- published: 20 Apr 2016
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Quakers, or Friends, are members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Friends' Church—an international family of diverse Christian religious organizations that focus on the priesthood of all believers. Quakers today are theologically diverse: mostly regarded as Christian, they include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity. From the end of the 20th century, small but vocal groups of Friends with Christian atheist or universalist beliefs have emerged.
Quakers are organized into independent regional and national bodies called Yearly Meetings which often split from one another because of doctrinal differences. Several federations for Yearly Meetings unite Quakers who share similar beliefs—for example Evangelical Friends Church International which unites evangelical Christian Friends,; Friends United Meeting which unites Friends into "fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved and obeyed as Teacher and Lord"; and Friends General Conference links groups that have liberal beliefs. Many Yearly Meetings are also members of Friends World Committee for Consultation, a loose international federation of Yearly Meetings from the different traditions.