We have an interlocking set of shared values, which we call 'testimonies', to peace, integrity, equality, simplicity and sustainability. Each covers a spectrum from global issues to the tiny decisions we take each day, month or year.
Our most famous testimony is to peace, and Quakerism originally arose out of a time of war, the English Civil Wars in the seventeenth century. This does not mean that all friends are pacifists, although many pacifist friends are very active in peace-building, but we try to avoid behaviours that contain the seeds of conflict – those designed to hurt, damage or provoke.
Our testimony to equality is not a testimony to sameness – we all have different talents – but to the fundamental right of each person to be treated with the same level of care and love. We believe that there is something of God in everyone. We do not have a hierarchy or priests. We are equals and have always played a major role in fighting inequality – especially slavery of all kinds.
Our testimony to integrity leads us to try to bring transparency and authenticity into every aspect of our private and public lives. This reputation for honesty led to the creation of many successful businesses – for example the Cadbury, Fry and Rowntree chocolate-making families.
Our testimony to simplicity encourages us to avoid material extravagance and waste, and to be clear and open in our lives. This is reflected in our style of worship and our simple buildings.
Finally, our testimony to sustainability encourages us to behave with care for the environment and the future. Friends have started, and remain very strongly involved in, a wide range of environmental movements and we seek to minimise the inevitable harm that we do to the world.
We find that keeping to this path can bring peace and joy. As George Fox, one of the founders of Quakerism urged us nearly four hundred years ago: ‘walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one.’