The Richmond Declaration was made by 95

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

s (representatives of all Orthodox Gurneyite Friends Yearly Meetings) in September 1887, at a conference in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situ ...

. It was a declaration of faith, and although Quakers do not have a

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

, the Richmond Declaration has been used as a standard by certain groups of Quakers, mainly Orthodox (now represented by

Friends United Meeting Friends United Meeting (FUM) is an association of twenty-six yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. Its home pages states that it is "a collection of Christ-centered Quakers, embra ...

) and Evangelical (represented by

Evangelical Friends International Evangelical Friends Church International (EFCI) is a branch of Quaker yearly meetings (regional associations) around the world that profess evangelical Christian beliefs. Mission statement The mission of the Evangelical Friends Church, Internation ...

), ever since. The Declaration was "approved," "accepted," or "adopted" by the Orthodox Yearly Meetings of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, Western, New England, New York, Baltimore, North Carolina, Iowa, and Canada. Among Orthodox Gurneyite Friends in North America, only Ohio and Philadelphia yearly meetings did not so act. The

General Board reaffirmed the declaration as a statement of faith in February 2007. The Declaration appears in most books of discipline of Evangelical and Friends United Meeting yearly meetings.

Criticism of the Declaration

The declaration states, among other things, that the

inner light The inward light, Light of God, Light of Christ, Christ within, That of God, Spirit of God within us, Light within, and inner light are related phrases commonly used within the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) as metaphors for Christ's li ...

will never guide people in a direction that contradicts the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

. This emphasis is something that many yearly meetings do not share - especially Liberal Quakers, such as those associated with

Friends General Conference Friends General Conference (FGC) is an association of Quakers in the United States and Canada made up of 16 yearly meetings and 11 monthly meetings. "Monthly meetings" are what Quakers call congregations; "yearly meetings" are organizations of mon ...

. Orthodox Quakers, however, value this teaching as a check on human enthusiasm and error masquerading as leadings of the Spirit. :''"It has ever been, and still is, the belief of the Society of Friends that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God; that, therefore, there can be no appeal from them to any other authority whatsoever; that they are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Jesus Christ. ... atsoever anyone says or does, contrary to the Scriptures, though under profession of the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit, must be reckoned and accounted a mere delusion. "'' Critics of the Declaration, such as

Chuck Fager Charles Eugene Fager (born 1942), known as Chuck Fager, is an American activist, author, editor, publisher and an outspoken and prominent member of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers. He is known for his work in both the Civil Rights M ...

, have pointed out that the Richmond Declaration has never represented the majority of Friends and is a mere remnant of a historical schism. Among other criticisms, Fager argues that the statement quoted above is factually inaccurate, as it directly contradicts statements from

Robert Barclay Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...

's ''Apology for the True Christian Divinity'' (commonly known as ''Barclay's Apology''), which predates the Declaration by over two centuries.Fager, Chuck
Position Paper against the Richmond Declaration
/ref> Though it was primarily written by a British Friend,

Joseph Bevan Braithwaite Joseph Bevan Braithwaite (21 June 1818 – 15 November 1905) was a conservative, evangelical English Quaker minister. In 1887, he drafted the Quaker Richmond Declaration which stated, among other things, that the Bible was of greater authority t ...

Britain Yearly Meeting The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, also known as the Britain Yearly Meeting (and, until 1995, the London Yearly Meeting), is a Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends ( Quakers) in England, ...

(then called London Yearly Meeting) rejected the proposal that it be adopted. The Richmond Declaration was one factor leading to a sharp doctrinal turn for London Yearly Meeting in 1895.Kennedy, Thomas Cummings ''British Quakerism 1860-1920: the transformation of a religious community'' Oxford University Press, 2001. The Declaration is not accepted as a statement of faith by

Beanite Quakerism Beanite Quakerism refers to the independent tradition of Quakerism started by Quaker ministers Joel and Hannah Bean in the western United States in the late 19th century, and in a more specific sense refers to the three Western yearly meetings th ...

in North America, or by most " unprogrammed" Quaker meetings. The vast majority of Quakers are in Friends United Meeting and Evangelical Friends International who use the Richmond Declaration as a statement of faith.

References

{{reflist

External links

Richmond Declaration
according to Quakerinfo.com Quakerism Richmond, Indiana 1887 documents 1887 in Christianity