Quakerism In Bolivia - Ale

When one thinks of Bolivia, the stereotypical image conjured is probably one of llamas, alpacas, potatoes, and bowler hats, rather than Quakers. While less than one percent of Bolivians may identify as Quaker, Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, and one of  the poorest in the Americas, actually has the highest number of those who identify as Quaker relative to its total population (around .3%). Bolivia also comes in third in plain volume of Quakers, just behind the United States and Kenya.

While many at Scattergood might think that the bulk of Quakers in the world are unprogrammed, non-pastoral friends (meaning their meetings have no pastor or set program), the truth is that most Quakers worldwide are Friends who have pastored meetings, many of which are also considered Evangelical in their belief in ‘savedness’ and the sanctity of scripture.

Similarly, the majority of Bolivian quakers are Evangelical, pastoral Friends, and associated through their yearly meetings with Evangelical Friends Church International (EFCI). While these groups are much more rooted in scripture, they also consider themselves to be part of the wider Quaker world community, and as such serve in and are served by groups such as Friends World Consultation Committee.

This sort of evangelical Quakerism was brought to Bolivia in 1919 by William Abel, an American evangelical Quaker of Navajo background, who preached Quakerism in La Paz, prompting those who found truth in his message to study at the Friends’ Biblical Institute in Guatemala and then preach in Bolivia.

Additionally, Quakers are present in Bolivia through humanitarian poverty-aid efforts, such as Quaker Bolivia Link (QBL), an organization which aims to provide a quaker response to poverty in bolivia, and “raise awareness of Bolivian culture and society.” It seems QBL does important work the right way:

QBL funds projects generated by the communities themselves. We do not impose our ideas, but work with the populace to meet their self-defined goals. QBL provides skilled planning, supervised construction, maintenance and management training, and long-term evaluation.

However, what is more interesting perhaps is the relationship between Bolivian, largely evangelical, Quakerism, non-Quaker bolivia, and the wider Quaker world. Despite wide apparent ideological differences, evangelical Quakers, non-evangelical pastoral Quakers, conservative Friends, and liberal Quakers alike gather each year at the World Gathering of the Society of Friends. All these groups also contribute to Quaker literature, such as Spirit Rising, a collection of testimonies on spirit from youth, where, in contrast to most of the American and Canadian entries, the Bolivian entries tended to refer to savedness.