Are Quakers Christians

Answer 1

Yes. Most Quakers regard themselves as Christian, and the Society of Friends a Christian denomination. More importantly they are also regared as a Christian denomination by other churches.

Quakers do not rely on specific creeds or liturgy for worship, but believe that the essence of worship is dependent on a personal relationship with God. This means that Quakers are very diverse in their beliefs and worship - from conservative evangelical Christians at one end, to extreme liberals at the other - who may or may not consider themselves orthodox Christian. However, for the most part, Quakers believe in Christian doctrine, and, more importantly, by their loving, peaceful and pacifist lifestyle, share that Christian love with others - a quality that makes them stand out as Christian brothers and sisters.

Answer 2

Yes, very much so. One cannot judge individuals in any Christian denomination, but let's take the Quakers as an organisation. Quakers (or the Society of Friends) have a very simple form of worship, but their beliefs are orthodox Christian, accepting the Trinity and Jesus as Lord (unlike sects like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons) and accept The Bible as the inspired Word of God. Whilst they shun all the trappings of ornate worship as found in the Roman Church, and the organisational heirarchy found in other denominations, they are still devout in their beliefs, and in the way they carry out their lives. They are generally pacifists but can take part in conflicts in a non-combat role (like medical staff), and have been in history people who will speak out (and get their hands dirty!) for the poor and needy. In the UK many chocolate companies originally were founded by Quaker families such as Fry's and Cadbury's, at a time when working people were oppressed by their Victorian bosses. In order to lead by example, in Birmingham, England, a whole village (Bournville - now a suburb of the city) was built by the Quaker family in order that their workers should not live in squalor like many other factory workers but live in relative comfort. That village still exists today, as does the Cadbury factory, and is built round one of the largest Quaker meeting houses in the country - symbolic of the fact that the Quakers who built the place wanted the meeting house to be in the centre of the village - to symbolise God being in the centre of their lives.

Answer 3

Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends, an international Christian movement