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Resource Guide: Table of Contents

Adapted from original publication at the Baha'i Academics Resource Area.

A Resource Guide for the Scholarly Study of the Bahá'í Faith A comprehensive research and educational tool for the student or teacher of the Bahá'í Faith. Includes: Curriculum guides Lecture outlines Annotated bibliographies Lists of educational materials Internet resources

Authors: Robert H. Stockman Research Office, Bahá'í National Center Wilmette, IL 60091 Phone (847) 733-3425, Fax (847) 733-3583 [email protected] Jonah Winters [email protected]

Published by the Research Office, National Baha'i Center, Wilmette, Illinois, 1997

Table of Contents How to order copies of the Resource Guide Preface................................................................1

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Acknowledgments........................................................3 SECTION ONE: CURRICULUM GUIDES FOR TEACHING THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH The Bahá'í Faith: A Short Introduction...............................7 A Three-Hour Section on the Bahá'í Faith............................11 One-Semester Courses on the Bahá'í Faith: Four Samples..............13 A "Comparative Religion" Approach to the Bahá'í Faith............15 A Sociological Study of the Bahá'í Community.....................19 The Bahá'í Faith in Historical and Comparative Perspectives......23 A Traditional Bahá'í Approach to the Bahá'í Faith................25 SECTION TWO: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SCHOLARSHIP ON THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH Table of Contents...................................................29 Some Prefatory Notes and Considerations.............................33 Format of this section..............................................35 Annotated Bibliography of Scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith...........37 SECTION THREE: ASSORTED RESOURCE TOOLS Bibliographies Writings of Bahá'u'lláh Part One: Writings of Bahá'u'lláh..............................123 Part Two: The "Leiden List": Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh............125 Index to the Leiden List....................................142 Writings of the Báb..............................................145 Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.........................................147 Writings of Shoghi Effendi.......................................149 Citations from Major Humanities Indices..........................151 The Bahá'í Faith in Religion Textbooks and Encyclopedias.........153 Essays The Bahá'í Faith and Syncretism..................................159 Description of Bahá'í Internet Resources.........................163 Listings Videos...........................................................173 Glossary.........................................................175 Publishing Houses and Journals...................................179 SECTION FOUR: INDICES Bibliography of All Works Cited....................................189 Index of Authors and Subjects......................................221 Index of Journals Cited............................................227



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A Resource Guide for Baha'i Studies--preface

Preface A Resource Guide for the Scholarly Study of the Bahá'í Faith is edition seven of what was previously titled A Curriculum Guide for the Bahá'í Faith. Editions one through five consisted primarily of the Curriculum Guides section (section one in current edition) with a limited annotated bibliography and only one appendix. In editions six and seven the scholarly bibliography and its annotations grew in size and the appendices in number, such that the Guide became far more than simply one for curricula. Its new title reflects its broader content.

The purpose of the Resource Guide is to provide information about how to include the Bahá'í Faith in college and university courses, to give an annotated bibliography of reliable scholarship for the student or researcher, and to provide him or her with a selection of helpful resources. It was written with four audiences in mind: (1) university instructors in Religious Studies, Sociology, Middle East Studies, and other disciplines, who usually do not know much about the Bahá'í religion and may want to include it in their existing courses; (2) instructors at colleges and universities who are Bahá'ís and would like to offer courses on the Bahá'í religion, but who do not have training in Religious Studies, and thus do not know what educational standards exist in that field; (3) Bahá'í students at colleges and universities who would like to propose a course to the university administration or its Religious Studies department; (4) those who wish to do research on the Bahá'í Faith and need an annotated bibliography and resource manual to guide them. In order to fill the needs of these four very different audiences, the Resource Guide has four main parts: the Curriculum Guides, the Annotated Bibliography, Assorted Resource Tools, and Indices.

