Quaker worship, to varying degrees, is unstructured. It is characterized by silence and by the leading of the Spirit.
It is easy to identify the Quakers or Society of Friends as the most radical tradition of all in its break from late medieval forms of worship. Other groups emerging from the Reformation have clergy, the preaching of sermons, and outward and visible sacraments. The classical forms of Quaker worship have none of these, although one may detect some indirect links with medieval mysticism. Paradoxically, most Quakers have tempered their radicalism by being the most conservative in fidelity to their original forms. Roman Catholic worship has changed far more than has Quaker worship in England or on the east coast of the United States
The origins of Quaker worship lie in the soul-searching of George Fox (1624–1691) and his discovery of the “inner light” in every human. This inner light brought one closer to God than Scripture or sacraments, for it was direct access to the Spirit itself with no need for the mediation of clergy or set forms. Furthermore, such direct access was available to all, male or female, slave or free. Thus, any study of liturgy and justice must begin with the Quakers, for what they practiced in worship was what they felt compelled to practice in all of life. What F. D. Maurice (1805–1872), Percy Dearmer (1867–1936), Virgil Michel (1890–1938), and H. A. Reinhold (1897–1968) later advocated had been a common practice among Quakers for several centuries. Since all were equal before the Spirit, women had as much right to speak in worship as men, and anyone who could see the Spirit in a black person had no right to keep him or her in slavery. Since no one was marginalized in worship, it also meant no one should be honored by clothing or title in society. Decisions were to be made by the “sense of the meeting,” since a vote always means a defeat for a minority.
But though it could dispense with sermons and sacraments, the one thing Quaker worship could not surrender was the Christian community itself, the “meeting.” Hence, the most important act in worship for Quakers is coming together in Christ’s name. Quaker worship is a form of corporate mysticism in which the Spirit uses individuals to speak to the group. Greatly to be feared is putting oneself forward by rushing into words. Only after a time of “centering down” can one feel ready to speak under the compulsion of the Spirit. Quakers feel that Christ did not intend outward baptism and communion to continue any more than foot-washing, so these sacraments occur in invisible and inward ways only.
Quaker worship always has involved a great sense of personal restraint. Even great Quaker saints such as John Woolman (1720–1772) worried after first-day meeting (Sunday) that they might have spoken from the self rather than the Spirit. A high degree of biblical literacy is also presupposed. The Spirit, after all, is the author of Scripture too and will not contradict itself whether in the Bible or in reason.
On the American frontier, like so many other traditions, some Quakers adopted frontier forms of worship, especially in Indiana. Thus, services evolved with structured worship, paid clergy, and even outward sacraments. Sometimes unstructured or unprogrammed worship could be integrated into services that were basically structured. But many East Coast and English Quakers worship still in ways that would not astonish George Fox, so stable has Quaker worship been.