2027 Conference
Call for Papers
The Quaker Studies Research Association invites proposals for papers for its 2027 annual conference, to be held on 26th June 2027 at Friargate Meeting House (York, England) on the theme:
Quakers, Authority, and Power
From their beginnings in the seventeenth century, Friends have lived in a creative tension with authority and power. Early Quakers challenged established religious, social, and political authorities while simultaneously developing distinctive forms of spiritual authority within their own communities. They rejected coercion and hierarchy, yet created enduring structures of eldership, discipline, discernment, and communal accountability. They questioned inherited authority whilst seeking to remain faithful to the authority of Truth as inwardly revealed and corporately discerned.
These questions remain highly relevant today. At a time when many Quaker communities are reflecting on the role of discipline, discernment, ministry, membership, governance, and witness, the relationship between authority and power remains central to understanding both the Quaker past and the Quaker present.
This conference seeks to explore the many ways in which authority and power have been understood, exercised, challenged, resisted, and transformed within Quaker traditions around the world.
We welcome contributions from historians, theologians, sociologists, political theorists, scholars of religion, and practitioners. Interdisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Historical Perspectives: George Fox and charismatic authority; Authority among early Friends; Quakers and state power; Quaker relations with political institutions; Discipline, oversight, and eldership; Authority and schism in Quaker history; Gender, race, and authority among Friends; Quaker influence on reform movements
Theological and Ecclesiological Perspectives: The authority of the Inward Light; Continuing revelation and communal discernment; Scripture and authority in Quaker traditions; The authority of meetings for worship and business; Ministry, eldership, and spiritual gifts; Discernment, unity, and disagreement; Authority in liberal, evangelical, Conservative, and pastoral Quaker traditions; The theology of discipline
Power, Community, and Society: Quakers and political power; Peace testimony and state authority; Quaker organisations and institutional power; Authority and expertise; Authority in activist movements; Quaker approaches to leadership; Digital communities and changing patterns of authority; Power, privilege, and inclusion among Friends
Contemporary and Comparative Perspectives: Authority and legitimacy in contemporary Quakerism; Revising disciplines and books of faith and practice; Quakers and wider debates about authority in religion; Comparative studies with other Christian traditions; Quaker perspectives on authority in pluralist societies; The future of authority in Quaker communities
The conference particularly welcomes papers that engage critically with the distinction between authority, power, influence, leadership, legitimacy, and coercion, and that explore how Quaker traditions have negotiated these concepts across different historical and cultural settings.
Proposals must be received by 4th January 2027 and should include:
• Title of paper
• Abstract (250–300 words)
• Brief biographical note (100 words)
We look forward to welcoming contributions that deepen our understanding of one of the most enduring and challenging questions in Quaker history and thought: how do communities grounded in the freedom of the Spirit recognise, sustain, and exercise authority without domination, and power without coercion?
The Quaker Studies Research Association invites proposals for papers for its 2027 annual conference, to be held on 26th June 2027 at Friargate Meeting House (York, England) on the theme:
Quakers, Authority, and Power
From their beginnings in the seventeenth century, Friends have lived in a creative tension with authority and power. Early Quakers challenged established religious, social, and political authorities while simultaneously developing distinctive forms of spiritual authority within their own communities. They rejected coercion and hierarchy, yet created enduring structures of eldership, discipline, discernment, and communal accountability. They questioned inherited authority whilst seeking to remain faithful to the authority of Truth as inwardly revealed and corporately discerned.
These questions remain highly relevant today. At a time when many Quaker communities are reflecting on the role of discipline, discernment, ministry, membership, governance, and witness, the relationship between authority and power remains central to understanding both the Quaker past and the Quaker present.
This conference seeks to explore the many ways in which authority and power have been understood, exercised, challenged, resisted, and transformed within Quaker traditions around the world.
We welcome contributions from historians, theologians, sociologists, political theorists, scholars of religion, and practitioners. Interdisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Historical Perspectives: George Fox and charismatic authority; Authority among early Friends; Quakers and state power; Quaker relations with political institutions; Discipline, oversight, and eldership; Authority and schism in Quaker history; Gender, race, and authority among Friends; Quaker influence on reform movements
Theological and Ecclesiological Perspectives: The authority of the Inward Light; Continuing revelation and communal discernment; Scripture and authority in Quaker traditions; The authority of meetings for worship and business; Ministry, eldership, and spiritual gifts; Discernment, unity, and disagreement; Authority in liberal, evangelical, Conservative, and pastoral Quaker traditions; The theology of discipline
Power, Community, and Society: Quakers and political power; Peace testimony and state authority; Quaker organisations and institutional power; Authority and expertise; Authority in activist movements; Quaker approaches to leadership; Digital communities and changing patterns of authority; Power, privilege, and inclusion among Friends
Contemporary and Comparative Perspectives: Authority and legitimacy in contemporary Quakerism; Revising disciplines and books of faith and practice; Quakers and wider debates about authority in religion; Comparative studies with other Christian traditions; Quaker perspectives on authority in pluralist societies; The future of authority in Quaker communities
The conference particularly welcomes papers that engage critically with the distinction between authority, power, influence, leadership, legitimacy, and coercion, and that explore how Quaker traditions have negotiated these concepts across different historical and cultural settings.
Proposals must be received by 4th January 2027 and should include:
• Title of paper
• Abstract (250–300 words)
• Brief biographical note (100 words)
We look forward to welcoming contributions that deepen our understanding of one of the most enduring and challenging questions in Quaker history and thought: how do communities grounded in the freedom of the Spirit recognise, sustain, and exercise authority without domination, and power without coercion?
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