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Bahá'ís are deeply committed to promoting dialogue and understanding with other faiths: "Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship," (1) Bahá'u'lláh (2), Founder of the Bahá'í Faith advised, "The ... manifold systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the feelings of animosity among men ... These principles and laws, these firmly-established and mighty systems, have proceeded from one Source ... That they differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the ages in which they were promulgated." (1) Indeed, Bahá'ís are challenged to "... prefer all religionists before yourselves ... never speak disparagingly of others, ...pollute not your tongues by speaking evil of another." (1)
Even if the Bahá'í Faith had nothing else to offer this would be a unique contribution to religious thought. No other Founder of the great religions has so clearly, unambiguously, and firmly enunciated this principle (3), or stressed so strongly that religion should foster unity, not division. No other faith teaches that if a religion should become a source of enmity hatred and bigotry, the world would be better without it.
Throughout history religious conflict has caused countless wars and endless suffering, and it is now becoming more and more abhorrent to people of all faiths and no faith. Religion, which should have provided peace and contentment, has instead become synonymous with superstition and fanaticism in the eyes of many, seen as embalmed in generations of doctrinal prejudice. It is no wonder it has been rejected or marginalised, its importance downplayed or ridiculed.
Yet most people still have deep religious feelings, and the fact remains that religions have been a driving force in human history. They have made the key contributions to the development of ethics and a moral code, have inspired the creation of great civilisations, and have stimulated some of the world's most profound and deeply moving art and literature. Moreover, the decline of religious influence has not brought a noticeable improvement in human behaviour.
Bahá'u'lláh, throughout the thirty years of His public mission explained the evolution of humankind's spiritual and moral capacities, and people's relationship to their Creator. The reality of God is and will always remain unknowable, He asserted: "God, the unknowable Essence, the divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence ..."(1)
A loving Creator sent and will continue to send Great Prophets, founders of the world's religions, to develop and revitalise humanity's moral and spiritual understanding, Bahá'u'lláh explained. "These sanctified Mirrors," He wrote of them, "are one and all the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose ... are all ordained by God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose." (1) Although the character and ministry of each Great Prophet is unique, at the most fundamental level they do not differ in essence from one another (3).
Throughout history, followers of many religions have believed that the Founder of their own faith occupied a unique station. Not only have such beliefs led to much strife and controversy, but they have caused divisions as deep within particular faiths as between them. There are today, for instance, profound differences among Muslims as to the precise station of Muhammad, among Christians as to that of Jesus, and among Buddhists with respect to the Founder of their own religion. Such disputes can have no clear foundation in the teachings of the Founders of those faiths. Bahá'ís believe that the differences that exist are accretions to the Founder's teachings, misunderstandings that have arisen at a later time in changed circumstances.
Bahá'u'lláh described the cycles of spiritual development and renewal brought by the Great Prophets as a single process. Each religious tradition is seen as a step in what He called "the changeless Faith of God", each sharing the same central spiritual impulse. Bahá'u'lláh clearly proclaimed His own revelation as the most recent of these "divine renewals", and equally clearly refuted finality. There have always been divine Manifestations, He taught, and there will continue to be further Manifestations for future ages.
The Bahá'í attitude to the promotion of religious understanding must be seen in this light. It is no mere pious and idealistic wish. It is no syncretistic effort to reconcile the irreconcilable: to smooth over the multiplicity of contradictory dogmas which encrusted the tenets of the great religions, or to provide insights into every theory put forward by abstruse philosopher or seer. The Bahá'í Faith does not try to offer an exhaustive theological analysis of every divinely-instituted religion, the origins of some of which are clouded in history.
Calling for an honest admission of the causes of division between the world's faiths, the Universal House of Justice (4) wrote in a widely disseminated paper: "How are the differences between them to be resolved, both in theory and in practice? The challenge facing the religious leaders of mankind is to contemplate, with hearts filled with the spirit of compassion and a desire for truth, the plight of humanity, and to ask themselves whether they cannot, in humility before their Almighty Creator, submerge their theological differences in a great spirit of mutual forbearance that will enable them to work together for the advancement of human peace." (5)
The shrinking of the world to a "global village" bringing close communities which a century ago scarcely knew of each other's existence, the unprecedented creative and destructive capacities now in the hands of humankind, the degrading of human behaviour, and collapse of long-held moral codes all present a unique challenge to adherents of the world's faith systems. Parochialism and exclusivity no longer protect their integrity and a world-embracing vision is needed.
Despite the exaggeration or emphasis sometimes given to the differences between them, the foundation for such a vision may already be found in the world's religious systems. They contain a set of values common to all, including the concepts of unity, co-operation and harmony among people. Each offers guidance for responsible behaviour and virtues encapsulated in the concept of "the golden rule": that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. A world vision would recognise that "light is good in whatsoever lamp it shines" (1), that good fruit can come only from a good tree. Acceptance of one faith should not be conditional on the denial of all others.
When Ethel Rosenberg and Mary Thornburgh-Cropper became the first Bahá'ís in Britain a century ago, they rejected all suggestion of exclusivity for their new-found beliefs. Rather they saw them as "widening the basis of faith"(6). This was not to say they were unfamiliar with religious strife: in 1903 they learned from reports in The Times of fresh persecutions of their fellow Bahá'ís in Persia. Rather than making them defensive or withdrawn, however, this and later persecutions have stimulated them and fellow Bahá'ís to greater efforts to promote tolerance and understanding.
