A Quaker Theological Ecosystem

“This lecture emerges from a challenge I encountered when I first became a Friend and attempted to make sense of Quaker theology in the Liberal, unprogrammed tradition: I could experience Quaker theology through participating in the life of the Quaker community, yet I couldn’t then easily explain to others how a discernible theology emerged from this way of being. Quaker theology is dynamic and complex, as reflects a tradition with a strong emphasis on the continuing revelation of the Divine and the openness to change which inevitably results. Quakers often “do” their theology, developing their knowledge and understanding of the Divine through their lives, whether that be in the practices of worship and prayer or in the expression of Quaker testimony in their daily lives with their families, their communities, their work, and even their play. This dance between Quakers, the Divine, and the world results in a richly textured theology birthed from experience and visible as the fruits of one’s life and decisions. Quaker theology is thus organic, vibrant, and alive, with multiple elements all in interdependent relationship with each other, none of which are more essential or of greater priority than the others.

Quaker theology, therefore, is an ecosystem.

When viewed through the lens of an ecosystem, the seemingly chaotic and disorganized nature of Quaker theology actually becomes a beautiful symphony of overlapping elements, including: direct experience of the Divine, our individual interpretations of this encounter, and the teachings and Testimony which emerge as a result of individual and communal reflection. This lecture introduces this metaphor of theological ecosystem; exploring its constituent elements and arguing that approaching our theology with this fresh perspective aids us in exploring our tradition anew, allowing us to experience the central place that theology has always played in Quaker spiritual, communal, and ethical life.”

Christy Randazzo, PhD
Writer – Quaker – Theologian
Pronouns: They/Them

Resident of the Delaware River Watershed, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation.

Author of Liberal Quaker Reconciliation Theology: A Constructive Approach (Brill, 2020).

Leader(s)

Christy Randazzo (pronouns: they/them) is a convinced Friend and a member of Haddonfield Friends Meeting in Haddonfield, NJ, USA. Christy is a theologian and teacher, whose work has been engaged in bridging the divide between the contemplative nature of theological writing with the active, lived theology of congregational life.

Christy teaches at both Montclair State University (New Jersey, USA) and the University of St. Joseph (Connecticut, USA), where they offer courses on religious peacemaking, introduction to religious studies, and the intersections between theology and peace work. They have also done ministry across multiple religious communities in diverse settings, including youth and young adult ministry, chaplaincy, and religious education at both the high school and university level, social ministries amongst unhoused populations, and peacemaking in situations of ethno-religious conflict.

They have written in a variety of both academic and popular settings, including the Quaker biblical studies series Illuminate, the Politics of Scripture project for the Journal of Political Theology (which they also help edit), two books for the Brill Quaker Studies series, and an upcoming book for Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, Quaker Theological Ecosystems: A Quaker Constructive Theology. They have earned several degrees in theology, including an MA in general theology from St. Mary’s Seminary and University, an MPhil in Reconciliation Theology from Trinity College Dublin, and a PhD in Quaker theology from the University of Birmingham.

Travel directions to Pendle Hill.