Contemporary British Quakerism: The relevance of structure and reference to the supernatural for its validity

Abstract

Contemporary British Quakerism illustrates that the absence of the systématisation of its claims accounts for the reasons why Quakers’ reference to the supernatural is effective in protecting the validity of their beliefs. Examples taken from investigations of other beliefs substantiate the suggestion that examination of the structure of a given religious faith is crucial to our understanding of the processes of its validation. This analysis suggests refinements to existing explanations of processes by which religious beliefs protect their validity.