Friends gather to consider ‘The Changing Face of Faith’
A conference at Woodbrooke considered ‘The Changing Face of Faith in Britain: How should Quakers respond?’
More than fifty Friends gathered at Woodbrooke in Birmingham last weekend to take part in ‘The Changing Face of Faith in Britain: How should Quakers respond?’, a conference organised by Woodbrooke and Quaker Committee on Christian and Interfaith Relations (QCCIR).
The conference is the result of research from the Centre for Research in Quaker Studies at Woodbrooke, which was commissioned by QCCIR.
Rowena Loverance, clerk of QCCIR, told the Friend: ‘The core question was: how do we understand the change in the religious landscape in Britain. We think the country is increasingly secular, but religion is still very much discussed. So there’s this paradox.’
Speakers at the conference on 16-18 March included Grace Davie, author of Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox, and Francesca Montemaggi who, as part of the QCCIR research, conducted a survey on what brings new Friends to Quakerism.
Rowena Loverance said: ‘Francesca’s conclusion was that newcomers like the theological openness of Quakerism and the opportunity for community, but she was warning us that we need to work harder.’
She added: ‘The openness is good to start with, but people need to be able to deepen their spiritual life once they stay with us, and, regarding the community, they need to feel there is an opportunity to work together as Quakers more, to strengthen our identity.’