The visits of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (7) to Britain in 1911 and 1913 perfectly demonstrated how inter faith understanding could and should be promoted. His explanations of the divine thread that bound the great faiths together had a profound effect on many who were deeply committed to their faith. A number of articles about 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Bahá'í teachings of unity appeared in the Christian Commonwealth.
One author, the Rev R J Campbell, invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá to speak at his church, the City Temple, Holborn on Sunday, 10th September 1911. It was an historic occasion -the first opportunity in his long life to speak in public. Commemorating the event, 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote in the pulpit Bible: "This book is the Holy Book of God, of celestial Inspiration. It is the Bible of Salvation, the noble Gospel. It is the mystery of the Kingdom and its light. It is the Divine Bounty, the sign of the guidance of God -'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbás." (8)
Another notable cleric, Archdeacon Wilberforce, was deeply moved by his visit to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and invited him to speak at St John the Divine, Westminster, the following Sunday. Archdeacon Wilberforce placed the Bishop's chair on the chancel steps for 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and stood beside him to read the translation of his second public address: "If we claim that the sun is seen in the mirror," said 'Abdu'l-Bahá in part, "we do not mean that the sun itself has descended from ... heaven and entered into the mirror! This is impossible. The Divine Nature is seen in the Manifestations and its Light and Splendour are visible in extreme glory. ... The Prophets of God are the Mediators of God. All the Prophets and Messengers have come from One Holy Spirit and bear the Message of God, fitted to the age in which they appear. The One Light is in them and they are one with each other." '
Abdu'l-Bahá's efforts to promote better understanding were not confined to meetings with Christian clergy and their congregations: he met and addressed the widest range of gatherings. One such well-remembered occasion was his visit to the Mosque at Woking, where the crowd was so large the mosque could not hold the numbers gathered, and he had to speak outside, in the courtyard.
The early British Bahá'í community took many opportunities to encourage dialogue between faiths, members participating in the conference on "Living Religions within the British Empire" at Wembley in 1924, and, a year later, meeting with a representative of the League of Nations' Religious and Ethics Committee to discuss its workings.
In 1936, Rev. George Townshend (9), following an invitation from the organisers, presented a paper entitled The Ground-Plan of World Fellowship on behalf of the Bahá'í community to an international conference, "The World Congress of Faiths". The arranging organisation had been founded the previous year by Sir Francis Younghusband to encourage understanding between the world's great religions. George Townshend, still at the time a senior cleric, was later to sacrifice a distinguished career through embracing the Bahá'í Faith, and would stand out by his scholarship and example as a great promoter of religious understanding and reconciliation.
Bahá'ís still maintain their association with the World Congress of Faiths, now the doyen of inter faith movements in the British Isles, and a Bahá'í has served as its Chairman. A recent lead article (10) in World Faiths Encounter, the Congress' magazine paid tribute to the Inter Faith Network, "which has done such useful work on producing guidelines about the ways in which we should behave towards one another ... whether as Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, or Bahá'ís." The Bahá'í community of the U.K. was a founder member of the Inter Faith Network, and a Bahá'í is one of its Trustees.
Throughout the country, Bahá'í communities have arranged functions and activities in which they invite participation of other faiths: World Religion Days, multi-faith action groups and pageants, and inter faith services. They participate also in Standing Advisory Committees for Religious Education and other bodies.
This commitment to inter faith understanding was recognised in a recent message (11) from the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, who wrote: "I congratulate the Bahá'í community on the centenary of its establishment in this country. I share your principle of equality between all people and welcome your encouragement of dialogue between those of different faiths and cultures."
At the start of the second hundred years of the Bahá'í Faith in the British Isles, Bahá'ís still find motivation in the parting words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá as he left London in October 1911 after his historic visit. Speaking of Bahá'u'lláh, he said: "His mission was to ... establish in the minds of his followers the basis of the unity of humanity and to bring about in practice the equality of mankind . . . As the East and the West are illumined by one sun, so all races, nations, and creeds shall be seen as the servants of the One God. The whole earth is one home, and all peoples, did they but know it, are bathed in the oneness of God's mercy. ... We must follow the example God Himself gives us, and do away with all disputations and quarrels .. ." (1)
(1) All quotations are from Bahá'í sacred writings
(2) Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), Prophet Founder of the
Bahá'í Faith
(3) Although it can be found in the scriptures of other faiths, see, for
instance, Deut 18:15 and 18; Acts 3:22; and Acts 7:37
(4) The Universal House of Justice, specifically ordained by
Bahá'u'lláh, the elected governing body for the
Bahá'í world.
(5) "The Promise of World Peace", 1985
(6) Ethel Rosenberg, Brief Account of the Bahá'í Movement, p21,
Priory Press, 1911
(7) 'Sir 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbás (1844-1921), eldest son of
Bahá'u'lláh, and His appointed Successor.
(8) During the Second World War the City Temple received a direct hit, and the
pulpit Bible was destroyed. Fortunately the pages of the Christian Commonwealth
have preserved the facsimile of what 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote.
(9) George Townshend (1876-1957), at one time Canon of St Patrick's Cathedral,
Dublin and Archdeacon of Clonfert, the most senior clergyman so far to embrace
the Bahá'í Faith.
(10) By Dr George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1997
(11) Dated 21 March 1999
This paper was written by Andrew Gash for the U.K. Bahá'í Centenary 1998-99.
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