends are called to participate in public life as voters, public officials, or participants in community groups or professional societies. ...
In public office, Friends have an opportunity to bear witness to the power which integrity, courage, respect for others, and careful attention to different points of view can exert in creating a just community. [Faith and Practice, p. 79]
When confronted with abuse of power, corruption, or injustice, however, Quakers may be led to respond with conscientious objection or non-violent civil disobedience.
From their earliest days, Friends have counseled obedience to the state except when the law or ruling involved has appeared to be contrary to divine leading. The state has no claim to moral infallibility. Primary allegiance is to God. [Faith and Practice, p. 79]