Library - Theology - Bahá'í

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The Bahá'í faith, which originated in Persia in the mid-1800s CE, is a monotheistic religion that emphasizes the spiritual unity of all people.  The founder, Bahá'u'lláh, was a nobleman from Tehran who abandoned his life of security and comfort to promote the ideals of unity and peace, despite facing intense persecution.  The history of this religion is tainted with racist ideals that were advocated by some of its wisemen and prophets for the extermination of all races (except for Persians) and practiced slavery, as per a publication called Black Pearls by Abul-Qasim Afnan, although present-day Bahá'í faith organizers are known to deny this history.

Deities:		Supernatural agents:		Beliefs:		Traditions:
God		Báb Bahá'u'lláh (independent messenger from God and founder of the faith)		There is only one god, and he is the source of all religions A flourishing global society requires: Elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth Elimination of all forms of prejudice and sexism One world government that serves all of humanity Harmony of science and religion Universal education Sustainable balance between industry and nature Essential oneness of the world's great religions Economic challenges stem from spiritual problems The earth is one nation with all people as its citizens		International unity (without dividing into sects or sub-groups) Cooperation and harmony through grass-roots social action

A great deal of emphasis is placed on the family unit, which is regarded as the basic unit of society.  A family that manifests love and happiness will attain spiritual illumination which is essential for the family unit's advancement in society.