Nontheist Friend

A nontheist Friend or an atheist Quaker is someone who affiliates with, identifies with, engages in and/or affirms Quaker practices and processes, but who does not necessarily accept a belief in a theistic understanding of God, a Supreme Being, the divine, the soul or the supernatural. Like traditional Friends, nontheist Friends are actively interested in realizing centered peace, simplicity, integrity, community, equality, love, joy, and social justice in the Society of Friends and beyond.

Beliefs

Quakers in the unprogrammed tradition have recently begun to examine the significance of nontheistic beliefs in the Society of Friends, in the tradition of seeking truth. Non-theism among Quakers probably dates to the 1930s, when some Quakers in California branched off to form the Humanist Society of Friends (today part of the American Humanist Association), and when Henry Cadbury professed agnosticism in a 1936 lecture to Harvard Divinity School students ^[1]. The term "non-theistic" was first written in a Quaker publication in 1952 on conscientious objection ^[2]. As early as 1976, a Friends General Conference Gathering hosted a well-attended Workshop for Nontheistic Friends (Quakers).^[3]

There is a nontheist Friends' website and nontheist Quaker study groups.^[4] Os Cresson began a recent consideration of this issue from behaviorist, natural history, materialist and environmentalist perspectives. Roots and Flowers of Quaker Nontheism is one history. Friendly nontheism also draws on Quaker humanist and universalist traditions.^[5] The book Godless for God's Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism offers recent, critical contributions by Quakers.^[6] Some Friends are actively engaging the implications of human evolution, cognitive anthropology, evolutionary psychology, bodymind questions (esp. the 'relaxation response' ^[7][8]), primatology, evolutionary history, evolutionary biology, biology and consensus decision-making in terms of Quaker nontheism.

Nontheist Friends are a group of individuals, many of whom are affiliated or actively involved in the unprogrammed tradition in Quakerism. Friendly nontheists are attempting sympathetically to generate conversation with others who are more comfortable with the traditional and often reiterated language of Quakerism. Questioning theism, they wish to examine whether the experience of direct and ongoing inspiration from God ("waiting in the Light") – "So wait upon God in that which is pure. ..." ^[9] – which traditional Quakers understand as informing Silent Meeting and Meeting for Business, might be understood and embraced with different metaphors, language and discourse.

Notable Nontheist Friends

• Piers Anthony
• David Boulton
• Henry Cadbury
• Kersey Graves

See also

• American Friends Service Committee
• Friends Committee on National Legislation
• Nontheistic religions

References

1. ^ Cadbury, Henry, 1936. My Personal Religion. Accessed online: July 17, 2007. Unpublished manuscript in the Quaker Collection at Haverford College; lecture given to Harvard divinity students in 1936.
2. ^ Tatum, Lyle (ed.). 1952. "Handbook for Conscientious Objectors." Philadelphia, PA: Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors.
3. ^ Morgan, Robert. 1976. 'Report from the Workshop for Non-Theistic Friends – Friends General Conference, Ithaca, NY, June, 1976.' (Note at end of report reads: "The author of this report is "Workshop for Non-Theistic Friends". The workshop was led by Robert Morgan (1916–1993), a Friend from Pittsburgh PA." Morgan was therefore 'recording clerk' for this report).
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ [2]
6. ^ Boulton, David (ed.). 2006. Godless for God's Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism. Dent, UK: Dales Historical Monographs. ISBN 0951157868
7. ^ Benson MD, Herbert and Miriam Z. Klipper. 2000 [1972]. The Relaxation Response. Expanded updated edition. Harper. ISBN 0380815958
8. ^ Benson MD, Herbert. 1976. Steps to Elicit the Relaxation Response. RelaxationResponse.org. From "The Relaxation Response." HarperTorch.
9. ^ Royce, Josiah. 1913. George Fox as a Mystic. The Harvard Theological Review. 6:1:31-59. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0017-8160%28191301%296%3A1%3C31%3AGFAAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N.

