Baha'i Symbol Baha'i - Faith

THE BAHA'I WORLD FAITH
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History

The Bahá'í Faith arose from Islam, similar to the way Christianity arose from Judaism. It has since grown to be a worldwide faith. 

Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad (1819-1850 CE) assumed the title Bab which means the Gate. In 1844-MAY-23 He announced the "Declaration of the Bab." He explained that the purpose of His mission was to herald the arrival of "One greater than Himself", Who would fulfill the prophetic expectations of all the great religions. This date is regarded as the founding of the Bahá'í Faith. His followers became known as Babis. 20,000 were martyred for their beliefs. His movement caused much religious ferment. This led to His execution in 1850 by order of the Shah's chief minister and at the instigation of Muslim clerics, who saw His movement as a threat to orthodox Islam.

In 1863, one of the Bab's followers, Mirza Husayn-'Ali-i-Nuri (1817-1892), a prominent follower of the Bab to Whom the Bab had given several indications of His future station, confided to some of his followers and to His eldest son that He was the Manifestation predicted by the Bab. On 1863-APR-21, He began proclaiming his station openly and publicly to the world at large. His assumed title, Baha'u'llah, by which He is generally known, was the title the Bab used to refer to Him. The last forty years of Baha'u'llah's life were spent in prison or in exile. The last 22 years were spent in or near Acre, then a prison city. The world headquarters of the Bahá'í Faith is located in the Holy Land today as a result.

Baha'u'llah's son 'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921), was appointed by His father to be leader of the movement after His father's death.

The religion came to North America in 1893. The Bahá'í Faith states that it currently has about 6 million members worldwide: about 2.5 million adherents in India and 140,000 in the US. The Canadian census found 14,730 in Canada in 1991. There have been many discussions on Bahá'í  mailing lists which have tended to estimate a total of 1 million members worldwide. BSome claim that the US figure is grossly inflated, and that the number of active members might be much lower. Barry Kosmin and Seymour Lachman estimated 28,000 adult US Bahá'ís in their 1993 book "One Nation Under God."  Fredrick Glayshen estimates 26,600. 15

According to the 1992 Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of the Year, the Bahá'í Faith has established "significant communities" in more countries and territories than any other religion except for Christianity. They are organized in 205 areas vs. 254 for Christianity.

Bahá'í faith is still looked upon by many Muslims as a breakaway sect of Islam. Bahá'ís are heavily persecuted in some countries because of this, in violation of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Beliefs

  • Bahá'ís believe that there is only one God who is the source of all creation. 
  • God is transcendent and unknowable. However, He has sent, and will continue to send, great prophets to humanity, through which the Holy Spirit has revealed the "Word of God." The Great Manifestations of God up to this time have been:
    1. Adam (? BCE)
    2. Abraham (? BCE)
    3. Moses (1456 BCE)
    4. Krishna (1249 BCE)
    5. Zoroaster (1000 BCE)
    6. Buddha (757 BCE)
    7. Jesus Christ (34 CE)
    8. Mohammed (613 CE)
    9. The Bab (1844 CE)
    10. Baha'u'llah (1863 CE)

(Dates shown are common estimates from historical and Christian sources; BCE dates are very approximate) A new prophet is not expected for many centuries.

  • The Bahá'í's believe in an essential unity of the great religions of the world. However, this does not mean they believe the various religious creeds and doctrines are identical. Rather, they view all religions as having sprung from the same spiritual source. The social and outer forms of different religions vary due to the circumstances at the time that they were founded. Other differences in doctrine and belief can be attributed to later accretions, after the death of the founder.
  • Every person has an immortal soul. Unlike everything else in creation, it is not subject to decomposition. At death, the soul is freed to travel through the spirit world. The latter is viewed as a "a timeless and placeless extension of our own universe--and not some physically remote or removed place."
  • Some of Baha'u'llah's most famous sayings are:
    • "The best beloved of all things in my sight is justice,"
    • "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens"
    • "The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established."
  • Bahá'í beliefs promoted major social changes when originated in the 19th century: they supported gender and race equality; world government; freedom of expression and assembly; and world peace. In many ways, they were a century or more ahead of many other faiths. Followers are heavily involved in promoting these concepts today. Also, unlike many other religions, Bahá'ís view scientific inquiry as essential to expand human knowledge and deepen their members' faith. They feel that science needs to be guided by spiritual principle so that its applications are beneficial to all humanity.  Notably missing from the Baha'u'llah's teachings is the acceptance of homosexuality as a normal, natural sexual orientation for a minority of humans. Another policy, which appears to contradict the faith's promotion of gender equality, is the exclusion of women from serving on its highest religious court.
  • They believe that there will eventually be a single world government, to be led by Bahá'ís, and based on the Faith's administrative framework.

