Founded
a century and a half ago, the Bahá'í Faith is today
among the fastest growing of world religions. With more
than five million followers in at least 232 countries
and dependent territories, it has already become the
second-most widespread faith, surpassing every religion
but Christianity in its geographic reach. Bahá'ís
reside in more than 116,000 localities around the world,
an an expansion that reflects their dedication to the
ideal of world citizenship.
The
Bahá'í Faith's global scope is mirrored in the composition
of its membership. Representing a cross section of humanity,
Bahá'ís come from virtually every nation, ethnic group,
culture, profession and social or economic class. More than
2,100 different ethnic and tribal groups are represented.
Since it also forms a single community, free of schism or
factions, the Bahá'í Faith comprises what is very likely the
most diverse and widespread organized body of people on earth.
The Faith's Founder was Bahá'u'lláh, a Persian nobleman from
Teheran who, in the mid-nineteenth century, gave up a princely
existence of comfort and security for a life of persecution
and deprivation.
Bahá'u'lláh claimed to be nothing less than a new and
independent Messenger from God. His life, work and influence
parallel that of Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha,
Christ, and Muhammad. Bahá'ís view Bahá'u'lláh as the most
recent in this succession of Divine Messengers.
"This
is the Day in which God's most excellent
favors have been poured out upon men, the
Day in which His most mighty grace hath
been infused into all created
things."
--Bahá'u'lláh
The
essential message of Bahá'u'lláh is that of unity.
He taught that there is only one God, that there is
only one human race, and that all the world's
religions have been stages in the revelation of God's
will and purpose for humanity. In this day, Bahá'u'lláh
said, humanity has collectively come of age. As
foretold in all of the world's scriptures, the time
has arrived for the uniting of all peoples into a
peaceful and integrated global society. "The
earth is but one country, and mankind its
citizens," He
wrote.
The
youngest of the world's independent religions, the Faith
founded by Bahá'u'lláh stands out from other religions in a
number of ways. It has a unique system of global
administration, with freely elected governing councils in more
than 18,000 localities.
It takes a distinctive (and sometimes radical) approach to
contemporary social problems. The Faith's scriptures and the
multifarious activities of its membership address virtually
every important trend in the world today, from the new
thinking about cultural diversity and environmental
conservation to the decentralization of decision-making; from
a renewed commitment to family life and morality to the call
for a "New World Order."
The Faith's most distinctive accomplishment by far, however,
is its unity. Unlike every other religion--not to mention most
social and political movements--the Bahá'í Faith has
successfully resisted the perennial impulse to break into
sects and sub-groups. It has maintained its unity despite a
history as turbulent as that of any religion of antiquity.
In the hundred years since Bahá'u'lláh lived, the process of
global unification for which He called has become
well-advanced. Through historical processes, the traditional
barriers of race, class, creed and nation have steadily broken
down. The forces at work, Bahá'u'lláh predicted, will
eventually give birth to a universal civilization. The
principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to
accept the fact of their oneness and assist in the creation of
this new world.
For a global society to flourish, Bahá'u'lláh said, it must
be based on certain fundamental principles. They include: the
elimination of all forms of prejudice; full equality between
the sexes; recognition of the essential oneness of the world's
great religions; the elimination of extremes of poverty and
wealth; universal education; the harmony of science and
religion; a sustainable balance between nature and technology;
and the establishment of a world federal system, based on
collective security and the oneness of humanity.
The commitment to social justice
is exemplified by the more than 1,300 social and
economic development projects that are currently
operated by Bahá'í communities around the world.
Many of these projects focus on promoting
environmental conservation. Shown here is a
tree-planting project undertaken by students at the
Rabbani Bahá'í School near Gwalior, India.
Bahá'ís
around the world express their commitment to these principles
chiefly through individual and community transformation. Among
other ways, commitment is reflected in the large number of
small-scale, grassroots-based social and economic development
projects that Bahá'í communities have launched in recent
years.
In building a unified network of local, national and
international governing councils, Bahá'u'lláh's followers
have created a far-flung and diverse worldwide
community--marked by a distinctive pattern of life and
activity--which offers an encouraging model for cooperation,
harmony and social action. In a world so divided in its
loyalties, this is in- itself a singular achievement.
