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| posted on 22nd December 2025 in  Quaker Organisations

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Quaker Socialist Society

The Quaker Socialist Society (QSS) promotes Quaker values in standing for ethical socialism, social justice and a fair, safe, peaceful world.

Overview

The first Quaker socialist group was called the Socialist Quaker Society (SQS) and founded in 1898 by a group of Quakers who saw, “Their unique position for the spread of Socialism”. The SQS published a journal named The Ploughshare and the society lasted until 1924.

The present-day Quaker Socialist Society was founded in 1975. Two years later in 1977, it published its first pamphlet, Foundations of a True Social Order. The pamphlet was seen as the starting point for progressive, Quaker social action.

Each year the society delivers its annual Salter Lecture as part of the programme for the Quakers in Britain yearly gathering. 

"The Quaker Socialist Society provides a forum for those people, not just Quakers who stand for ethical socialism, social justice and a fair, safe and peaceful world. It aims to bring socialist ideas to Quakers and Quaker ideas to socialists."

Quaker Socialist Society

QSS' work

In order to facilitate its ethical socialism work with Quaker values, the QSS does the following:

• Explores the relationship between Quaker faith and socialism
  Brings together Friends who are interested in how Quaker beliefs connect with socialist values such as equality, cooperation, and shared responsibility.
• Encourages reflection and dialogue
  Creates spaces for discussion, study, and worship where Friends can think critically about economic justice, power, and social change.
• Promotes equality and social justice
  Draws on Quaker testimonies to challenge systems that produce inequality, exploitation, and exclusion.
• Connects Quakers engaged in political and social action.
  Acts as a network for Friends involved in trade unions, community organising, political movements, and campaigns for economic justice.
• Publishes and shares ideas
  Produces newsletters, pamphlets, and online content exploring Quaker perspectives on socialism, economics, and social change.
• Maintains a long radical Quaker tradition
  Builds on the legacy of Quaker involvement in labour movements, cooperative ventures, adult education, and progressive politics.
• Supports nonviolent approaches to change
  Grounds socialist engagement in Quaker commitments to peace, integrity, and nonviolence.
• Offers a critical Quaker voice
  Encourages Friends to question economic orthodoxies and imagine fairer ways of organising society.

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Click here to visit the Quaker Socialist Society website (opens in a new tab)

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