1) Curriculum Guides for Teaching the Bahá'í Faith The curriculum guide segment provides some possible outlines for academic presentations of the Bahá'í Faith. Course outlines include: (1) an introductory article about the Bahá'í Faith, entitled "The Bahá'í Faith: A Short Introduction"; (2), a three-hour section on the Bahá'í Faith designed for inclusion in a course on Comparative Religion, which lists relevant paragraphs from Section Two, "Annotated Bibliography of Scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith"; (3) outlines of four complete one-semester courses on the Bahá'í Faith, with numerous references to the annotated topical bibliography, including "A Comparative Religion Approach," "A Sociological Study of the Bahá'í Community," "The Bahá'í Faith in Historical and Comparative Perspectives," and "A Traditional Bahá'í Approach to the Bahá'í Faith." These outlines are designed to offer assistance for many of the different ways of http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.preface.html (1 of 4) [6-6-2004 16:14:00]


approaching the Bahá'í Faith. First, there is the "comparative religion" approach. Here we intentionally favor the term "comparative religion" over "history of religions" because we do not choose to emphasize history as much as an examination of the Bahá'í religion from the point of view of the major themes found in most religions: prophecy, doctrine, scripture, community life, ethics, ritual, pilgrimage, mysticism, and others. Second, there is the "sociological" approach, which emphasizes the members of the religion themselves: what they believe and why, how they have come to believe it, how they organized themselves into a community, and what that community means to them. Third, there is what might be called a traditional Bahá'í approach, which emphasizes the founders of the Bahá'í Faith, their writings and teachings, and the Bahá'í organizational system. In a sense, the three approaches can be epitomized by considering three terms: Bahá'í religion, Bahá'í community, and Bahá'í Faith. "Bahá'í religion" is a neutral term and carries the overtones of impartial scholarly study. "Bahá'í community" focuses on the members, individually or collectively, and de-emphasizes the doctrinal and leadership aspects of the tradition. "Bahá'í Faith" is the traditional term that Bahá'ís use for their religion and therefore conveys overtones of piety or sympathetic appreciation for the tradition.[1] In the appropriate sphere for each--the comparative-religious, the sociological, and the traditionally Bahá'í--each term claims primacy for expressing the essence of the Bahá'í phenomenon.

1. "Baha'ism" is considered inappropriate by Bahá'ís, for reasons that are not easy to determine; it is best avoided by scholars, just as "Mohammedanism" is now avoided in favor of the term "Islam" and "Musselman" or "Moslem" are avoided in favor of "Muslim."

2) Annotated Bibliography of Scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith The annotated topical bibliography, comprising the bulk of the Resource Guide, consists of definitions of most major aspects of Bahá'í history and belief and corresponding references. The contents of this bibliography are not intended to be exhaustive. Indeed, we have only listed a fraction of the available scholarship. In choosing what to list, we considered: (1) whether the source is too dated; (2) whether the source is academic enough to be useful in a university setting; and (3) whether the source presents enough information to be useful. For the most part, then, we have left out: (1) old scholarship, of which there is very little, anyway; (2) apologetic and "popular" works; and (3) sources with less than a few pages of applicable information. Exceptions to the above include: (1) dated works that are still useful or that have not yet been replaced by newer scholarship on the same topic; (2) popular works that yet provide useful information or, indeed, the only published http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.preface.html (2 of 4) [6-6-2004 16:14:00]


information on a topic; and (3) sources that, though being short, represent the only available information on a subject.

3) Assorted Resource Tools The Resource Guide includes a variety of appendices and indices of possible value to the researcher. First are bibliographies: writings of Bahá'u'lláh and the "Leiden List" of the major tablets of Bahá'u'lláh--which manuscripts contain them in their original language, their place of revelation, and their translation history--followed by lists of the major published works of the Báb, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, respectively; the citations of the Bábí and Bahá'í religions found in some of the more common humanities indices, such as the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature and a table presenting the treatment of the Bahá'í Faith in religion textbooks, dictionaries, and Encyclopedias. Second are two essays: a brief article which clarifies the common misunderstanding that the Bahá'í Faith is a syncretism, and an explanation of the many Bahá'í resources available on the internet. Third are various listings: Bahá'í videos suitable for classroom use; a glossary of common Bahá'í terms, including pronunciation notes; and names and addresses of the major Bahá'í publishers and journals, both independent and official.

