Roman Catholic-Quaker Dialogue

Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Summer-Fall, 1999 by Jay Wesley Worrall IV

PRECIS

Theological similarities between Roman Catholicism and Liberal Quakerism are examined using the theology articulated in the documents of Vatican II and various writings of the Society of Friends. Religious authority, liturgical uses of Divine Presence, and the role of social action in religious life are emphasized, and possibilities for dialogue based on these similarities are noted.

Introduction

One of the strengths of a religious organization lies in its ability to accept a wide range of beliefs in its members while still retaining the unitive quality needed to create a religious community. That members of the Society of Friends -- as found in the liberal yearly meetings such as Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Britain Yearly Meeting, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and many independent Quaker groups arising around colleges and universities in the United States and England -- can profess a wide variety of religious convictions and still think of themselves as co-religionists in a religious community is a consequence of liberal Quakerism's understanding of the relationship of doctrine and experience. In Faith and Practice: A Book of Christian Discipline of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, this relationship is explained by way of a quote from the New England Yearly Meeting:

Friends find their essential unity in their profound and exhilarating belief in the pervasive presence of God and in the continuing responsibility of each person and worshiping group to seek the leading of the Spirit in all things. Obedience to the leading of that Spirit rather than to any written statement or conduct is the obligation of their faith. [1]

This understanding of unity allows liberal Quakerism to embrace not only individuals of widely differing belief systems but also people who are members of other religious organizations as well. Thus, to say "I am a Quaker" does not necessarily imply that "I am not a Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, etc." Indeed, in many liberal, unprogrammed Quaker meetings there will be individuals who identify themselves as Quaker and Muslim, Quaker and Hindu, or even Quaker and Roman Catholic.

This essay hopes to make clear that Quakerism is closer to Roman Catholicism than Protestantism in the areas of religious authority, the Real Presence of God in the gathered community, the religious understanding of ethical responsibility, and the traditions of social action derived from that understanding. It is in these areas that the beginnings of a Quaker-Roman Catholic dialogue are most present.

If the term "Protestant Christianity" is to have any meaning beyond that of "non-Catholic Christian," it must imply a belief in the three primary doctrines of Protestantism, namely, the ultimate authority of scripture, justification by faith alone, and the priesthood of all believers. Whether this constitutes a radical difference from Roman Catholicism is a discussion for another time. What is important to notice is that by this definition, Quakerism does not fit into the Protestant category of Christian faith.

This essay will often use the terms "Protestant" and "Catholic" to create a typology of Christian faith in the Western world. This makes it possible to assert that some non-Roman Catholic Christian faiths are more "Catholic" and less "Protestant" than others. The best examples of these are Anglicanism and Episcopalianism, where more authority is vested in a church hierarchy, and where there is more emphasis on a sacramental theology. Similarly, Lutheranism is less "Protestant" than is Calvinist or Reformed Protestantism.

The "Protestant" type of Christian faith -- characterized primarily by a belief in the ultimate authority of the Bible as the Word of God, an emphasis on justification by faith, and a mode of worship that is primarily a celebration of the Word of God -- is typified by the Puritan movement of the seventeenth century and by much of the Evangelical movement alive in America today. The "Catholic" type can be said to emphasize the role of the church in the mediation of God's authority. Its theology is largely sacramental in nature, and its worship is identified by an emphasis on God's ontological presence. The exemplar of this kind of faith is, of course, Roman Catholicism.

Although Quakerism maybe the most extreme expression of the belief in the priesthood of all believers, no liberal Quaker could affirm the ultimate authority of scripture, and few would affirm justification by faith alone. If only for this reason, "Protestant" is an inappropriate classification for the Society of Friends.

A Brief History of Quaker Thought

Quakerism is a reaction against Reformed theology as found in the Puritan movement of seventeenth-century England, where Quakerism was born. Unlike most non-Roman Catholic Christian faiths, the Society of Friends arose not as a response to the Roman Catholic Church but, rather, in response to the Protestant position as expressed by Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. Early Quakerism is explained in the writings of Society of Friends founder George Fox (1624-91), William Penn (1644-1718), and Robert Barclay (1648-90). They preached an inward spirituality, one that rejected the notion of any mediator between the person and God, and affirmed a belief in a continuing revelation through the same spirit that revealed the Bible to the biblical writers.