Baha’i faith melds many religions

By on September 28, 2010 10:30 PM CST
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Most people know of the world’s four major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. However, there is a religion that combines facets of all these religions that is not as easily recognizable: Baha’i.

Mallory Flowers, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering, practices Baha’i and is a member of the Baha’i Campus Association.

Flowers said Baha’i can be a multi-faceted, complex religion.

“There are a lot of different ways to look at it,” Flowers said. “It can be complex. Basically, we believe in one God who exists eternally and is unknowable.”

Flowers said those who practice Baha’i believe that God’s messengers have been sent throughout time. These messengers came with a message that was relevant to the time period’s society and culture.

“In order to help us try and understand [God], He has sent messengers throughout time who have revealed His world and what He wants for us in terms of what we can understand as a culture and society,” Flowers said.

Flowers gave some examples of different messengers, such as Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Zoroaster and Muhammad.

“We have our own messenger, Baha’u’llah, which means glory of God, which is where the name Baha’i comes from,” Flowes said. “Baha’i means of Baha’u’llah,”

The God worshipped in Baha’i is the same God as in any other religion, be it Christianity, Judaism or Islam, Flowers said.

“The differences that we perceive in those religions are man-made,” Flowers said. “It’s because we can’t understand God fully when we hear those messages.”

Baha’i was originally founded in Iran by Baha’u’llah in the mid-1800s, Flowers said. He was born to a wealthy family and eventually rejected his fortune in order to spread his message.

“It’s an incredibly similar story to that of any of the prophets of God,” Flowers said. “It was the same cycle of trial and tribulation, and in the end his message was spread around the world.”

The basic principles of Baha’i are unity, gender equality, elimination of poverty and wealth in its extremes, oneness of God and oneness of mankind, harmony of science and religion, and elimination of all forms of prejudice such as class, race and gender.

Flowers said she started practicing Baha’i when she met somebody who was Baha’i and realized it included many of beliefs she already held.

“I grew up in a Protestant household, and I had a lot of struggles internally trying to find my place in the religious scheme of things,” Flowers said. “I was searching for a really long time and then eventually I had a friend who was Baha’i and I started learning more and more about it. I liked it a lot and it really worked for me. It had all the basic tenets of faith that I’ve always believed in. I felt isolated and now I felt I was part of something bigger.”

Flowers said the Baha’i Campus Association has about three members. If students are interested in joining or want to learn more about Baha’i they can email ua.bahai.club@gmail.com.

Shirin Posner, a Spanish professor at the University and the faculty advisor for the Baha’i Campus Association, said there is a Baha’i Center in Tuscaloosa and a local spiritual assembly for Baha’i, which is made up of nine people.

Posner said she feels Baha’i combines everybody into one common family.

“The Baha’i faith teaches us that we all come from one God with the common goal of advancing society,” Posner said. “We are like one human family. We really have a lot more in common than differences. In the past, within religions there has been division [between] those who are followers and those who are not, the believers and the infidels. However, in the Baha’i faith, all can be recipients. The world of humanity is like a tree, the branches are the peoples and nations, and the fruits and leaves are the individuals and like the leaves and fruits, we come in various shapes and hues.”

Flowers said at times it can be isolating being part of a minority religion on campus but that you just have to look at it with the right mindset.

“It can be isolating at times, knowing few students hold the same set of beliefs as I do,” Flowers said. “At the same time because, in my mind at least, my faith comes from theirs and my faith is united with theirs; it’s much easier for me. If you keep it with that perspective you can never really be alone.”

  • Robert T

    These people believe Jesus was just a prophet and he is equal to Muhammad? You’ve got to be kidding me! Buddha and Zoroaster didn’t die on the cross for your sins, Jesus Christ did.

    all are saved through Jesus Christ. It is always trustworthy to confess Jesus as Lord and Jesus wins as Saviour of the World.

    The bible warned us about falser religions such as this “Baha’i” which is luring away our young Western children. They are enticed to these mystical oriental teachings. We must not let Baha’i practice openly in this state. This is God’s Country, not Baha’i's

  • Dave

    Great profile. A few minor corrections. Baha’is do not say they practice “Baha’i”, just as Christians don’t say they practice “Christian”. A Bahai is the believer, and we practice the Baha’i faith, just as Christians practice Christianity.

    You can read more at http://www.Bahai.org

  • Steven

    The emphasis on the Baha’i Faith being a combination is faulty. A better way of saying it is that it has a resemblance to the other religions. Baha’is beleive all the religions come from God and thus all serve the same ultimate purpose and agree in many respects. As the youngest of the religions it reflects this same aspects – consider it a “family resemblance” if you will.

    Focusing on the idea of combining ideas from religions is wrong for a couple reasons. First it doesn’t respect the other religions in that it makes it seem you can pick and choose what to pay attention to. Second, it doesn’t respect the Baha’i Faith either – it presumes our scriptures are somehow incomplete or lacking in enough authority or impact for people and we have to pull things from other religions. Neither of these things are in fact true – Baha’is fully respect the scriptures of the other religions and their source and purpose, and our own scriptures are perfectly able to address the needs of people around the world as may be perceived by noting we are widely cited as the second most widely spread religion in the world. In fact there are only two countries known with absolutely no Baha’is. One is North Korea, I hope for obvious reasons. The other is the Vatican – it may or may not be obvious but a condition of citizenship is explicitly accepting the position of the Pope and being Catholic.

    The largest Baha’i populations in the world are – according to third party sources – India, United States, Vietnam, Kenya, DR of the Congo, Philippines, Zambia, South Africa, Iran, Bolivia – see http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp

  • conservative

    Sounds like just another communist movement to me. Eliminating wealth in its extremes… yeah seems real tolerant to me. Yall are just liberal elitists that feel you are intellectuality superior to others and feel that entitles you to determine how much wealth is too much.

