A widely held belief amongst Quakers is that beneath the surface level differences of the world religions is a uniting spiritual bedrock. Quakerism, in its rejection of outward religious symbols and its use of stillness and silence, is seen as an essentially mystical religion that tries to get as close to this bedrock as possible. Quakerism is often seen as akin to other traditions labelled as mystical, such as Vedanta Hinduism, Sufism, Kabbalah and Buddhist mediation. Quakerism’s focus on this mystical essence makes the Quaker meeting a theologically inclusive space, holding different surface beliefs whilst mystically united. In this blog post I’m going to trace the history of this idea and suggest its built on problematic foundations.
Jolly Quaker 