A Brief Overview of the Bahá’í Faith

The Bahá’í Faith is the youngest of the world’s independent monotheistic religions. Founded in Iran in 1844, it now has more than five million adherents in 236 countries and territories. Bahá’ís come from nearly every national, ethnic and religious background, making the Bahá’í Faith the second-most-widespread religion in the world.

Bahá’ís view the world’s major religions as a part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will to humanity. Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892), the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, is recognized as the most recent in a line of Divine Messengers that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.

The central theme of Bahá’u’lláh’s message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for humanity’s unification into one global society. While reaffirming the core ethical principles common to all religions, Bahá’u’lláh also revealed new laws and teachings to lay the foundations of a global civilization. “A new life,” Bahá’u’lláh declared, “is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth.”

Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh - Akka, Israel

Some Bahá’í Practices

• Daily prayer and communion with God.
  
• Independent investigation of truth.
  
• A life dedicated to the service of humanity.
  
• Fellowship with the followers of all religions.
  
• Avoidance of excessive materialism, partisan politics, backbiting, alcohol, drugs, and gambling.
  

Some Bahá’í Social Principles

• Full equality between women and men in every level of society.
  
• Harmony between science and religion as two complementary systems of knowledge that must work together to advance the progress of humanity.
  
• The elimination of all forms of prejudice.
  
• The establishment of a world commonwealth of nations.
• Spiritual solutions to economic problems and the removal of economic barriers and restrictions.