11 Facts About Baha'i Faith

1.

Baha'i Faith is a relatively new religion teaching the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people.

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2.

Baha'i Baha'i Faith has three central figures: the Bab, considered a herald who taught his followers that God would soon send a prophet similar to Jesus or Muhammad, and was executed by Iranian authorities in 1850; Baha'u'llah, who claimed to be that prophet in 1863 and faced exile and imprisonment for most of his life; and his son, ?Abdu'l-Baha, who was released from confinement in 1908 and made teaching trips to Europe and the United States.

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3.

Canonical texts of the Baha'i Baha'i Faith are the writings of the Bab, Baha'u'llah, ?Abdu'l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice, and the authenticated talks of ?Abdu'l-Baha.

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4.

Baha'i Faith's father left a will that appointed ?Abdu'l-Baha as the leader of the Baha'i community.

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5.

Baha'i Faith unexpectedly died after a brief illness on 4 November 1957, in London, England, under conditions that did not allow for a successor to be appointed.

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6.

Baha'i Faith announced in letters during the Ten Year Crusade that it would be followed by other plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, which was elected in 1963 at the culmination of the Crusade.

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7.

Yet, rather than being a cultural spread from either Iran or North America, in 2001, sociologist David Barrett wrote that the Baha'i Baha'i Faith is, "A world religion with no racial or national focus".

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8.

Purpose of marriage in the Baha'i Baha'i Faith is mainly to foster spiritual harmony, fellowship and unity between a man and a woman and to provide a stable and loving environment for the rearing of children.

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9.

Since its inception the Baha'i Baha'i Faith has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural co-ops, and clinics.

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10.

The Baha'i Baha'i Faith has undertaken joint development programs with various other United Nations agencies.

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11.

Iranian government claims that the Baha'i Baha'i Faith is not a religion, but is instead a political organization, and hence refuses to recognize it as a minority religion.

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