QuakerInfo.com Forum

[clarey]

hi
im a year 12 AS religious education student and im doing abortion for my piece of coursework. I need to consider religious/christian views on the topic. whilst there are the obvious denominations (such as catholicism) who are outspoken on the topic i am also considering smaller denominations of faith.
do quakers consider themselves christians?
also what is the general consensus of the issue of abortion, i know its a personal choice etc etc but it would be so helpful if i could have replies or perhaps guidance of where to look for the quaker perspective on the issue.
from what i have read you seem like a pretty liberal or open-minded bunch (which is refreshing to see) so im hoping you will be a big help to me!
Clare

[BillSamuel]

Quakers are not a hierarchical or centralized religious society; thus no one can speak for Quakers as a whole. Furthermore, there have been schisms and moves in different directions over the centuries, so different groups of Friends (Quakers) sometimes have very different approaches to things.

Individual Quakers certainly vary widely in their views on abortion. Many Friends yearly meetings (regional associations that usually have a book of Faith and Practice and do issue pronouncements on various things) have no official position on abortion. A number have statements which are pro-life in some manner, and a few have ones which are pro-choice. Because abortion was not a topic much discussed when the Society of Friends was being formed, it wasn't something early Friends felt a need to make statements about, and I'm not aware of any formal positions on abortion by Friends groups for at least the first couple of centuries of Quakerism, so there isn't a clear tradition on it.

On the question of whether Quakers consider themselves Christians, most do but some don't. The majority of Quaker groups consider themselves a branch of the Christian church, that is, they are Christians first and Quakers second. But there are other Quaker groups which, while recognixing that Friends come out of the Christian tradition, feel that both Christians and non-Christians can be Quakers.

Some Friends see a pro-life position as being a logical part of the peace testimony, and others don't. The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-connected group, came out with a working group report with a pro-choice position called Who Shall Live? a few decades ago, and a few years later Friends United Press, the publishing arm of the largest branch of Quakers, published a pro-life response called All Shall Live.

A number of individual Friends have been active in the consistent life ethic movement and other groups in the progressive wing of the pro-life movement. Perhaps the most prominent in the movement of these has been Rachel MacNair. She was President of Feminists for Life of America for a decade, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Feminism and Nonviolence Studies Association. She is also Vice President of Consistent Life, and Director of its research arm, the Institute for Integrated Social Analysis.
_________________
Bill Samuel, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Co-Coordinator, Friends in Christ

[newyawka]

thanks for the consistent life link, bill

[rylan_losce]

I personally believe that abortion is neither Christ-like nor is it constitutional.
I think that all should have a chance to live, and I think that this is in line with the Quaker value of life.
But I do not represent the Quaker Church, even if I share the same opinion as the majority.