Quakers on the public’s radars

But much work required to present an accurate picture of Friends in Britain today

Eighty per cent of interviewees claimed ‘some knowledge’ of Quakers, but of these fifty-nine per cent had some factual inaccuracies | Photo: Image: Ivana Ropkova/Shutterstock

Eighty per cent of the British population have heard of Quakers. This statistic was one of many that came about following a professional market research survey of 1,000 individuals in England, Scotland and Wales, commissioned by Quaker Quest Network. The research was ordered to find out about understanding of and attitudes towards Quakerism and was managed by David Smith, a former chairman of the Market Research Society, who has been analysing the data and who last week delivered his report.

Among its findings, the survey showed that a total of eighty per cent of interviewees claimed ‘some knowledge’ of Quakers, but that of these fifty-nine per cent had some factual inaccuracies in their ‘knowledge’ – for example suggesting that Quakers are ‘strict and puritanical’ or ‘avoid modern technology.’ Twenty-three per cent actively thought that the Quakers are ‘a closed group’, with only 39% saying they are not closed. Only two per cent of the sample claimed that the Quakers had ‘considerable relevance’ to their lives, with a further nineteen per cent saying the Quakers had some relevance.

The report raises a number of questions about the position the Religious Society of Friends occupies in British society, about whether there is a need to counter false views of Quakerism, and whether the majority of British Friends’ traditional suspicion of evangelism has led to a failure accurately to communicate the central messages of the faith.

A detailed account of the report and the questions it raises will appear in the Friend next week.

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