The essence of Friends’ faith is that God dwells within each individual and is accessible, without intermediaries, to anyone who is open to a relationship with the Divine. This belief in the immediate presence of the Light of Christ within the soul and its power to transform us into sons and daughters of the Divine, has always been a vital message of Friends.

Some Friends (Evangelical) emphasize salvation through Jesus Christ, and some have been influenced by the Holiness movement in exercising personal piety. Others (Universalist) emphasize the universal love of God towards humanity across faith traditions.

Books of Faith and Practice, sometimes called Books of Discipline, are the guidelines for living out our faith. Different groups of Friends (yearly meetings) have their own books. Read a sample of yearly meeting books of Faith and Practice from the different branches of Friends.

Or, request our pamphlet "What is Quakerism? Friendly Answers to questions about American Quakers".

Friends worship in congregations known as meetings or churches. Some Friends, known as “unprogrammed” or “silent”, follow the tradition of the first generation of Friends, gathering in silence, listening to God, with no prepared order of service. This form of worship is practiced both by Conservative Friends who strive to conserve early Friends' practices and also by a broader group who value tradition.Most unprogrammed Friends call their places of worship 'meetings' or 'meetinghouses.'

Others, known as “programmed”,  “semi-programmed” or “pastoral”, have routine patterns of worship with an order of service, hymns, prayers and a prepared message. Most of these retain a period of silence or "open worship' to allow space for God to speak.This form of worship is now the most common because of a greater willingness to evangelize and spread the faith. Many of these Friends call their places of worship “churches,” though some have retained the traditional name of 'meeting.' Most programmed or semi-programmed meetings have pastors.

Churches or meetings (or groups of meetings) are often called monthly meetings. They are so called because they meet once a month to attend to the business life of the community, such as acceptance into membership and repair of property.

Most Friends’ churches or meetings are organized into larger bodies called yearly meetings (so called because they hold annual assemblies.) In many places, yearly meetings reflect national boundaries. Larger countries may contain several yearly meetings which cover a geographical area and also reflect a particular theological tradition.

Many yearly meetings are part of a larger grouping of Friends. These include:

• Evangelical Friends Church International
• Friends General Conference
• Friends United Meeting
• Holiness Friends (one yearly meeting in the US with links to some groups in Bolivia)
• Wider Fellowship of Conservative Friends

While in past centuries Friends were predominantly in North America and Europe, through migration and service work, but largely through missions, they can now be found in almost 80 countries of the world. The largest concentrations of Friends today are now (in descending order) in Kenya, the USA, Bolivia, Guatemala, Britain and Burundi.

Interactive maps to help you find a yearly meeting or meeting:

• World wide yearly meetings and independent congregations
• Meetings and churches in the US and Canada

• World wide yearly meetings and independent congregations
• Searchable library of meetings and churches in the US and Canada