Further reading

• Atran, Scott. 2004. In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion (Evolution and Cognition Series). Oxford. ISBN 0195178033
• Cresson, Os. 2007. Roots and Flowers of Quaker Nontheism. NontheistFriends.org. Jan 23. Accessed online: Dec 30, 2008. http://nontheistfriends.org.
• Crom, Scott. 1972. "The Trusting Agnostic." Quaker Religious Thought. Vol. 14(2): 1–39. Includes two carefully thought out replies and Crom's response.
• Dawkins, Richard. 2002. An Atheist's Call to Arms. Accessed online video: July 17, 2007. Monterey, CA: Ted Talks.
• Dennett, Daniel. 2006. A Secular, Scientific Rebuttal to Pastor Rick Warren. Accessed online video: July 17, 2007. Monterey, CA: Ted Talks.
• Durham, Geoffrey. (ed.). (in Press – Sep 2010). The Spirit of the Quakers. (Contains a nontheistic Friends' perspective by Alpern, Robin). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• Foucault, Michel. 2002. "Course Summary" in 'The Care of the Self.' The Hermeneutics of the Subject: Lectures at the College de France 1981—1982. Picador.
• Jackson, Kenneth T. 2007. A Colony with a Conscience: This republic owes its enduring strength to a fragile, scorched and little-known document known as the Flushing Remonstrance. Dec. 27, 2007. Accessed online: December 27, 2007. New York: New York Times online.
• Riemermann, James. 2006. What is a Nontheist? Sep 20. Accessed online: July 17, 2007. http://nontheistfriends.org.
• Russell, Bertrand (E. Haldeman-Julius, ed.). 1927. On Why I Am Not a Christian: An Examination of the God-Idea and Christianity. Accessed online: July 17, 2007. Little Blue Book No. 1372.
• Williams, Jonathan. 1975. My Quaker-atheist friend (who has come to this meeting-house since 1913) smokes & looks out over the Rawthey to Holme Fell. Larry and Ruby Wallrich Publishing. ASIN: B0007AHBQO

Quaker Nontheism

Allott, Stephen (1989). Quaker Agnosticism. The Friends Quarterly, 25(6): 252-258

Allott, Stephen (1994). Is God Objective Fact? The Friends Quarterly, 28(4): 158-166

Alpern, Robin (1997). Why Not Join the Unitarians? Universalist Friends, (28): 23-28. Also at http://www.universalistfriends.org/alpern.html

Amoss, Jr., George (1999). The Making of a Quaker Atheist. Quaker Theology 1: 55-62. Online at http://www.quaker.org/ quest/ issue1-4.html Also see James and Amoss (2000), below.

Boulton, David (1996). A Reasonable Faith: Introducing the Sea of Faith Newtwork. Loughborough, England: Sea of Faith Network. Also at http://www.sofn.org.uk/sof/reasonable_faith.html

Boulton, David (1997). The Faith of a Quaker Humanist (Pamphlet #26). London: Quaker Universalist Group

Boulton, David (1999). Gerard Winstanley and the Republic of Heaven. Dent UK: Dales Historical Monographs

Boulton, David (2002). Real Like the Daisies or Real Like I Love You?: Essays in radical Quakerism. Torquay, Devon, England: Quaker Universalist Group with Dales Historical Monographs

Boulton, David (2002). Facing Up To Diversity. The Friend, 2002

Boulton, David (2005). The Trouble with God: Building the Republic of Heaven. Ropley, Hampshire, England: John Hunt Publishing

Boulton, David (editor) (2006). Godless for God’s Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism, Dent UK: Dales Historical Monographs

Britton, David (2010). Knowing Experimentally. Friends Journal, October, 56(10), 5

Cadbury, Henry J. (1936/2000). My Personal Religion. Universalist Friends, (35) Fall-Winter: 22-31, with corrections in (36): 18 Online at www.universalistfriends.org/UF035.html

Cadbury, Henry J. (1966). Quakerism and/or Christianity. Friends Bulletin, 35(4), 1-10

