Quakers in Council
By EVE TAYLOR
THE Society of Frienas are somewhat chary of publicity accorded to their domestic affairs; and the fact that both non-Friends and the Press were excluded from the deli- berations of their recent World Conference in Oxford has meant that its proceedings have aroused far less attention than the more broadly based pilgrimage to Lancashire this week.
This is not to say that the Press was treated in an offhand manner. On the contrary. Quakers, one was repeatedly assured, do not court publicity, but they are not ill-pleased when they get it. The full-time Press officer attached to the conference was unfailingly helpful, and printed reports of speeches and discussions were readily available. Moreover, the freedom with which many representatives expressed their views outside the conference-room enabled the observer to gauge pretty fully the mood of the discussions.
For the Friends, at all events, are well aware that the con- ference has in fact been the most significant feature of the tercentenary celebrations of the foundation of their Society.
Over 1,500 of them were assembled in Oxford, 900 being official representatives. More than half of these came from the United States. Others were from Western Europe, and there was a fair sprinkling from South America, Central and South Africa, and the Middle and Far East; and if the large proportion of youth present was an accurate guide, the Society has no lack of potential material for its future work. At the same time many Friends are clearly gravely con- cerned about the health of the Society; and it was this anxiety more than anything else, perhaps, which gave significance to the week's proceedings. It was never intended, of course, that the conference should reach any binding decisions either on doctrine or policy, as this would have run counter to the individualistic traditions of the Quakers. But some represen- tatives feared that, as a result, it would fail to fulfil any function at all; and they were at pains to remove from the beginning the danger that it would merely indulge in a glorification of the Society's past achievements. Most vocal among this group were certain Americans, some of whose challenging indictments appear to have struck the conference with all the force of an unexpected cloudburst.
One, for instance, accused modern Quakers of being guilty of treason to the great dream of their founders, another deplored their failure to witness sufficiently against the gross inequalities existing in the world, while a third criticised the complacency induced by the fact of their living largely in privileged countries as members of a privileged middle class. Such strictures and expressions of shame moved a Friend from Germany to challenge Quakers to renounce interest-bearing investments altogether. The idea, however, seems to have received little support. Nevertheless, there is probably general agreement among Friends on the need for heart-searching as to the Society's present state, both material and spiritual. It was when the discussion moved on to more positive lines that a basic diver- gence of view was revealed. Some Quakers are evidently imbued with a strong missionary zeal; here again, this was most marked among the Americans present. The Society's task, as they see it, is to proselytise wherever and whenever the opportunity arises, in factory, public-house, college or club. Others, on the other hand, were clearly nervous as to the effect of such an approach on the modern generation. Friends from Germany and Scandinavia, in particular, warned the conference that young people in their countries had a deep distrust of the Church and were sceptical of high professions. They felt rather that it was important to create confidence by expressing their faith in action before beginning to talk to such people about Christianity.
A similar cleavage emerged during the discussions on race- relations and the East-West conflict. Will better results be achieved by forcing the issues or by merely working patiently for a gradual transformation in peoples' outlook ? A number of coloured Friends, at all events, were in no doubt as to the proper course. Only those who were in the struggle had any right to speak of patience, a negro from New York declared; and he even suggested that the kindness of some white people only served to hide the real problem, which was, in his view, not so much racial as a conflict between the reactionary and the liberal. Direct action was also supported by a white speaker from Baltimore, who instanced the recent successful introduction of negroes into an " all-white " restaurant by white people, who refused to be served unless in company with their coloured friends.
On the whole, however, in this, as in other spheres, the conference appears to have been more susceptible to the views of those who preached caution. While admitting that their contribution to the reconciliation of racial and national con- flicts might well have to consist of first steps with no immediate effect, most representatives seemed to be willing to risk the consequent danger of frustration rather than indulge in any spectacular intervention. The importance which Quakers attach to the value of frank discussion was further underlined when they turned to con- sider the East-West conflict. Here the views of some members of the group of English Quakers who visited Moscow last year were heard with special attention. The conference wisely wasted no time over futile discussion of ideological issues; indeed, as one speaker pointed out, there was no positive value in decrying the achievements of Communism while overlooking what the West had failed to do. It was agreed that the funda- mental cause of tension was fear, and fear could only be removed by bringing differences into the open. Quakers were urged to "wrestle with " the political situation, and to talk to Communists rather than avoid them. As a German Friend put it : "Communists are our brothers, who are going wrong in some things as we ourselves know that we are going wrong in others."
Yet, some might,ask, what does all this amount to ? What, as revealed by the conference, is the Quaker's vocation in the world to-day, and what positive contribution is he prepared to make to the solution of our problems ? Without doubt all Friends, by conviction, are anxious to work for peace; and the conference was unanimous, at all events, as to the need for disarmament, unilateral if necessary. One Friend from Japan appealed to the Western Powers to avoid encouraging a revival of militarism in his country; a Finnish Quaker reminded the conference of the experience of Finland, where, he claimed, there was no war-hysteria despite the fact that she was not allowed to have an army of more than 40,000 men, and was on the borders of the Soviet Union; and a British speaker appealed to all Friends to support with their prayers the Disarmament Commission of the United Nations.
But in assessing the achievements of the conference, it must be remembered that the essence of Quakerism lies in its individualism. It is no use expecting the Society as a whole to subscribe to any rigid or spectacular course of action. The feeling is that individual Friends have different ways of working for the good of mankind, and that all should be encouraged. In this respect the conference must have provided a much- needed stimulant inside the Society, and encouraged among its members a radical re-examination of their position and standing in the world today.
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