Forty-three per cent of Quakers ‘don’t believe in God’, says magazine
A recent Economist article highlights the question of theism and nontheism
Around forty-three per cent of British Quakers do not profess a belief in God, according to an article last month in The Economist magazine.
Journalist Fred Harter wrote the piece with Bruce Clark, religion editor of The Economist, about what he describes as ‘the growing number of atheist and agnostics joining the Religious Society of Friends’.
In the article, published on 26 April, Fred Harter quotes David Boulton, a Quaker broadcaster and author, who describes himself as a humanist and says he doesn’t believe in a transcendent God. He says he even feels ‘a bit queasy about the word spiritual’.
Fred Harter told the Friend: ‘The forty-three per cent figure is from research by an academic at Cardiff University called Jennifer May Hampton. She did a big survey of Quakers in 2013 about various aspects of their belief and ran the results through some mathematical models. The forty-three per cent figure is… calculated by adding [the results of] 28.1 per cent of Quakers who said they are “not sure” whether they believe in God and 14.5 per cent who say “no”.’
He added: ‘I’m not a Quaker myself, but personally found it very interesting that certain parts of the movement are dealing with questions of theism.’
The article states: ‘There is a contingent that positively deny the existence of God’. The 14.5 per cent figure, based on Jennifer May Hampton’s research, is up three per cent since 1990.
Comments
How ” big ” was this survey I wonder ? and who else was interviewed by the Journalists who wrote it to give a balanced perspective ? There is no “answer” as to whether God exists or not . Either God does not exist ,or ,if he/she/it does He must establish His own existance in the believer’s heart [ Karl Barth and so on ]. A long time ago David Jenkins ended his Guide to the debate about God (1966 ) in this way .. ” in reality there are no adequate reasons for God’s existance . He is .The atheist also understands this . He does not believe. “(p110). This is not a matter of epistemology.
Dsvid Boulton has his own view . I have mine . Losing a transcendent vision would drain a precious resource from the Society of Friends and from humanity.
By Neil M on 16th May 2019 - 14:56
I am in agreement with Neil. This article with its statistics worries me in that it might lead attenders, enquirers and interested readers to believe that works like God and spirituality are not sound bases for grounding oneself in the experience of Quaker worship. As a worshipping community we are not only together to explore and demonstrate our humanity but also to be able to share insights, however, slight, into a ‘transcendent vision’.
By Sarah F on 19th May 2019 - 13:37
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