The Bah
á’í Faith might not be mainstream yet, but it’s gaining ground.
Learn more about what Bahá’ís believe and why
You may have seen or heard the unusual name of a group of people who tend to keep a low profile but make several positive contributions to the community, such as “adopting” a freeway just north of Gilroy to keep it litter-free, for example, or collecting money for a Halloween drive sponsored by UNICEF.
They’re of the Bahá’í Faith – pronounced bah-HIGH – and the number of believers worldwide is growing.
To get a better idea of the beliefs, teachings and customs of Bahá’ís, we went to the source: Frank Azad, the public information representative and chairman of the spiritual assembly of the Bahá’ís of Gilroy, and Ellen Price, assistant director of the office of communications for the U.S. Bahá’í National Center, based in Evanston, Ill.
Q: Where and when do you worship, and what are your leaders called?
A: Bahá’ís practice private prayer and meditation, and they gather in their homes and communities for collective worship. Devotional gatherings are scheduled regularly, though not a specific day. Readings are taken from the Bahá’í writings and the scriptures of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.
“The Bahá’í teachings prescribe daily prayer and intimate communion with God as the foundation for a life devoted to spiritual advancement and service to humanity,” Azad said.
During collective worship, participants are encouraged to bring their prayer books of favorite passages to share.
There is no clergy in the Bahá’í Faith. Decisions are handled through a system of elected lay councils at the local, national and international levels. In towns and cities where there are at least nine adult members, a local spiritual assembly is elected.
The National Spiritual Assembly is a nine-member, national governing body of a country’s Bahá’í community. It is elected annually at a national convention.
Q: What do you believe?
A: “Bahá’ís believe that there is one God and view all the world’s major religions as part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals his will to humanity,” Azad said.
When someone becomes a Bahá’í, he or she acquires a wider loyalty to all of the manifestations of God. A Bahá’í from a Jewish background, for example, appreciates and believes in Christ, Muhammad, Buddha and all of the manifestations who have come before Baha’u’llah, who is considered the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.
“Bahá’ís believe that Baha’u’llah … is the latest in a series of divine messengers of God that include Abraham, Moses and Jesus as well as Buddha, Krishna and Zoroaster,” Price said. “Baha’u’llah is the Promised One, with the mission of uniting the world and bringing about the spiritual rebirth of humanity.”
Bahá’ís also believe in the unity of humanity.
“The central theme of Baha’u’llah’s message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for humanity’s unification into one global society,” Azad said.
Q: Who are key figures in your faith?
A: The Báb (1819-1850): the forerunner of Baha’u’llah, who announced Baha’u’llah’s coming. Bá is a title that means “gate” or “door” in Arabic.
n Baha’u’llah (1817-1892): the founder of the Bahá’í Faith. His title means “Glory of God” in Arabic.
n Abdu’l-Baha (1844-1921): the son of Baha’u’llah. He was appointed by Baha’u’llah to be the head of the Bahá’í Faith and authorized interpreter of his teachings after Baha’u’llah’s death. Abdu’l-Baha means “servant of Baha” in Arabic.
n Shoghi Effendi (1896-1957): the eldest grandson of Abdu’l-Baha, who designated Shoghi as his successor and conferred upon him the title of Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith.
Q: What are your beliefs about the afterlife? Who is “saved?”
A: Bahá’ís believe that the soul, created at the moment of conception, is eternal and that when the physical body dies, the soul will continue to progress and grow closer to God in the afterlife.
Bahá’ís view death much like they view a child’s passing from its mother’s womb into the world – just as the child is coming out of a small, known place into much greater world, so the soul moves from the world it knows to a place that is wonderful and new.
“Heaven and hell are not literal places to Bahá’ís, but rather measures of closeness to God,” Azad said. “Heaven is being close to God, and hell is being separated from God. Beyond this, the exact nature of the afterlife is a mystery.”
Bahá’ís also believe that humans will be reunited in the afterlife with loved ones who have passed away.
“Although we grieve the loss of our loved ones because we miss seeing them on this earthly plane, we look forward to being reunited with them in the next world – the spiritual world – and pray for them as they pray for us,” Price said.
Bahá’ís do not assert that they are saved and others are not. Rather, they believe the outcome is decided by God alone.
“God has given human beings both freewill and intelligence, and some choose to follow God’s laws and teachings more closely than others. When the body dies, God decides what of our lives to accept and what not to accept,” Azad said. “The Bahá’í approach to salvation is simply to do one’s very best to understand and embrace God’s latest messenger, Baha’u’llah, and to follow his laws and teachings.”
Q: What are your holy books?
A: Baha’u’llah wrote more than 100 volumes of books during his life. All of the writings of the Báb, Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha are considered sacred texts in the Bahá’í Faith. Baha’u’llah’s book of laws and institutions is known as the Kitab-I-Aqdas, or the “most holy book.” The holy books of previous manifestations of God – such as the Quran, and the Old and New Testaments in the Bible – are also considered holy books.
Q: How far does your faith date back?
A: The Bahá’í Faith began in Shiraz, Iran, in 1844, when the Báb declared himself to be the herald of “Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest,” or a future messenger of God who would usher in a new era of peace. In 1863, Baha’u’llah declared that he was the messenger foretold by the Báb.
Q: Where does the name of your faith come from?
A: “Bahá’í” means a follower of Baha’u’llah in Arabic.
Q: What are important holidays in your faith, and what are the customs involved in their celebration?
