Quaker Theology

Issue #18, Fall-Winter 2011

Examines the challenges of preserving Quaker identity while pursuing institutional renewal, cultural change, reconciliation, and growth across different societies. Its contributors assess whether the American Friends Service Committee can reconnect with its Quaker foundations, revisit the history of Friends’ involvement in African-American education, and explore the development of an authentic French Quakerism. Studies of Midwestern conflicts and nineteenth-century divisions address tensions involving doctrine, authority, congregational autonomy, and LGBTQ inclusion while calling Friends away from the “spirit of separation.” Other essays consider why efforts to transform culture often produce limited or unintended results and present forgiveness, reconciliation, and relationship-building as foundations for peacemaking after extreme violence. Together, the issue asks how Friends can pursue change without losing either their spiritual roots or their communal bonds.

  • Editor’s Introduction, #18

    Okay, readers, here’s a pop quiz: What is UP with Indiana pastoral Friends? Can AFSC get its mojo back? And not least, is it possible for Quakerism to take root in France, or is the Society so incorrigibly Anglo that it only thrives in territory over which the Union Jack flies, or once flew? (Answers…

  • Can the American Friends Service Committee Get Its Quaker Groove Back?

    This article analyzes the American Friends Service Committee’s (AFSC) current crisis involving organizational decline and disconnection from its Quaker roots, especially in terms of donor base and identity. The author argues that AFSC’s survival depends on re-establishing strong ties with the Religious Society of Friends through renewed historical awareness, re-engagement with Quaker communities, and strategic…

  • Excerpt from “To Change The World”*

    The article discusses the challenges of effecting lasting cultural change through religious revival, social reform, or political victories alone. It highlights how deep cultural systems shape society’s values and how even well-intentioned movements may have unintended or limited outcomes. Drawing on historical examples, it underscores the complexity and resistance of culture to transformation.

  • “A History of Southland College: The Society of Friends and Black Education in Arkansas,”* A Review

    This review discusses Thomas C. Kennedy’s detailed historical account of Southland College, a Quaker institution dedicated to African-American education in Arkansas from 1864 to 1925. It explores the challenges of racial violence, financial struggles, evangelical Quaker efforts, and the eventual decline of the school amid shifts in Quaker racial attitudes and leadership conflicts. Kennedy’s work…

  • My Theology of Peacemaking — Rwanda Forgiveness

    The article explores a theology of peacemaking grounded in forgiveness, reconciliation, and non-violence, drawing heavily from experiences with the Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) program in the African Great Lakes region. It emphasizes the transformative power of forgiveness, even in the face of horrific violence like genocide, and advocates for rebuilding relationships based on…

  • Postscript: Allen Jay on the Spirit of Separation

    The article highlights Allen Jay’s role as a peacemaker among divided Quaker groups in the nineteenth century. Jay emphasized the futility of separation over doctrinal differences and advocated for unity and mutual respect among Friends. His reflections provide insight into the negative impact of divisions on the Quaker community and the importance of love and…

  • The Quest for an Authentic French Quakerism: A Conversation with Jeanne-Henriette Louis

    This article is an in-depth conversation with Jeanne-Henriette Louis about her academic journey and her discovery of Quakerism, particularly within the French context. It explores the history of French Quakers, their connections to Protestant pacifism, and the challenges and hopes for establishing an authentic and indigenous French Quakerism today.

  • “To Change the World, The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World”* A Review

    Reviewed by Chuck Fager Quakers don’t like to remember Prohibition, and the Temperance movement which birthed it. From liberals to evangelicals, I can’t recall a serious discussion – and but one incident of reminiscing – about it in four decades among Friends. Yet for several generations, outlawing the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages was…

  • Two Current Conflicts in Midwestern Friends Meetings

    This article explores two significant ongoing conflicts within Midwestern Friends Meetings, focusing on West Richmond Friends Meeting in Indiana and Western Yearly Meeting. It details the theological, ecclesiological, and social tensions surrounding issues of LGBTQ inclusion, doctrinal purity, and the challenges of balancing congregational autonomy with yearly meeting authority, highlighting impacts on community unity and…

  • About The Contributors

    Stephen W. Angell, is Leatherock Professor of Quaker Studies at Earlham School of Religion. Chuck Fager, Editor of Quaker Theology, is Director of Quaker House in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Doug Gwyn is the author of Apocalypse of the Word; Seekers Found; and other books. He is now researching a comprehensive history of Pendle Hill, as…