ITS TEACHINGS

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

THE COVENANT

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If there is a single word that describes the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, it is “unity.” This emphasis on unity and oneness exists at all levels, from its teachings about God to its social principles. Indeed, even the practice and administration of the Bahá’í Faith reflect this emphasis on unity.

Bahá’ís follow the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith. Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) is regarded by Bahá’ís as the most recent in the line of messengers of God, a line that stretches back beyond recorded time and includes Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ, Muhammad and the Báb.

Bahá’ís believe that there is only one God, and that the successive revelations of God’s will through his messengers have been the chief civilizing forces in history.

The central theme of Bahá’u’lláh’s message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification into one global society. “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,” wrote Bahá’u’lláh. Through an irresistible process, the traditional barriers of race, class, creed and nation are breaking down, which will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization.

The principal challenge facing the people of the earth, Bahá’ís believe, is to accept as fact the oneness of the entire human race and work towards the creation of a unified world civilization.

Principles which the Bahá’í Faith promotes as vital to the achievement of this goal of world unity include the following:

• the abandonment of all forms of prejudice;


• the realization of equal rights and privileges for women and men;


• the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth;


• recognition of the common source and essential oneness of all of the world’s great
  religions;


• the value and necessity of universal education;
• the responsibility of each person to search independently for truth;


• the establishment of a federated system of world government, based on principles of
  collective security and international justice;


• the recognition that true religion is always in harmony with reason and with the
  pursuit of scientific knowledge;


• the need for every individual to adhere to high personal moral standards