Young Quakers

[poliphilo]

 I've been glancing at a booklet in which "young Quakers" talk about their Quaker identity.

It was published in '98- which means all these youngsters (who were aged 18-30 at the time) will now be middle-aged. 

Young Quakers do still exist. We had one visit the Meeting on Sunday. She was hugely popular. Everyone was thinking, "Please transfer your membership to us."  

We're a fairly lively crowd (considering that none of us is under 60) but we have a short use-by date. If we're not replaced by younger specimens the Meeting will fade away.

I'm not opposed to things fading away- it's the natural order of things- but all the same...

Comments

[mtbc]

Is the marked lack of younger Quakers a fairly widespread phenomenon?

Also, were many of the old Quakers once young ones, or do they tend to come to it later in life?

[poliphilo]

I can't really answer your questions because I haven't been around long enough (less than a year in fact) but it's my impression that Quakerism- like so many such groups is shrinking and ageing.

We have one member who was raised a Quaker. I think the rest of us are comers-in. The contemplative nature of Quaker worship is more likely to appeal to older people. A lot of us have tried other faith groups before settling into the Society of Friends. Our group contains two ex-Anglican vicars (I'm one of them) and an ex-Anglican Church Army Captain...

[mtbc]

Thank you, that is interesting.

[cmcmck]

I got involved with Friends in my late teens after baling from the C of E but only became a committed member in my mid thirties.

I think the lack of pressure to 'join' means that those who aren't birthright tend to commit that bit later which is probably no bad thing as by then you know well enough what you are getting into.

[mtbc]

That makes sense, I went to C of E and Methodist, and avoided my year's batch of confirmation because I wasn't ready to commit to such. My GCSE Religious Studies course included a Meeting visit which was a welcome introduction, very much one of those in the style of keeping quiet unless moved to say a little.

[poliphilo]

I've just checked the statistics. They show the Society is in slow decline...