Quakerly conflict:the cultural logic of conflict in the Religious Society of Friends

Abstract

Positioned outside popular Quaker discourse, yet vital to their practices and identity, nestles the notion of 'conflict'. This comment does require some qualifications, and. as you will discover, nearly all statements about Friends require some recognition of their complexity. The concept of 'conflict' is not central to Quaker understanding, but it has an interesting relationship with the other concepts that inform Quaker beliefs and practices. Friends direct their attention and practice to peace, integrity, simplicity, and equality. Their organisation, practice, and cultural schema are manifestations of these ideas, establishing a context that produces a unique construction of 'conflict' and its management. Quakers are known for their stance against war, and they earn international reputation as a group who works towards peace in armed conflicts throughout the world. These are the conflicts that dominate the Quaker imagination, so how do Friends manage dispute when it occurs in their own meeting houses? This is the question I explore in this thesis. Argument is fundamental in the formulation of religious belief and practices, the problem arises for Quakers when conflicts arise. How do they contain conflicts, and implement social control? I investigate conflict as a culturally informed context where particular behaviours are promoted when divergence of interests are perceived. The Religious Society of Friends in Scotland provides the ethnographic setting and specific context for this investigation.

This chapter sets the foundation of the research, and explores issues that will assist the reader in understanding the ethnography. There are particular biases that require elaboration, so my position in the field location, and the heuristics involved with the writing are elaborated. In this chapter, I establish my epistemological and methodological approaches in trying to answer the orienting question and I do this in three sections. I open with a statement on my location within the model by sharing my narrative, giving some intimate reasons for the fieldwork, and shedding light on my relationship to the work and with the Friends I met. Next I address the themes that this research explores as I try to understand conflict through the Quaker understanding, and its practice of management. Finally, I conclude with the methods used to obtain my information.