What Comes After

Quakers, or the Society of Friends, originated as a spiritual group or religion in the 17th century in England. Like other Protestant sects, the Society of Friends found Catholicism, the dominant form of Christianity at the time, a less direct approach to worshipping God. However, unlike many other Christian denominations, the Society of Friends believes that God is present in all human beings, regardless of their actions, and that every human can, given sufficient time and silence, feel and hear God’s voice within themselves. As a result, the Society of Friends is committed to nonviolence and equality in both their spiritual practice and their daily lives.

Most religions have a hierarchy of spiritual leadership, and pastors, priests, rabbis, or imams hold positions of spiritual and moral authority in the religious community. Although the Society of Friends has a system of leadership to support the community and maintain organization, and some Friends meetings have pastors who guide meetings and Quaker activities (Stanton-Henry, Andy. “Three Common Fallacies of Quaker Leadership.” Friends Journal, 1 June 2023), it has no defined hierarchy. Instead, it considers moral authority the provenance of the Divine, which is within each individual.

Because of this focus on communion with the Divine and respect for individual communication with the Divine, Quaker communities often exist outside of any specific religion. Like Unitarians, Quakers welcome anyone to meetings and have no requirement, and often no expectation, to consider the Divine as the Judeo-Christian God. Quaker meetings are silent unless and until the Divine compels a Friend to speak, sing, or “quake” with the inspiration of Divinity or Divine light (“What Do Quakers Believe?” Quaker.org). Anyone is welcome at a Quaker meeting, and there are no requirements for membership. All they ask is that participants respect the other participants at the meeting.

Since its inception, the Society of Friends has actively worked for peace and nonviolence throughout the world. Quakers were instrumental in the Underground Railroad during slavery in the US, and during World War II, Quakers organized efforts in multiple countries to help those whom the Nazis persecuted, especially German and Eastern European Jews, escape to safety.

Tompkins uses Quakerism extensively in What Comes After. Isaac Balch is Quaker both by birth and by continued commitment to the Friends. He lives in Pennsylvania, where many Quakers originally settled in the US, and actively attends meetings throughout his life. The only place where Jonah feels a sense of peace is in a Quaker meeting, and he has mystical experiences there that suggest that he may have prophetic tendencies. Throughout the novel are multiple references to a glowing light, a ball of light, or a gleam of light, which are all connected to the interfaith definition of divinity in Quaker practice. Fundamentally, Quakers don’t believe in evil people, only evil acts, because “there is that of God in all of us” (“What Do Quakers Believe?”). The novel doesn’t depict any character as bad or evil, even though a rape and a murder occur; instead, the acts are evil, and the people are complex. Isaac’s clearness committee experience demonstrates how the attitudes of Quakerism can help individuals find grace and confront their own challenges to embrace good and the Divine.