Not to “take positions on the political decisions of governments”

12 January 2003 

Dear Baha'i Friend,

Your email letter of 8 November 2002 has been received at the Baha’i World Center and passed to our Department for response. As you are aware, it is not the practice of Baha’i institutions or individuals to take positions on the political decisions of governments. One of the greatest obstacles to progress is the tendency of Baha’is to be drawn into the general attitudes and disputes that surround them. The central importance of the principle of avoidance of politics and controversial matters is that Baha'is should not allow themselves to be involved in the disputes of the many conflicting elements of the society around them.

The aim of the Baha'is is to reconcile viewpoints, to heal divisions, and to bring about tolerance and mutual respect among men. and this aim is undermined if we allow ourselves to be swept along by the ephemeral passions of others. This does not mean that Baha’is cannot collaborate with any non-Baha’i movement; it does mean that good judgment is required to distinguish those activities and associations which are beneficial and constructive from those which are divisive.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(National Baha’i Website of the United States)

Whether Baha'is are permitted to celebrate Christmas

29 November 2002

Dear Baha'i Friend,

The Universal House of Justice has received your email of 23 November 2002, and referred it to our Department for reply. You have explained that as a result of an email discussion group there is a differing of opinions whether Baha'is are permitted to celebrate Christmas, and you have expressed your understanding that while there is no harm in sharing the festivities with friends, the "Baha'is themselves should not be putting up Christmas trees, exchanging gifts, etc."

As one member of your discussion group pointed out, a letter written on behalf of the House of Justice has indeed indicated in the past that although most of the cultural or religious festivals of other religions or communities have no doubt stemmed from religious rituals in bygone ages, the believers should not be deterred from participating in those in which, over the course of time, the religious meaning has given way to purely culturally oriented practices.

In deciding whether or not to participate in such traditional activities, Baha'is must guard against two extremes. The one is to disassociate themselves needlessly from harmless cultural observances and thus alienate themselves from their non-Baha'i families and friends; the other is to continue the practice of abrogated observances of previous dispensations and thus undermine the independence of the Baha'i Faith and create undesirable distinctions between themselves and their fellow Baha'is. In this connection there is a difference between what Baha'is do among themselves and what they do in companionship with their non-Baha'i friends and relations. We provide below a question posed to Shoghi Effendi by a believer, followed by the response written on his behalf taken from a letter dated 19 March 1938, with which you are familiar. It is important to note, in the response to the question, the phrase "in their relation to each other".

Emergence of a New Culture

22 August 2002

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

We have been asked by the Universal House of Justice to respond on its behalf to your email letter of 9 August 2002. Your description of the lack of significant numerical growth in Bahá'í communities in Western lands, while more precisely applicable to some countries than others, is largely accurate, and the resulting distress you feel is fully justified. To see important Bahá'í communities markedly lacking in the development of the human resources required to reach populations desperately searching for solutions to the crisis in which society is sinking is painful indeed to believers aware of the potency of Bahá'u'lláh's Message.

This consideration was an important element in the drafting of the relevant sections of the document "Century of Light", to which you make reference. These passages of the document seek to acquaint believers everywhere with the profound change in Bahá'í culture that the preceding decades of struggle, achievement and disappointment made possible and that was capitalized on through the agency of the Four Year Plan. The culture now emerging is one in which groups of Bahá'u'lláh's followers explore together the truths in His Teachings, freely open their study circles, devotional gatherings and children's classes to their friends and neighbours, and invest their efforts confidently in plans of action designed at the level of the cluster, that makes growth a manageable goal. The enthusiasm with which Bahá'í communities in most parts of the world are responding to this challenge, and the results their efforts are beginning to garner have been a source of great joy to the House of Justice.

Alas, this level of response still falls short of being universal. Where Bahá'í communities are unable to free themselves from an orientation to Bahá'í life that has long outlived whatever value it once possessed, the teaching work will lack both the systematic character it requires, and the spirit that must animate all effective service to the Cause. To mistakenly identify Bahá'í community life with the mode of religious activity that characterizes the general society--in which the believer is a member of a congregation, leadership comes from an individual or individuals presumed to be qualified for the purpose, and personal participation is fitted into a schedule dominated by concerns of a very different nature--can only have the effect of marginalizing the Faith and robbing the community of the spiritual vitality available to it.

Could Indian Nations in the United States have their own National Spiritual Assemblies

12 February 2002

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

Your email message of 13 January 2002 has been warmly received at the Bahá'í World Centre, and we can reply as follows.

The Universal House of Justice was touched by the spirit of love and devotion expressed in your letter and has noted your suggestion that it consider officially recognizing native American reservations as sovereign states. In response to a similar recommendation, the following was provided on behalf of the House of Justice:

...Clearly, this recommendation was prompted by a conscientious desire, inspired by basic Bahá'í principles, to assist the downtrodden to rise to the full realization of their rights and responsibilities as human beings. Indeed, the purpose of the coming of Bahá'u'lláh is to lift the yoke of oppression from his loved ones, to liberate all the people of the world, and to provide the means for their abiding happiness. In this regard, the Tablets of the Divine Plan addressed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to North America make it clear that the destiny of the native Americans as an illumined and fulfilled people is linked to the quality of their response to the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. The primary obligation of the American Bahá'ís must therefore be to see that the Divine Message is effectively delivered to the native peoples. In their effort, the friends must be certain to demonstrate through their attitude, actions and words the genuineness of their belief in the Faith's central principle, namely, the oneness of humankind.

Children's classes which include non-Baha'i children

25 September 2001

Dear Baha'i Friends,

The Universal House of Justice received your email message dated 30 July 2001 seeking clarification regarding children's classes which include non-Baha'i children.

It is possible, of course, to create a programme for children which is inspired by the Baha'i teachings and conveys such topics as moral education, comparative religion, peace, concern for the environment, service to humanity, or world citizenship. Such programmes might also convey practical subjects such as literacy, academic tutoring, or vocational training.

In its message dated 9 January 2001, however, the House of Justice refers specifically to Baha'i children's classes as also being open to non-Baha'i children. In the case of these classes, which are intended to address the complete spiritual education of Baha'is, it would not be possible to eliminate Baha'i religious teachings, and topics such as Baha’i history, Baha'i laws, and the Covenant would be an integral part of these classes.

While Baha'i religious teachings are part of the programme of child education in Baha'i classes, the design of the programme, particularly the sequencing of content, may make it more attractive to non-Baha'is. For example, in the approach taken to child education in Ruhi Institute Book 3, the emphasis is placed initially on character development, and only later are specific aspects related to the life of Bahá'u’lláh and the Báb introduced. So too can we see the same principle at work in the main sequence of books in which many non-Baha'i youth have participated. Book 1 addresses such broad topics as prayer and life and death (from a Baha'i perspective, of course). It is in Book 4 that history is presented in detail. Thus a non-Baha'i can feel welcome to participate and is not overwhelmed by new, purely religious teachings. Then, if attracted by the principles and general spiritual teachings, the non-Baha'is would not hesitate to engage in the full programme; alternatively, they are free to withdraw or not participate in some segments.