Practices

  • The Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel, is the global governing body; its functions were set out by Baha'u'llah. It is an all-male body.
  • National Spiritual Assemblies (NSA) supervise affairs in each country. The American NSA is located in Wilmette IL at the site of a Bahá'í House of Worship, one of 7 worldwide.
  • In each locality where there are more than nine adult believers, affairs are administered by local spiritual assemblies. Each of these institutions has nine members and is elected, not appointed. Their functions have been defined by Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha in Bahá'í scripture.
  • Bahá'ís have no clergy, sacraments or rituals.
  • Members:
    • pray each day
    • observe the 9 holy days
    • fast 19 days a year
    • work to abolish prejudice
    • regard work as a form of worship
    • make at least one pilgrimage, if they are able, to the Shrine of the Bab and the houses in which Baha'u'llah lived, which are situated near the Bahá'í world headquarters.
    • Reflecting their origins in Shiite Islam, Bahá'ís do not consume alcohol.

Sacred texts

Bahá'í scripture comprises the writings of the Bab and Baha'u'llah, together with the writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Among the better known writings of Baha'u'llah are, The Most Holy Book, The Book of Certitude, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words and The Seven Valleys. There are many others books of Bahá'í scripture.

Holy days

The Bahá'ís have a new calendar. Its year begins on March 21, the spring equinox. Other seasonal days of celebration or commemoration are:

  • April 21, 29 & May 2: Baha'u'llah's public declaration of his mission
  • May 23: Bab's declaration of his mission
  • May 29: Passing of Baha'u'llah
  • July 9: Martyrdom of the Bab
  • October 20: Birth of Bab
  • November 12: Birth of Baha'u'llah

Persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran

There are about 350,000 Bahá'ís in Iran who are experiencing oppressive government persecution for their religious beliefs. They are looked on as heretics, because of Baha'u'llah's claim to be the latest prophet of God. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, declared himself to be the final prophet centuries earlier.

In 1996-APR, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights expressed concern about the state of religious freedom in that country for members of the Bahá'í and other minority faiths. On 1996-MAY-14, Reuters news service quoted the most senior judge in Iran, Ayatollah Mohammed Yazdi, saying that the Bahá'í faith "is not a religion but an espionage establishment". Since the late 1970's, the government of Iran has accused Bahá'ís of spying for other countries. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States stated on 1996-MAY-15: "Since the Islamic regime took power, more than 200 Bahá'ís have been executed on account of their religion, and thousands have been imprisoned. Bahá'ís have systematically been denied access to education, jobs and pensions, and both personal and Bahá'í community properties have been confiscated."

Freedom of expression within the Bahá'í Faith

Although Bahá'ís have been very active in the promotion of freedom of expression around the world, there are significant restrictions on freedoms of individual members. These are enforced through shunning or expelling non-conforming adherents. Some examples are:

  • Gay males and lesbians in monogamous, committed relationships who have held union services to recognize their partnerships have been excommunicated.
  • The Bahá'í authorities impose prepublication censorship on all material written by members about the Faith. All such material must first be scanned by a review committee of the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of the country in which the text is to be published. This was a temporary policy introduced many decades ago, which is still in force.
  • The "Talisman" mailing list was closed down on 1996-MAY after an investigation ordered by the Bahá'í World Center in Haifa, Israel. Some sources have indicated that the list was closed by the Bahá'í authorities. The Universal House of Justice has denied that. Juan Cole, now an ex-Bahá'í, opened a new Talisman list the following month. Its e-mail address is talisman@umich.edu .
  • The Bahá'í electoral process does not permit public nominations or discussion of the candidates. As a result, there has been no change in the 9 person US National Spiritual Assembly since 1961, except for those caused by deaths, retirements, or a member leaving the country.
  • Michael McKenny, a Canadian fantasy writer was expelled from the church because of his views expressed in Emails.

Divisions within the Bahá'í Faith

All religions evolve. Followers of established religions break away and form new sects. Many schisms are triggered by the death of the founder of the religion, or a successor. Typically, the leaders of the splinter group follow most of the beliefs and practices of their religion of origin; they generally regard their own faith group as being the true representative of the religion. In this way, the Bahá'í Faith arose from Islam, and Christianity arose from Judaism, and the Mormons split away from Protestant Christianity. Sometimes, the sect becomes the dominant group. The Bahá'í Faith itself has experienced a number of schisms.

