Quakers

==Practical theology==
[[File:1688 germantown petition table.jpg|alt=|thumb|In 1688, at this table in [[Germantown, Philadelphia]], Quakers and [[Mennonites]] signed a common declaration denouncing slavery.]]
Quakers bear witness or ''[[Religious testimony|testify]]'' to their religious beliefs in their spiritual lives,<ref name=QuakerTestimonies2005/> drawing on the [[Epistle of James]] exhortation that "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead".<ref name=James>{{bibleverse|James|2:17|NIV}}</ref> This religious witness is rooted in their immediate experience of God and verified by the Bible, especially in Jesus Christ's life and teachings. They may bear witness in many ways, according to how they believe God is leading them. Although Quakers share how they relate to God and the world, mirroring Christian ethical codes, for example the [[Sermon on the Mount]] or the [[Sermon on the Plain]], Friends argue that they feel personally moved by God rather than following an ethical code.

Some theologians classify Friends' religious witness into categories, known by some Friends as '''''Testimonies'''''. These Friends believe these principles and practices testify to, witness to, or provide evidence for God's truth. No categorisation is universally accepted.<ref name=testimonies/>

In the United Kingdom, the acronym STEPS is sometimes used (Simplicity, Truth, Equality, Peace, and Sustainability) to help remember the Testimonies, although most Quakers just use the full words. In his book ''Quaker Speak'', British Friend [[Alastair Heron]], lists the following ways in which British Friends have historically applied the Testimonies to their lives:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heron |first=Alastair |url=http://www.s113871194.websitehome.co.uk/qsol/main.htm |title=Quaker Speak |year=2008 |access-date=11 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005150245/http://www.s113871194.websitehome.co.uk/qsol/main.htm |archive-date=5 October 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Opposition to betting and gambling, [[Religion and capital punishment|capital punishment]], conscription, hat honour (the largely historical practice of dipping one's hat toward social superiors), [[Testimony of Integrity#Oaths and fair-dealing|oaths]], [[History of the Religious Society of Friends#Abolition of Slavery|slavery]], [[#Calendar and church holidays|times and seasons]], and [[tithe|tithing]]. Promotion of [[Testimony of integrity|integrity]] (or truth), [[Testimony of peace|peace]], penal reform, plain language, relief of suffering, [[Testimony of simplicity|simplicity]], social order, Sunday observance, [[sustainability]], temperance and moderation.

In East Africa, Friends teach peace and non-violence, simplicity, honesty, equality, humility, marriage and sexual ethics (defining marriage as lifelong between one man and one woman), sanctity of life (opposition to abortion), cultural conflicts and Christian life.<ref>Friends United Meeting in East Africa (2002) "[http://www.quakerinfo.com/eastafricafandp.pdf Christian Faith and Practice in the Friends Church]".</ref>

In the United States, the acronym SPICES is often used by many Yearly Meetings (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship). Stewardship is not recognised as a Testimony by all Yearly Meetings. Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting Friends put their faith in action through living their lives by the following principles: prayer, personal integrity, stewardship (which includes giving away minimum of 10% income and refraining from lotteries), marriage and family (lifelong commitment), regard for mind and body (refraining from certain amusements, propriety and modesty of dress, abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and drugs), peace and non-violence (including refusing to participate in war), abortion (opposition to abortion, practical ministry to women with unwanted pregnancy and promotion of adoption), human sexuality, the Christian and state (look to God for authority, not the government), capital punishment (find alternatives), human equality, women in ministry (recognising women and men have an equal part to play in ministry).<ref>Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting of the Friends Church (1997) "[http://www.rmym.org/Faith_And_Practice_Print.php The Faith and Practice] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627173003/http://www.rmym.org/Faith_And_Practice_Print.php |date=27 June 2012 }}"</ref> The Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association lists as testimonies: Integrity, Peace, Simplicity, Equality and Community; areas of witness lists Children, Education, Government, Sexuality and Harmony with Nature.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sayma.org/online_documents/faith_and_practice/F&P2012final.pdf |title=Testifying to the Life of the SPIRIT |author=Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association |year=2012}}</ref>

[[File:L1110854Coanwood Friends Meeting House.jpg|thumb|Former Friends Meeting House, Coanwood, Northumberland, England, dating from 1720]]

===Calendar and church holidays===
Quakers traditionally use numbers for referencing the months and days of the week, something they call the plain calendar. This does not use names of calendar units derived from the names of pagan deities. The week begins with First Day (Sunday) and ends with Seventh Day (Saturday).<ref name="Lapsansky2003">{{Cite book |last1=Lapsansky |first1=Emma Jones |title=Quaker Aesthetics: Reflections on a Quaker Ethic in American Design and Consumption, 1720–1920 |date=26 January 2003 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-3692-7 |page=65 |language=English}}</ref> Months run from First (January) to Twelfth (December). This rests on the terms used in the Bible, e.g. that Jesus Christ's followers went to the tomb early on the First Day.<ref>{{bibleverse|Mark|16:2|NIV}}, {{bibleverse|Luke|24:1|NIV}}, {{bibleverse|John|20:1|NIV}}, {{bibleverse|John|20:19|NIV}}</ref> The plain calendar emerged in the 17th century in England in the [[Puritans|Puritan]] movement, but became closely identified with Friends by the end of the 1650s, and was commonly employed into the 20th century. It is less commonly found today. The term ''First Day School'' is commonly used for what is referred to by other churches as ''Sunday School''.

From 1155 to 1751, the English calendar (and that of Wales, Ireland and the British colonies overseas) marked March 25 as the first day of the year. For this reason, Quaker records of the 17th and early 18th centuries usually referred to March as First Month and February as Twelfth Month.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/friends-historical-library/quaker-calendar|title = The Quaker Calendar|date = 8 July 2014}}</ref>

Like other Christian denominations derived from 16th-century [[Puritans|Puritanism]], many Friends eschew religious festivals (e.g. [[Christmas]], [[Lent]], or [[Easter]]), and believe that Christ's birth, [[crucifixion]] and [[resurrection]], should be marked every day of the year. For example, many Quakers feel that [[fasting]] in [[Lent]], but then eating in excess at other times of the year is [[hypocrisy]]. Many Quakers, rather than observing Lent, live a simple lifestyle all the year round (see ''[[Testimony of simplicity]]''). Such practices are called the ''testimony against times and seasons''.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Some Friends are non-Sabbatarians, holding that "every day is the Lord's day", and that what should be done on a First Day should be done every day of the week, although Meeting for Worship is usually held on a First Day, after the advice first issued by the elders of [[Balby]] in 1656.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Dewsbury |first1=William |last2=Farnworth |first2=Richard |title=The Epistle from the Elders at Balby, 1656 |url=http://www.qhpress.org/texts/balby.html|access-date=5 October 2023}}</ref>