A: Bahá’ís observe several holy days and festivals. During nine of these occasions, Bahá’ís suspend work. Their holy days include:
n Naw-Ruz (March 21): the Bahá’í New Year. It always falls on the vernal equinox.
n The Festival of Ridvan (April 21-May 2): commemorates Baha’u’llah’s 12 days in the garden of Ridvan. During this time, he publicly proclaimed his mission as God’s messenger for this age. Work is suspended for three days during the festival: April 21, April 29 and May 2.
n Declaration of the Báb (May 23): celebrates the announcement of the Báb becoming the herald of a new messenger of God.
n Ascension of Baha’u’llah (May 29): commemorates the anniversary of the death of Baha’u’llah in 1892.
n Martyrdom of the Báb (July 9): commemorates the anniversary of the execution of the Báb in 1850.
n Birth of the Báb (Oct. 20): celebrates the anniversary of the birth of the Báb in 1819.
n Birth of Baha’u’llah (Nov. 12): celebrates the anniversary of the birth of Baha’u’llah in 1817.
Bahá’ís also observe a period of fasting from sunrise to sunset for 19 days, beginning March 2 and ending with the Bahá’í New Year on March 21.
While some days observed by Bahá’ís are celebratory in nature and involve certain customs, others are solemn commemorations of events. Typically, Bahá’ís gather to read prayers and passages from Bahá’í writings and historical accounts about the holy days.
“There are no set customs or rituals associated with them because the Bahá’í teachings warn against developing uniform and rigid rituals or elaborate ceremonial purchases,” Azad said. “Individual Bahá’í families or communities may choose to have certain customs associated with particular holy days, such as having roses displayed during the Festival of Ridvan, as a remind of the roses in the garden of Ridvan.”
Q: What role do women play in your faith?
A: In the Bahá’í Faith, it is explicitly stated that men and women are equal. Both women and men are eligible to serve in elective and appointive institutions of the Bahá’í Faith at all levels; however, Baha’u’llah instructed that membership of the international governing body – known as the Universal House of Justice – be limited to men. The reason for this, Azad said, is not clear, but Bahá’ís accept the rule as a matter of faith.
Nevertheless, Price explained, women are and have always been given an elevated status in the faith.
“Throughout Bahá’í history, women have played leading roles as administrators of the faith and as its foremost advocates, teachers and heroines,” she said.
Q: What are common misperceptions about your faith?
A: “A common misperception about the Bahá’í Faith is that because it emerged from Shiite Islam in the mid-19th century, some people inaccurately assume that it is a sect of Islam,” Azad said. “In fact, the Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion with its own prophet founder, sacred texts and teachings, which are quite different from Islam.”
One way to think of it, Azad explained, is that Christianity sprung from Judaism and Buddhism sprang from Hinduism, but Christianity is not considered a “sect” or Judaism, and Buddhism is not considered a “sect” of Hinduism.
“Some people consider the Bahá’í Faith to be a cult,” Price added. “The Bahá’í Faith is not a sect or denomination of another religion, nor is it a cult or a social movement. Rather, it is a globally recognized independent world religion founded on new books of scripture revealed by Baha’u’llah.”
Q: Why did you choose this faith?
A: “Although I was born into a Bahá’í family, I was always asking a lot of questions – whether Baha’u’llah was indeed the supreme manifestation of God for this age or not,” Azad said. “As one of the teachings of Baha’u’llah is to independently search after truth, I was challenging each and every thing that I could find in the Bahá’í writings as well as in holy scriptures of other religions.
“When I was 15 years old, I had an amazing dream of Baha’u’llah. This dream served to clear all my questions about Baha’u’llah being the prophet of God for this age. Following this dream, I decided to be a Bahá’í and be proud of recognizing and accepting the prophet of God for this age.”
“I was raised as an Episcopalian and became a Bahá’í more than 20 years ago,” Price said. “I chose the Bahá’í Faith because I never believed that we, as Christians, were right and that everyone else’s beliefs were wrong. I knew people who were Buddhists and Hindus and saw how devoted they were to their religious traditions. When I met a Bahá’í and started investigating the faith, I found that there was a religion that taught what I already believed.
“I talked with my older sister, who I considered much more spiritual, and I asked her if she knew about the Bahá’í Faith. She said, ‘Oh, they’re very confused. They think that Jesus was just a good man.’
“I knew this was not what Bahá’ís believe or what Baha’u’llah taught about Christ. I realized then, that for whatever reason, I was able to recognize Baha’u’llah. And even if my sister or my mother or anyone else did not recognize him as the Promised One, I knew in my heart that it was true. I became a member of the Bahá’í Faith in September 1986. It was the greatest and most profound decision of my life.”
Three questions specific to your faith:
Q: What medical practices and procedures do you refuse, if any?
A: The Bahá’í Faith teaches that people should seek the help of competent physicians for medical treatment.
“The faith teaches that science and religion can not contradict. This is because God is the creator of all, and science is simply a reflection of God’s creation,” Azad said. “This being true, medical science and its advancements do not contradict Bahá’í beliefs.”
Q: Do Bahá’ís proselytize? If so, how?
A: In some areas of the world, where visiting people’s homes in a natural practice, Bahá’ís may go door to door to teach about the faith. However, Bahá’ís are forbidden to proselytize because it brings undue pressure to someone to try to persuade that person to change his or her faith.
Q: What are Bahá’ís beliefs regarding war?
A: “One of the central teachings of Baha’u’llah is nonviolence,” Azad said. “There is no history in the Bahá’í Faith of holy wars.”
If a person of the Bahá’í Faith enlists in the U.S. Army, he or she should ask to be placed in a noncombative position, Azad said. However, that person is placed on the front lines, Baha’u’llah instructed that Bahá’ís always be loyal to the government. So, that person would obey the order and fight in the war.
