Is the Collective Greater than the Individual in Quakerism?

We live at a time in American history in which the needs of the individual are emphasized much more often than the needs of the community at large. American Individualism has deep roots in our history and culture. Many of the constitutional rights in the Bill of Rights protect us as individuals. The victories in various civil rights movements, from racial justice, the women’s rights movement, gay rights movement, and disability and accessibly rights movements all came about through collective sacrifice and action, and ultimately enabled individuals to experience more freedom and opportunity to more fully be themselves in our country. In my spiritual practice I engage with Spirit both as an individual and collectively within Quaker gatherings, especially Meeting for Worship. When I meditate, center down, pray, I am pursuing a present consciousness of Spirit, and most of those experiences are fully available to me as an individual. If that were enough for me, I would be like millions of Americans, who consider themselves spiritual believers, but are unaffiliated with any “organized” religious communities. Essentially, I could create and maintain a solitary spiritual practice, unique to me, and experience it completely or mostly as an individual.

But I became a convinced Quaker several years ago, after attending Quaker worship in two different Monthly Meetings, off and on over the course of 15 to 20 years. And I have learned that I cannot fully practice Quakerism by myself. It’s not just that Community is one of the central Quaker testimonies, along with Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Equality, and Stewardship. I have to practice Quakerism with a community of others, because we seek to experience Spirit collectively, a sense of unity in Spirit, and invite each other to share how Spirit is changing us and illuminating our way. I believe Quakers emphasized this egalitarian practice of collective worship, because Spirit lives within and amongst all of us. We can better discern what is truly from Spirit, as opposed to that of our human personalities, when we test our spiritual experiences through sharing and inviting discernment with others.

But if we commit to practice Quakerism, we are asked to focus on what is best for the collective, for our community. This often runs in direct opposition to much of what we learned in our families, schools, and vocational lives. When we gather in worship, we do it together, not to simply keep each other company while we stay within our individual lanes of separate meditation. We gather in worship together because Spirit is calling us together, and our ability to learn, grow, and heal is magnified potentially, if we fully accept the opportunity to be one in Spirit.

Of course, this often is greatly challenging. I fail at focusing on the collective all the time, but I remind myself I am here not only to seek peace for myself. I may receive that peace along the way. I am here in community, worshiping to learn how we are in unity with Spirit and how Spirit is leading us to love, heal, and seek greater justice in our world. I may grow as an individual along the way from what I learn through this practice, but I cannot practice Quakerism by myself, or with a primarily individualistic lens. I am challenged to set my individual consciousness aside in worship and listen to how Spirit is speaking to me through the community of our Quaker Meeting.

So when Quakers encounter conflict, we are called upon to seek loving reconciliation and understanding of each other in Spirit. This is such a more challenging expectation than the standard individualistic ways Americans navigate conflicts in the secular groups and relationships in our country. According to individualism, you are only obligated to take care of “number one.” That can lead to a lot of irreconcilable differences, alienation, segregation, exploitation, and unhappiness. That becomes the disconnection from Spirit and each other.

So, when we have experienced conflict in the past couple months within our Meeting, we cannot just move on. I don’t believe that avoiding conflict ever strengthens community. Everyone in our meeting is an essential part of our whole community. The presence of conflict is a hopefully temporary obstacle, and an opportunity to experience trust, love, and openness between all of us. We can seek guidance from Spirit, seek to reconcile our individual desires, and heal through understanding and caring for each other. Otherwise, the collective unity of Spirit within our community becomes elusive, and we fall into “going through the motions” of Quaker practice without the truth of co-creating the “beloved community” that Spirit is inviting us into. I ask us all to discern how we can best set aside our individual desires and seek what is best for us in the communal experience of Spirit. That’s what our faith asks us to do, even when it is hard.