The Baha’i Faith

•Not a branch of any major world religion•A universalizing religion•Exclusivist•Has no branches or divisions

Not a sect . . . .• In the past, scholars sometimes considered the Baha’I as a

sect of Islam• This was due to the fact that the founder and original

adherents came out of Islamic Persia• Baha’is have always claimed that theirs is a faith based on

entirely new spiritual foundations• Bahai’s maintain that to refer to their faith as a sect of Islam

would be analogous to referring to– Christianity as a branch of Judaism, and – Buddhism as a branch of Hinduism

• Religious specialists today regard Baha’ism as a distinct faith, yet a SYNCRETIC one– Syncretic because it blends the beliefs of several other religions which

have influenced it

DIVINE MESSENGERS

• Abraham• Krishna• Moses• Zoroaster• Buddha• Jesus• Muhammad

• The Bab - founder of 19th century Persian sect which greatly influenced . . .

• Baha’ullah (the founder of Baha’ism)

Baha’is believe that throughout history the Creator has revealed himself to humanity through a series of Divine Messengers. These messengers include:

Formation of Baha’ism• As a follower of the Bab, a religious reformer in 19th century

Persia, Baha’ullah was imprisoned and then exiled from Persia.

• In Baghdad, Baha’ullah announced that he was the Promised One spoken of by the Bab and prophets of other world religions.

• The next period of his life was spent preaching and teaching as he traveled (as a prisoner) throughout the Ottoman Empire.

• He spent 24 years in the Holy Land as a prisoner in the city of Acre. Here he wrote the “Most Holy Book.”

• He indicated that the headquarters of his religion would be in this region – the cities of Haifa and Acre in what are today Israel

Baha`’u’llah

The final days of his life were spent in the Mansion at Bahji (in Acre) even though he was still a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. He contracted a fever and died in 1892

Exile route of Baha’ullah

Persecution in Iran•The 350,000 Bahá'ís of Iran were severely persecuted following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.•More than 200 Bahá'ís were executed or murdered, hundreds imprisoned and tens of thousands discriminated against in work and education.•The persecution has slackened in the last decade, although it has not stopped.•Bahá'ís are considered heretics by Muslims because Bahá'u'lláh denied that Muhammad was the last prophet and claimed that he, Bahá'u'lláh, was the latest prophet of God. This denies one of the most fundamental Islamic beliefs.

Baha’i teachings:

•Unity of God, unity of religion, unity of mankind = basic principles

•God= eternal; inaccessible, but shows his will through messengers; monotheism

•Progressive revelations – won’t be another one until 1000 years after Baha’u’llah

•Men have a rational soul and have a duty to recognize God through his messengers

•Through recognition and obedience, service to fellow humans and regular prayer and spiritual practice, the soul becomes closer to God•After death, spiritual advancement in the physical world becomes the basis for judgment and advancement in the spiritual world •Heaven and hell = spiritual states of nearness or distance from God, not reward/punishment after death•Emphasis in equality of human beings and abolition of prejudice

Baha’i Holy Places

• Most holy site – the Bahji Palace, final resting place of the earthly remains of Baha’ullah . . . ACRE

• Holy site – Shine of the Bab, the tomb of the Bab who prophesied the coming of Baha’ullah . . . HAIFA (Mount Carmel)

• Administrative headquarters – Universal House of Justice and Archives Building. . . HAIFA (Mount Carmel)

Baha’i Temples

• 7 buildings – one on every inhabited continent and another in Oceania

• All have central dome• Must have 9 doors

Baha’i Temples

OCEANIA: Apia, Western Samoa

Baha’i Temples

AUSTRALIA: Sydney, Australia

Baha’i Temples

AFRICA: Kampala, Uganda

Baha’i Temples

SOUTH AMERICA: Panama City

Baha’i Temples

EUROPE: near Frankfurt, Germany

Baha’i Temples

NORTH AMERICA: Wilmette, Illinois (Near Chicago)

Baha’i Temples

ASIA: New Delhi, India

Now… about that Panama, South American temple…

Ringstone symbol reflects humanity’s connection to god

Diffusion of the Baha’i

• No formal missionaries• Followers urged to spread word to neighbors through

activity and involvement in local affairs• Followers encouraged to move to locations with few

or no Baha’i adherents and there become involved in a positive way in order to encourage interest in the faith

Growth