Friends (Quakers) and Peace

Living Out the Peace Testimony

Friends have held that we should not participate in the wars of humans, or preparations for them. Thus, we have historically refused to be soldiers, refused to pay levies solely for war purposes, refused to work making weapons, and in every other way sought to separate ourselves from warmaking. At various times, Friends have suffered imprisonment, loss of income, and even death for their faithfulness to this testimony.

However, the peace testimony is not just about negatives. It requires us to live as peacemakers - with families, colleagues and neighbors as well as internationally. Over the centuries, Friends have been involved in a variety of efforts such as relief for war victims, seeking to foster understanding among diplomats of hostile nations, mediation, and training people in how to respond nonviolently in conflict situations.

The positive contributions of Friends in the area of peace have often been recognized by the larger society. In 1947, the Nobel Peace Prize was given to the American Friends Service Committee and the British Friends Service Council (now known as Quaker Peace and Service). The Prize was intended to recognize the peace work of the entire Religious Society of Friends, not just the two organizations named.

Links - Historical and Explanatory Information

• A Declaration from the harmless and innocent people of God, called Quakers... (1660)
• Example and Testimony of the Early Christians on the Subject of War, by Jonathan Dymond (1821)
• The Terror and the Power of the Light: The Roots of Quaker Nonviolence Within the Puritan Reformation, by John Howard Yoder
• How did the Quaker peace testimony contribute to the negative attitudes of non-Quakers towards the Society?
• The Fighting Sailor Turn'd Peaceable Christian: Manifested in the Convincement and Conversion of Thomas Lurting (1711)
• The Resurrection of John Lilburne, 2nd Letter
• Peace, from Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887)
• The Record of a Quaker Conscience, by Cyrus Pringle (1918)
• Peace Testimony During and Between the World Wars, by David M. Murray-Rust
• The 1947 Nobel Peace Prize for the Quakers, by Irwin Abrams
• The Renewal Movement: The Peace Testimony and Modern Quakerism, by Allen Smith
• Blessed Are the Peacemakers, by Donald Green - pamphlet produced by Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends
• Quaker Peace Testimony - Quaker Home Service (Britain)

Links - Quaker-Related Groups and Programs

• Alternatives to Violence International
• American Friends
  The copyright of the article Friends (Quakers) and Peace in Quakerism is owned by Bill Samuel. Permission to republish Friends (Quakers) and Peace in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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