The founder of the  Bahá'í Faith, Baha'u'llah, selected Abdu'l-Baha to interpret the Baha'i writings after his death. Some members refused to accept the authority of the new leader. After the death of Abdu'l-Baha, the authority passed to Shoghi Effendi, "the infallible Center of the Baha'i faith," the "Center of the Cause," the generally accepted sole interpreter of the Baha'i teachings. Again, some members refused to accept his authority.  After his unexpected death in 1957, controversy developed over his successor. One webmaster 10 states that there are now 7 faith groups in the world who claim to be the "true" Bahá'í Faith. Of the six new groups, five were created shortly after the death of Shoghi Effendi, The sixth broke off later:

  • The Bahá'í World Faith followed by the vast majority of believers. In the United States, it is headed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.  Authority once exercised by Shoghi Effendi is now transferred to the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel.
  • Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant who recognized Mason Remey as the guardian who succeeded Shoghi Effendi. They have organized a series of International Baha'i Councils (IBC). They claim a membership approaching 144,000. Their Baha'i Center is located in Missoula, MT. 12, 13
  • Faith of God, (a.k.a. the House of Mankind and the Universal Palace of Order), who followed Jamshid Ma'ani and John Carre. They "are no longer active (listed as 'defunct' in Encyclopedia of Religions)." 11
  • The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith," (a.k.a. Mother Bahá'í Council), who follow Joel Marangella.
  • The Orthodox Baha'i Faith Under the Regency, who follow Rex King.
  • The Charles Mason Remey Society, who follow Donald Harvey and Francis Spataro.
  • A dissident group organized around The Friends Newsletter.

Internet references and mailing lists

  1. The official Bahá'í Faith website is at: http://www.bahai.org/
  2. A searchable, Meta-index of Bahá'í information on the net is at: http://www.bcca.org/~cvoogt
  3. A large Bahá'í web site by Glen Little includes numerous links, is at: http://www.bcca.org/~glittle/
  4. Jonah Winters' Bahá'í Academics Resource Area is at: http://bahai-library.org
  5. The Bahá'í by Subject page contains religiously related quotes. See: http://bahai.attach.net
  6. Some Bahá'í mailing lists are:
    • "H-Bahai" is a member of the H-Net, Humanities & Social Sciences On-Line initiative. H-Bahai encourages scholarly discussion of the culture and history of the Bahá'í Faith and makes available diverse bibliographical, research, and teaching aids. See: http://h-net2.msu.edu/~bahai/
    • Bahá'í Studies deals with academic scholarship. To subscribe, send Email to major@johnco.cc.ks.us ; in the body of the message add: subscribe bahai-st
    • Bahá'í Bridges to Reality: dialogue of scientists and non-scientists over the harmony of science and religion. To subscribe, send Email to listserv@listserv.aol.com ; in the body of the message add: subscribe bridges-to-reality Your Real Name
    • Bahá'í Science of Reality: Bahá'í metaphysics and epistemology. To subscribe, send Email to listserv@listserv.aol.com ; in the body of the message add: subscribe science-of-reality Your Real Name 
    • Bahá'í Images of Reality: The visual, literary and performing arts. To subscribe, send Email to listserv@listserv.aol.com ; in the body of the message add: subscribe images-of-reality Your Real Name
  7. Material on freedom of expression within the Bahá'í Faith is available at: http://bahai-library.org/newspapers/gnosis.talisman.html and http://bahai-library.org/newspapers/chafe.html An official response from the US National Spiritual Assembly to the latter item is available at: http://bahai-library.org/nsa/attacks.html
  8. Paul Johnson authored an article on the Talisman discussion group in 1997-Winter edition of Gnosis Magazine.
  9. Islam and the Baha'i Faith is a Web site by an individual member of the Baha'i Faith. It promotes "a better understanding of the relationship between the Baha'i Faith and Islam, and to dispel some of the misconceptions which may have led to feelings of mistrust and suspicion." See: http://bci.org/islam-bahai/
  10. Untitled web site by Robert Wright at: http://members.aol.com/peace144/ *
  11. "The Baha'i Faith explanation of the 7 Churches addressed in the Book of Revelation,"  at: http://members.aol.com/peace144/7churches.htm *
  12. "Northern Lights Baha'i," at: http://www.alaska.net/~peace/ *
  13. "Baha'i Faith web site presented by the second International Baha'i Council," at: http://www.montana.com/bupc/ *
  14. The Gay Bahai webmaster describes his site as: "The only Gay Baha'i web site. Here Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgendered Baha'is can chat and know that they are not alone." See: http://www.gaybahai.homestead.com/ 
  15. Fredrick Glayshen has a reform website "The Bahai Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience" at:  http://members.tripod.com/~fglaysher/bahai.htm  It contains an essay on membership figures at: http://members.tripod.com/~fglaysher/FalseStats.htm 

* These are schismatic splinter groups which have broken away from the main Bahá'í faith; they are termed "Covenant-Breakers" by the Bahá'í World Faith.

Books on the Bahá'í World Faith: