Three Twentieth-Century Revolutions:
Liberal Theology, Sexual Moralities, Peace Testimonies
By Jerry Frost
n another twenty or thirty years, we will be in a better position to access the pros and cons of this past century of FGC activities and the impact of liberalism on Quaker life. Right now, the evidence suggests that liberalism resulted in a theological reformation of Quakerism that reduced sectarianism and opened us to the wider world, facilitated a redefinition of sexual morality in the late 1960s, and was compatible with several reinterpretations of the peace testimony.In 1900 the survival of Hicksite Quakerism seemed questionable. In 2000 liberal Friends are lightly scattered throughout the US, with a few even in the Bible belt. It seems likely that Philadelphia will remain the mother lode of American Quakerism for reasons of history and the location of the bureaucracy, but it will continue to decline in influence as FGC becomes even more national in outreach.
Liberalism has continued to attract members who were disenchanted with other religions, mostly evangelical Christians, Catholics, and Jews with a smattering of Buddhists and Hindus. Many of these people have had such negative experiences of moral and religious absolutism that they have come to despise any sense of authority. Often they are clearer on what they don't believe than what they affirm. Somehow we all need to realize that the sense of discipline and community we all see as necessary for a successful silent meeting of worship applies to the rest of life.
Liberalism's potential is to allow Friends to stay within the Christian traditions while becoming pluralistic. This delicate balance cannot be attained by finessing difficult issues to concentrate upon style alone because a style can be as confining as a theological straight jacket. Liberalism in the past and in the future will offer a link to our history as Quakers and Christians which can be helpful in facing the social, moral, and intellectual challenges of a new century.
Our visibility as Quakers is already out of proportion to our numbers or impact on American society. Sooner or later, newspapers and politicians are going to learn that what Friends say has little or no political weight. Therefore, we are either going to have to find a way to attract members of an increasingly diverse American population or become so impressive morally and/or intellectually - and preferably by doing all three - that the clarity of our insights will demand respect. Liberalism's openness to new insights is conducive to this process, but its a method and content will need to become more rigorous.
Questioning the traditional moral code was not part of the liberal vision of the early nineteenth century, but has been a constant feature of Quaker religious life since the 1960s. The focus thus far has been on sexuality and the issues here are far from settled. Still, there seems reason to conclude that the moral debate will shift focus and become more intense as the revolution in biological knowledge of humans and understanding of our links to the world of nature expands and we have to shape policies on cloning, health care, animal rights, a sustainable use of the environment, adding years or decades to the biblical three score and ten, and demographic pressures. These are only a few of the many subjects that will require policies shaped by moral insight filtered through political processing. Liberalism sees religion as subject to history and therefore opposes an uncritical reliance upon the Bible or church traditions. Liberal Friends' record of seeking relevant ethical principles and applying them creatively points to the way that religious people can contribute to the coming ethical debate.
Implementing the peace testimony has since the seventeenth century been a primary source for Quaker creativity. Under liberalism, this creative use of tradition continued as Friends expanded without abandoning a personal rejection of war into an opportunity for service. Over the century, Quakers gained sophistication in their analyses of the international system and domestic policies as causes of war. Peace became more than the absence of war and by the end of the century had become so all-encompassing that it could be defined as any social system or institution which allowed a person to fulfill his or her potential. Violence then became the opposite, and now was found to be pervasive in home, in school, in the treatment of women and racial minorities, and in the business world. Peace was now a theology, a philosophy, a method, a style of life. The scope for peace work became so broad that almost any activity could qualify, but a result was that Friends found it was virtually impossible to choose which action would have lasting significance. The danger is that, because the world will remain so chaotic, we will conclude that in the long run personal moral fulfillment is the only relevant marker of a peacemaker's success.
In World War I Friends accepted the necessity of adding to personal witness against war a bureaucratic institution equipped to deal with governments, protect conscientious objectors, engage in relief, and implement plans for economic and educational reforms. Since then they have also supported and sought reforms to make international organizations more effective. A selective interpretation of Gandhi's satyagraha, which left out distinctly Hindu elements, became the favored practice before World War II. The primary emphasis during the Cold War was directed at national policies in the nuclear arms race and the war in Vietnam. The success of the civil rights movement showed the success of non-violence in defying segregation, but the tactic seemed of more relevance in internal affairs than in foreign policy. Beginning twenty-five years ago, the Alternatives to Violence Project is a way for individuals to utilize and experiment with the potentialities of non-violence. As a technique and a way of life, non-violent conflict resolution in religious and secular guises will likely remain a prominent part of grass-roots peace work.
I will conclude as I began with a word of caution about the limits of our knowledge. Deconstruction theorists have made us wary of giving solidity to abstractions, like the terms liberalism, evangelicalism, Quakers or Christianity. There was not in the past nor is there now a prototypical Quaker; instead, there are individuals who summarize a large or small part of their lives as being with a group of people of many ages who refer to themselves as Friends. At times, many of these seekers in prayer, in meeting for worship, in walks in nature, or in concerts have experiences they term religious and describe as the Inward Light or sense of the presence of God. Quakerism began as a movement to tell men and women about the availability of this kind of shared religious experience. It is a safe historical conclusion that so long as its rituals and belief foster that experience among diverse persons, the Society of Friends will endure.
BACK TO BEGINNING: A Century of Liberalism
[Part I: A Century of Liberalism] [Part II: A Moral Revolution] [Part III: Testimonies for Peace] [Conclusions (this page)]
