The Ba'hai Religion?

Question

Can someone tell me what this is and who practices it?

Answer 1

you should check out

http://www.bahai.org/

Answer 2

It is called the "Baha'i Faith". It is practiced all over the world by folks of every race and gender. The founder of the Baha'i Faith was Baha-u-llah which means "Glory of God" in Arabic.

Essentially, Baha'is believe that there is one God and that all religions were sent to us by that God. Thus, they are all equally valid. (I conjecture that Bahai's do not see Satanism as a religion because 1) they do not believe that Satan exists and 2) the religion does not come from God.)

In addition, Baha'is believe that there is a progression of religions. They call this concept "progressive revelation". A simple example is the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. Jesus was a Jew. If you believe, he brought a new revelation to the Jewish people. He was mostly rejected, but some Jews did accept him and his message. Christianity is built on top of Judaism. It is nearly impossible for Christians to understand their own religion without reading the Torah which Christians refer to as the "Old Testament". They also believe that Islam is a continuation of the progresson.

The founders (my term) of these religions (Moses, Jesus, Mohammed) are referred to by Baha'is as "Manifestations of God". This indicates to Baha'is that they are NOT God, but are specially endowed by God with the knowledge (revelation) that they bring to humanity at God's will. Baha'is consider that Krisna, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed are all "Manifestations of God"

Like most religions, the Baha'i Faith can be considered socially conservative. It supports marriage very strongly, discourages (but does permit) divorce. It accepts that homosexuals exist and that being a homosexual is not wrong, but that engaging in homosexual acts is wrong.

Their is no clergy in the Baha'i Faith. One of its most modern characteristics (IMHO) is that each Baha'i is responsible for studying the scriptures and interpreting them as best they can to find their own way. They do study the scriptures together, but a dogmatic approach to interpretation is very rare. Because there is no clergy and almost no liturgy, there is no one to tell what to think.

Most the Baha'is I have met are very kind and open-minded. It's a religion worth studying if you want to understand it and the other religions as well. It gives perspective.