Cresson, Osborn (2003). Quaker in a Material World. Quaker Theology 5(1), Spring-Summer, 23-54. Also at http://quest.quaker.org/issue-8-cresson-01.htm, or www.nontheistfriends.org

Cresson, Osborn (2006). Quakers from the Viewpoint of a Naturalist. Friends Journal, 52(3) March, 18-20

Cresson, Osborn (2009). On Quaker Unity. Friends Journal, July, 55(7): 5; also in “Notes on Quaker Unity,” expanded version online at www.nontheistfriends.org

Cresson, Osborn (2010). Roots and Flowers of Quaker Nontheism. Unpublished manuscript, online at www.nontheistfriends.org Drake, David E. (2003). Confessions of a Nontheistic Friend, Friends Journal, 49(6): 18-20

Fager, Chuck (2007). Review of Godless for God’s Sake: Nontheism in Contemporary Quakerism. Quaker Theology, vol. 13, online at http://www.quaker.org/quest/Issue13-7.htm

Holmes, Jesse (1928/1992). To the Scientifically-Minded. Friends Intelligencer, 85(6): 103-104; reprinted in Friends Journal, (1992) 38(6): 22-23. Short version online at http://media.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/wp-content/archived_issues_pdf/Bulletin_2000_03.pdf

Holmes, Jesse (2003). ‘Our Christianity’? Universalist Friends, 39 (Fall & Winter, 2003): 15-22

James, Edward and George Amoss Jr. (2000). An Exchange: Quaker Theology Without God? Quaker Theology, Issue #2, 2 (1), spring 2000. Also at http://www.quaker.org/ quest/issue2-6.html

Johnson, Eric (1991a). Why I Am an Atheist. Friends Journal, 37(1): 17; also in Quaker Universalist Fellowship (1991), Variations on the Quaker Message (Pamphlet #201). Landenberg, Pennsylvania: (author)

Johnson, Eric (1991b). Atheism and Friends (letter to the editor). Friends Journal 37(5): 6

Linton, John (1979/1986). Quakerism as Forerunner. Friends Journal, 25(17): 4-9; reprinted as Quakerism as Forerunner (Pamphlet #1) (1979). London: Quaker Universalist Group; also reprinted in Quaker

Universalist Fellowship (1991), The Quaker Universalist Reader Number 1: A Collection of Essays, Addresses and Lectures. Landenberg, Pennsylvania: (author)

Loukes, Harold & H. J. Blackham (1969). Humanists and Quakers: An Exchange of Letters. London: Friends Home Service Committee Manoussos, Anthony (2008). Is It Time to Lay Down God? (editorial and replies), Western Friend.

Miles, Thomas R. (1998). Speaking of God: Theism, Atheism and the Magnus Image. York, England: William Sessions Ltd. Morgan, Arthur (1954/1998). Should Quakers Receive the Good Samaritan Into Their Membership? (QUF Pamphlet). Landenberg, Penna.: Quaker Universalist Fellowship

Rush, David (2002). They Too Are Quakers: A Survey of 199 Nontheist Friends. The Woodbrooke Journal, 11, Winter 2002. Also at http://www.universalistfriends.org

Seeger, Daniel A. (2010). Why Do the Unbelievers Rage? The New Atheists and the Universality of the Light, Friends Journal, (56) January: 6-11

Swayne, Kingdon (1980). Confession of a Post-Christian Agnostic. Friends Journal, 26(3): 6-9. Also in Quaker Universalist Fellowship (1990), Variations on the Quaker Message. Landenberg, PA: (author)

Workshop for Non-Theistic Friends (1976). Report From The Workshop for Non-Theistic Friends. Unpublished report, Friends General Conference Gathering at Ithaca NY, June 26-July 3, 1976

External links

• Nontheist Friends' web site: Nontheist Friends
• Nontheist Friends (atheist Quakers?) open, teaching and learning subject at World University and School Nontheist Friends (atheist Quakers?)