  • Bill

    The article begins with a common misunderstanding about the Baha’i Faith. It is not a melding together of other religions. It recognizes the truth of the great religions as part of a single faith of God progressively revealed through the periodic appearance of Manifestations of God, such as Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad, and now Baha’u'llah. But the Baha’i Faith, as the latest chapter of that “changeless Faith of God”, is the revelation of God’s will for this era in human history. The Baha’i Faith has its own scriptures, practices, houses of worship, calendar and holy days.

    Regarding the comment by “conservative” – the Baha’i view is that the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty is a spiritual principle that human beings must choose to adopt. People cannot be forced to act compassionately, but they can be educated or spiritually transformed by faith to act more humanely. It is the Baha’i view that where there are a very few with incredible wealth and many in poverty, there is injustice and that this is not pleasing to God. Is it “intolerant” to question when structures are created in order to ensure that those who have continue to amass still more, while vast numbers sink further into poverty? That is oppression for large numbers and freedom for the rich. If that is the “conservative” value you are defending, my prayer is that you will ultimately befreidn the poor and learn what it is like first hand to be poor.

  • Bahai

    Just to clarify, we don’t support any political party. While we do believe that we should work towards universal education, we don’t believe that members of our faith are “intellectually superior,” as you say. We don’t tell people how much is too much. We don’t make any one give any certain amount to our funds, or to the funds of any charity, non-profit, or other organization. We believe that poverty is something that, if you have the resources, you should work to eliminate. I am a Baha’i and definitely believe in capitalism. Some call me liberal, others say I’m conservative, I like to think I’m fairly moderate. Others identify themselves otherwise. That choice is always the individual’s. You are of course free to have your own opinion of the faith. Please just be mindful that the individuals that comprise it have their own independent views, however.

  • Mary

    conservative

    Baha’is don’t participate in any political parties. Please investigate fully before stating your opinion.

    Thank you

  • Tyler

    Wow.

    I grew up a protestant and although I don’t fully agree with everything this religion holds as their belief a lot of it sounds very desirable. I don’t think I would personally become a follower but I definitely respect what they are trying to do and I am definitely not opposed to people following the Baha’i faith(like Robert T up there). I definitely think most major religions around today should have a ton more tolerance for other religions. Baha’i just takes that to the next level.

  • Karissa Bursch

    Dave,
    Sorry for the mistake. Thank you for letting me know! That mistake won’t happen in the future!

  • conservative

    “If that is the “conservative” value you are defending, my prayer is that you will ultimately befreidn the poor and learn what it is like first hand to be poor.

    I can probably guarantee you that I know more “poor” people and have spent more time with “poor” people than most people who believe in bahai.

  • Kman9

    This is completely FALSE. The biggest misconception about the Bahá’í Faith is that it “combines religions”

    It does not. Bahá’í’s believe in Baha’u'llah as the Messenger of God for this day. The Bahá’í view of CERTAIN other religions is that CERTAIN Messengers originally had the same message as Baha’u'llah, but their messages were lost and distorted long the way by the people over centuries .

    Please try to verify your assumptions before publishing them.

  • Jeff

    Dear Ms. Bursch,

    Thank you for writing this article on the Baha’i Faith on campus. It’s comforting to know that there are choices in world view. I can certainly see how differences between religious groups could be man-made.

    Is the Baha’i Faith mostly white or black or Americans or foreigners? Do you know?

  • sean

    @robert T So sorry for your lack of knowledge and blind imitation that you have adopted. Christ said “YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS” Investigate and read about the Baha’i faith. Everyone is free to choose what they believe, who are you to condemn it. Your mentality and judgment is not practical nor tolerated in todays age.

  • Karissa Bursch

    Jeff,

    From what I understand the Baha´i faith began in Iran, but their main religious shrine is in Jerusalem (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/haifa-bahai-shrine). However, I believe that in general there is no dominating culture, ethnicity, or country that is associated with the religion.

    I hope that helps!

    Karissa

  • a Baha’i

    Karissa-

    Actually, as your link indicates, the Baha’i World Center is in Haifa, in northern Israel – about 100 miles north of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean coast. However, the holiest site on earth for Baha’is is just across Haifa Bay, in Acre (pronounced ACK-ah) – the Shrine of Baha’u'llah. Every Baha’i turns to face that point every day when praying.

    But you are correct in saying that there is not any particular group that is associated with the Baha’i Faith – it crosses all ethnic, national, and cultural boundaries. I was brought up in an Irish Catholic family, but wound up marrying a Persian Baha’i and becoming a Baha’i myself. This is not an uncommon occurrence with Baha’is – in fact, interracial marriages are highly praised in the faith.

    The faith’s focus on unity and oneness made perfect sense to me – with the world becoming smaller every day, with immediate communication and travel to all parts of the world a reality, doesn’t it make sense to turn to a faith that actively promotes world unity and peace, without being burdened with outdated traditions and prejudices (yes, I’m talking to you, “Robert T” and “conservative”)? It did for me, that’s for sure!

  • http://www.bahai.sk Europe

    What a refreshing discussion on this article. As a Baha’i living in Europe, I find this kind of discussion exactly what is needed in Western society today. Without an investigation into the history and teachings of the World’s Great Religious traditions, how could anyone say they believe in God or pretend to understand the tremendous influence religion continues to play in advancing human civilization? Blind imitation is not the answer! Baha’u'llah has made his teachings understandable in his own hand. Today, you can find these writings translated from the Arabic and Persian script into every language spoken in the world. I was born a Baptist and found the promise of resurrection and return fulfilled. Such a blessing that someone introduced me to this Faith!

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