The Bahá'í Faith is a religion teaching the essential worth of all religions, and the unity and equality of all people. Established by Bahá'u'lláh in 1863, it initially grew in Iran and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced ongoing persecution since its inception. It is estimated to have between 5 and 8 million adherents, known as Bahá'ís, spread out into most of the world's countries and territories.
The Universal House of Justice is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Bahá'í Faith. It was envisioned by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the Bahá'í writings, providing flexibility for the Bahá'í Faith to adapt to changing conditions. It was first elected in 1963, and subsequently every five years, by delegates consisting of the members of Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world.
Progressive revelation is a core teaching in the Bahá'í Faith that suggests that religious truth is revealed by God progressively and cyclically over time through a series of divine Messengers, and that the teachings are tailored to suit the needs of the time and place of their appearance. Thus, the Bahá'í teachings recognize the divine origin of several world religions as different stages in the history of one religion, while believing that the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is the most recent, and therefore the most relevant to modern society.
The Manifestation of God is a concept in the Bahá'í Faith that refers to what are commonly called prophets. The Manifestations of God are appearances of the Divine Spirit or Holy Spirit in a series of personages, and as such, they perfectly reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization through the agency of that same Spirit. In the Baha'i Faith, it is believed that the Manifestations of God are the only channel for humanity to know about God because contact with the Spirit is what transforms the heart and mind, creating a living relationship between the soul and God. They act as perfect mirrors reflecting the attributes of God into the physical world. Bahá'í teachings hold that the motive force in all human development is due to the coming of the Manifestations of God. The Manifestations of God are directly linked with the Bahá'í concept of progressive revelation.
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's grandson. The teachings were written in various Bahá'í writings. The teachings of the religion, combined with the authentic teachings of several past religions, including Islam and Christianity, are regarded by Bahá'ís as teachings revealed by God.
The Bahá'í Faith teaches that the world should adopt an international auxiliary language, which people would use in addition to their mother tongue. The aim of this teaching is to improve communication and foster unity among peoples and nations. The Bahá'í teachings state, however, that the international auxiliary language should not suppress existing natural languages, and that the concept of unity in diversity must be applied to preserve cultural distinctions.
Unity of humanity is one of the central teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. The Bahá'í teachings state that since all humans have been created in the image of God, God does not make any distinction between people regardless of race or colour. Thus, because all humans have been created equal, they all require equal opportunities and treatment. Thus the Bahá'í view promotes the unity of humanity, and that people's vision should be world-embracing and that people should love the whole world rather than just their nation. The teaching, however, does not equal unity with uniformity, but instead the Bahá'í writings advocate for the principle of unity in diversity where the variety in the human race is valued.
One of the fundamental teachings of the Bahá'í Faith is that men and women are equal, and that equality of the sexes is a spiritual and moral standard that is essential for the unification of the planet and the unfoldment of peace. Bahá'í teachings note the importance of implementing this principle in individual, family, and community life. Nevertheless, the Bahá'í notion of the full spiritual and social equality of the two sexes does not imply sameness, so that gender distinction and differentiation are observed in certain areas of life. For example, while women can and do serve in an extensive range of elected and appointed positions within the faith at both national and international levels, they are not permitted to serve as members of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. Furthermore, the education of daughters is held to be more important than, and therefore to take precedence over, that of sons.
A fundamental principle of the Bahá'í Faith is the stated harmony of religion and science. Whilst Bahá'í scripture asserts that true science and true religion can never be in conflict, critics argue that statements by the founders clearly contradict current scientific understanding. `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, stated that "when a religion is opposed to science it becomes mere superstition". He also said that true religion must conform to the conclusions of science.
Unity of religion is a core teaching of the Bahá'í Faith which states that there is a fundamental unity in many of the world's religions. The principle states that the teachings of the major religions are part of a single plan directed from the same God. It is one of the core teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, alongside the unity of God, and the unity of humanity.
Bahá'í literature, like the literature of many religions, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia. Sometimes considerable overlap between these forms can be observed in a particular text.
The Tablet to The Hague is a letter which `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to the Central Organisation for Durable Peace in The Hague, The Netherlands on 17 December 1919.
The Bahá'í Faith in Sweden began after coverage in the 19th century followed by several Swede-Americans who had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the United States around 1912 and pioneered or visited the country starting in 1920. By 1932 translations of Bahá'í literature had been accomplished and around 1947 the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly had been elected in Stockholm. In 1962 the first National Spiritual Assembly of Sweden was elected. The Bahá'ís claim about 1,000 members and 25 local assemblies in Sweden.
The Bahá'í Faith in Rwanda begins after 1916 with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, that Bahá'ís should take the religion to the regions of Africa. The first specific mention of Rwanda was in May 1953 suggesting the expanding community of the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda look at sending pioneers to neighboring areas like Ruanda. The first settlers of the religion arrived in the region by July 1953 when Bahá'ís from the United States and Malawi arrived. By 1963 there were three Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Burundi-Ruanda. Through succeeding organizations of the countries in the region, the National Spiritual Assembly of Rwanda was formed in 1972. Bahá'ís, perhaps in the thousands, were among those who perished in the Rwandan Genocide Following the disruption of the Rwandan Civil War the national assembly was reformed in 1997. The Bahá'ís of Rwanda have continued to strive for inter-racial harmony, a teaching which Denyse Umutoni, an assistant director of Shake Hands with the Devil, mentions as among the reasons for her conversion to the religion. 2001 estimates place the Bahá'í population around 15000 while 2005 estimates from the same source shows just over 18900.
The Bahá'í Faith in Angola begins after `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote letters encouraging taking the religion to Africa in 1916. The first Bahá'í pioneered to Angola about 1952. By 1963 there was a Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in Luanda and smaller groups of Bahá'ís in other cities. In 1992 the Bahá'ís of Angola elected their first National Spiritual Assembly. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated some 2,000 Bahá'ís in 2005.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West were a series of trips `Abdu'l-Bahá undertook starting at the age of 67 from Palestine to the West from 1910 to 1913. `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, was imprisoned at the age of 8 and suffered various degrees of privation most of his life. He was appointed as the successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith upon the death of his father on 29 May 1892. Sixteen years later he was suddenly freed at the age of 64 as a ramification of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908. At the time of his release, the major centres of Bahá'í population and scholarly activity were mostly in Iran, with other large communities in Baku, Azerbaijan, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The Bahá'í Faith was first introduced in China during the lifetime of its founder, Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892).
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Bahá'í Faith.
Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith, called for global agreement on human rights protection nearly eighty years before the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. He taught that an “equal standard of human rights must be recognized and adopted.” Bahá’u’lláh called for governments to protect the human rights of their populations and to ensure their welfare. To safeguard human rights, He urged global leaders to establish a world commonwealth that would include a system of collective security to protect populations against tyranny and oppression.
