What Quakerism Teaches Us About Living in a Divided World

Passivity, compliance, peace: some might think that Quakerism is about skirting conflict and trying to resolve discourse in the quickest way possible. That couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Quakerism has embedded tools for understanding deep within its core values, providing powerful strategies that have been used for generations to navigate difficult political moments and disparaging views. It is the job of a Quaker education to equip its students with these devices.

According to the Abington Friends School website, the first Friends schools were founded in the late 1600s in England, “as a way to educate Quaker children separate from the Anglican, and Catholic religious influences often found in English schools at the time.” 

These schools were generally an extension of the Meeting, founded as a place for children of Meeting attenders to receive an education in line with their religion. Quaker education has historically been drawn from both the faith and a long history of fierce activism, taking inspiration from leaders such as Elizabeth Fry, Benjamin Lay, and Bayard Rustin.

Today in the United States, there are around 76 Quaker schools, according to Friends Journal. While Quaker education may feel normal to many AFS students, there are crucial differences between a Quaker education and education at a different institution. 

We interviewed Upper School Math and Science teacher John Garnevicus about his experience as an educator at Friends schools for 18+ years as well as his personal experiences as a practicing Quaker.

Garnevicus said, “I’m always excited when students think about and take control of the Quaker piece of the school. I think the thing that makes Quakerism at school [preferable] is the idea that while hierarchies have to exist in a school, the actual humanity of each person in that space is equally valuable… You belong equally, as much as anyone else, regardless of how much power they might have in the power structure of the school.”

But how does Quakerism shape education beyond social interactions? What can Quakerism teach us about how to live in a world as politically divided as ours? 

Yphtach Lelkes, assistant professor of communications at the University of Pennsylvania, describes “affective polarization” as “the degree to which Democrats and Republicans in the United States like or dislike one another.” 

A 2021 poll by Pew Research Center found that nearly 60% of American adults say that having political conversations with those they disagree with is “stressful and frustrating.” Political conversations, however, are getting harder and harder to avoid. 

Political polarization is causing our current society to trend towards violence, rather than empathy, when encountering opposing viewpoints. This has made political conversations and connections across divisions even more difficult.

Political violence has become more common, with the assasination of the Democrat House Speaker Mellissa Hortman and her husband in their home in June, and the assasination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus in September. In addition, Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and Republican President Donald Trump survived attempts on their lives in June 2025 and July 2024, respectively. These acts of violence serve as tangible reminders of the political unrest and division in our country. 

Addressing the Upper School about the coinciding of the 24th anniversary of 9/11, two school shootings, and the assasination of Charlie Kirk, Head of School Nicole Hood said, “These moments shake us because they run so deeply counter to who we are at AFS, and to our Quaker testimony of peace. We are a people who object to violence in any form.” 

Despite noting that Kirk’s views often ran “in opposition to Quaker commitments to equality and community,” she highlighted the importance of responding in a way that is in line with Quaker practice.

Hood said, “We believe there is that of God in everyone. Seeking the Light in others does not mean excusing harmful actions or agreeing with ideas that contradict our values. It means refusing to let hatred shape our response. It means believing—even when it is hardest—that every person carries something sacred within them, and that we are called to see it.”

This commitment to seeking the light in others and “refusing to let hatred shape our response[s]” helps to simplify what we feel called to do, say, or believe when atrocities happen.  Quakerism provides us with practices to support this commitment, teaching us to open ourselves up to others’ beliefs. 

For Garnevicus, Meeting for Worship is a space where he practices listening openly to those of different beliefs.  

Garnevicus said, “When I hear a message in Meeting, my obligation is not to agree with the message. My obligation is to try to understand, particularly for a message I don’t agree with, where the other person is coming from… I don’t have to condone the message, I don’t have to agree with the message, but I’m trying to see where their inner Light exists… I’m trying to find some empathy even if I fully reject [their beliefs].” 

This practice of leading with empathy and acknowledging the inner Light in everyone has led Garnevicus to find connection with those he previously did not understand. 

“What I’ve discovered in these Meetings is that sometimes people who you often disagree with say something in that moment that you really like, and that opens a door a little bit. Even if you still have places of strong disagreement, at least there’s this other connective tissue where they’ve led you to something meaningful that maybe you hadn’t even previously considered… It’s always a powerful thing across difference to notice places where there’s wisdom even when it’s [from] people who sometimes frustrate you.”

Just as it is the job of a Quaker school to equip its students with the tools to be truth seekers and active community members, it is our job as students to take the devices we gain and make change at AFS and beyond. 

Quakers have never shied away from creating real, tangible change. It is no longer enough to preach Quaker values in theory; we must put it into practice. Friends’ lineage of activism continues to the present day, with a group of Quaker Meetings suing the government over the policy of ICE being able to raid places of worship in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends et al v. Department of Homeland Security. 

Garnevicus said, “I think people often misconstrue Quakers as being super laid back and friendly, and that’s a misimpression. [When it was first starting], the name [was] the Religious Society of Friends of the Truth… These were truth seekers, who, [although] they often would and still do disagree with each other, tried to find the truth together. So, I think that kind of practice is incredibly important in the modern world and it’s incredibly important to find the kind of activism that you’re passionate about, and–in ways that are meaningful and truth-seeking–push for a better world.” 

Whether through deep listening, forward-moving discussions, helping cultivate press at AFS, or taking part in organized protest, there are countless ways you can put Quaker principles and practices into use in everyday life. 

Our Quaker education has gifted us with the critical skills to navigate the tumultuous political climate of the present day. We have a responsibility to put these practices into action, following the footsteps of the Quakers before us. 

How do you already use Quaker values and action in your life? What else could you implement to cultivate future change?