Nontheist Friends

INTRODUCTION

 

This is a look at the prospects for growth of Quaker nontheism. This is one paper in a series of three. The other two describe the history and current condition of nontheists in the Religious Society of Friends.

What follows below are brief comments about the many tasks before Quaker nontheists as they settle into their place among Friends.

 

PROSPECTS OF QUAKER NONTHEISM

 

WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: Quaker nontheists will probably continue having one or two workshops at the FGC Gathering that happens midsummer every year. It will help when there are more available leaders. Some years it has been difficult to find people who will commit to leading the workshop the next year by the deadline that is in early September. There is often uncertainty about how to contrast the topics of the two workshops and how to provide a workshop experience for both newcomers and seasoned nontheists.

For the first time this year there will be a series of four afternoon events at the Gathering called Conversation Hours with Theists and Nontheists. The topics will be, “An Opportunity for Theists to Express Themselves and Nontheists to Listen”; “Quaker Universalism and Quaker Nontheism: Together or Apart?”; “Meeting for Worship for Attention to the Nontheists Among Us”; and “Quaker Theists and Nontheists: What Do We Do Now?”

It is important to find ways to include theists in nontheist activities.

Plans are being made for a mid-winter retreat, perhaps at the Burlington Conference Center in New Jersey.

It is hoped that Woodbrooke and Pendle Hill will see fit to including occasional programs of special interest to nontheists as they have during the last two years.

 

WRITING: Gradually more nontheists are writing but little of it has been published yet. Perhaps the website will help. It would help to know when people publish anything, even letters to the editor which are easy to do and an important communication tool.

Quakers need nontheistic statements of personal religious viewpoints, autobiographies, devotional literature, reviews of other articles, letters, children’s stories, poetry, drama and other fiction, histories, bibliographies, and glossaries. A handbook for nontheists considering membership in a Quaker meeting would be useful, and more survey data is needed to help us see ourselves.

 

INTERNET: A website and forum are open to the public at nontheistfriends.org. It is hoped that many people will place written materials on that site in the coming years. The e-mail listserve is open to anyone who applies but at present it is only publicized among Friends to make it easier to establish a Quakerly tradition there (one may join by sending a blank message to nontheistfriends-subscribe@topica.com).

There are many Quaker internet sites where nontheists may participate in the discussion, and nonQuaker sites, too. It will help to have occasional reports on what is happening on those sites.

People who are not able to attend conferences and workshops may read reports via the internet. Perhaps someday people who are off-site will be able to participate in a more active way.

 

MINUTES: At present, I do not know of any minutes passed by Quaker bodies in support of doctrinal diversity among Friends. In 1953 Arthur Morgan proposed opening the Religious Society of Friends to members of all faiths; this stirred lively debate but it was not approved (see his entry in “Flowers”). Friends in one monthly meeting in the United States are presently considering the possibility of a minute on the participation of nontheists in Quaker meetings. Keep an eye on the internet sites for news of this.

A minute could take a great variety of forms. A simple one could be modeled after minutes of support for Friends of diverse sexual orientations. A longer minute would give more of the story of the process the meeting went through getting there.

There are other minutes to think about: a person who is led to travel under the concern for doctrinal diversity or some specific form of it, could request a minute for travel in religious service. This would start at the monthly meeting level and could proceed to the quarterly and yearly meetings. Other documents offer other possibilities: for instance, nontheists getting married might wish to compose an alternatively worded marriage certificate.

 

BUILDING TRUST: This is a large topic and others are more qualified to write about it than I. Many people have found alternatives in times of conflict might be relevant here. In general, doctrinal differences are an advantage rather than a problem when the parties involved know and love each other before the discussion begins.

It helps to pay special attention to how we speak. I hope we can let speakers speak and listeners translate, as much as possible. (Exceptions occur when the listeners don’t know how to translate or don’t know they are expected to, or when the speakers have been asked to speak in the name of Friends in general.) It is sad when people bite their tongues because they fear their religious vocabularies will offend someone else in the meeting. We can do better than that.

 

DOCTRINALLY OPEN MEMBERSHIP: Agreement on doctrine is not necessary for unity in the meeting, for arriving at a sense of the meeting, for effective worship together, or for deciding about membership. Belief and faith and experience are important but we don’t have to agree on them to love each other. (In this document those three words are interchangeable.) We can unite in the general practice of Quakerism rather than the specific practice of declaring our beliefs.

Some Disciplines today call on meetings and applicants to seek clearness as to whether they are functioning together as a loving community. A mutual commitment to go forward together does not require agreement, whether in questions of membership or when arriving at a sense of the meeting. This does not mean everyone will be accepted; there will always be the clearness process through which all concerned find out whether the step is appropriate.

It is hoped that nontheist Friends will find ways to strengthen the growing tradition of doctrinally open membership in the Religious Society of Friends.

 

RELATIONS WITH QUAKER UNIVERSALISTS: Nontheists sometimes seem to be asking for special attention as they seek to be accepted among Friends. Special care needs to be given to relations with universalists who seek to bring people together without losing what distinguishes them from each other. There are questions on the level of theory and practical questions such as the wording of documents. The situation is complicated because if universalists are seen to be encouraging one group this may be discouraging to another. With time it is hoped that we will see that there are many ways to be Friends, and we can all work together, loving each other, beliefs and all.

 

ISOLATED FRIENDS: Support is needed for isolated nontheist Friends, especially when there are problems with their meetings.

 

YOUNG PEOPLE: Nontheists could help with diversity programs in First Day School and with Young Friends, being careful to work with the parents, too. What are the special needs of a nontheist student in school. Young people are sometime under some pressure to conform to religious norms, as when sports teams organize group prayers.

 

APPLIED NONTHEISM: The particular experience of nontheists could be useful in some applied settings. They have learned something about interfaith dialogue in their meetings, and they might be able to do outreach with people who are not interested in religion, or in programs that require cooperation between secular groups and church groups. Recently Quakers have combined environmental activism with a sense of the spiritual side of nature. Another bridge between science and religion could be built by naturalizing religion instead of spiritualizing nature. In psychology and education, what would a “nontheistic” approach be, one similar to nontheism in religion? Chaplains work in hospitals and the military: would nontheists like to volunteer? These are a few of the situations in which a nontheist might be help Friends in their effort to mend the world.

 

 

COMMENTS

 

Quaker nontheism is good for the nontheists and it is also good for Quakerism in general. Nontheists help their communities address what it means to be a Quaker and how diverse people can live together. Quaker behavior is important whatever faith accompanies it.

Nontheists can be patterns as they follow the Quaker way. They can provide an example of love overcoming differences in religious experience.

I would like to close these words spoken during the closing session of a recent nontheist workshop:

 

“How early in my journey I am. I have not been talking of this with my husband, meeting, and friends. I’m happy knowing there are others on this path. This is my path; I embrace you on yours.”

 

“Quakerism goes through its epochs. We’re in the early days of Quakers becoming comfortable with the natural world and with the idea that this includes Quakers, theist and nontheist alike.” 

 

“Many are drawn to Quakers by basic Quaker values, but nontheists are hesitant. It is important for me to be able to articulate this, to bring in new Quakers.”

 

“I can be more open in my own meeting. I will feel the same optimism, openness and trust that I have experienced in the sharing here.”

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