4) Indices Finally, a comprehensive bibliography and two indices complete the Guide. The bibliography lists every work cited in the Resource Guide. The two indices are one listing all journals and encyclopedias cited, and then one of all authors, titles, and subjects mentioned. The Resource Guide is not a completed product, but will undergo expansion, modification, and updating as new materials are published and as feedback leads to improvements. We encourage comments and criticisms. As well, we would like to know of any useful and scholarly books or articles that we have not cited. Please send any general comments to Robert Stockman, [email protected], or Research Office, Bahá'í National Center, Wilmette, IL, 60091; phone number (847) 733-3425 and fax number (847) 7333563. Please send any specific corrections or additions to Jonah Winters, [email protected]. Email correspondence is preferred. Robert Stockman and the Research Office will also be glad to answer additional questions that the Resource Guide does not cover.

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Many people have assisted with the development of the Resource Guide, both in writing and editing it and in offering suggestions and corrections. The following individuals (in alphabetical order) have been instrumental in its production. Christopher Buck donated his New World Transliterator font system for use in the Guide, and offered bibliographic suggestions. Seena Fazel provided detailed editorial commentary and suggestions for additions, and his articles on citation analyses and other bibliographic studies helped organize our sections on these topics. Sen McGlinn also provided much editorial assistance and, in collaboration with others, compiled the in-depth "Leiden List" of the tablets of Bahá'u'lláh. Will C. van den Hoonard assembled the curriculum guide for "A Sociological Study of the Bahá'í Community."



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Resource Guide: Curriculum Guides

THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH A Short Introduction This introductory lecture on the Bahá'í religion is only one approach that can be taken to explaining the Bahá'í Faith. Depending on the course, one could emphasize the Bahá'í teachings more strongly, or the Bahá'í community, or other aspects of the religion. For another general approach, see the article on the Bahá'í Faith in the most recent Encyclopedia Britannica. For those interested in reading about the Bahá'í Faith from a perspective informed by Islamic Studies or Middle Eastern Studies, the articles on the Bahá'í Faith in the new Encyclopedia of Islam or in the Encyclopedia Iranica are highly recommended.

Books to start with -- Numerous introductory books on the Bahá'í religion have been written; the goal has been to include as many of them as possible in the subject modules, to allow the instructor complete freedom of choice. J.E. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era is a classic introduction to the Bahá'í Faith, first published in 1923, and still popular; it is periodically updated to keep its contents current. John Ferraby's All Things Made New was composed in the late 1950s as an outline of basic Bahá'í teachings. It strongly emphasizes traditional Bahá'í categories like God, Manifestations, and prayer, and focuses little on the Bahá'í community or Bahá'í family life. John Huddleston's The Earth is But One Country was first published in 1976 and has a more secular, social-oriented and political focus than the previous introductory works. All of these works were prepared before the development of "Bahá'í Studies," which gradually is making an impact on the contents and quality of introductory works. William Hatcher and Douglas Martin's The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion was the first effort to write a college-level textbook on the Bahá'í Faith. Peter Smith's Bábí and Bahá'í Religions offers an innovative sociological approach to the Bahá'í religion, and his A Short History of the Bahá'í Faith is an excellent summary of the religion's history. The two non-Bahá'í journalists Colette Gouvion and Philippe Jouvion's The Gardeners of God: An Encounter with Five Million Bahá'ís is another very useful book: it would not work well for an introduction to the Faith, for the content is non-scholarly and is not always presented as clearly as a Bahá'í author would present it, but because of its external but sympathetic standpoint it often has a fresh viewpoint on Bahá'í matters. Moojan Momen's introductory textbook, A Short Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith, is a good but brief summary of Bahá'í teachings and history. Two short booklet-length summaries of the Faith are Mary Perkins and Philip Hainsworth's The Bahá'í Faith (96 small pages), and Gloria Faizi's The Bahá'í Faith (130 small pages). Basic information on the Bahá'í Faith's historic figures, significant places, important scriptural works, and salient teachings may also be found in Wendi Momen's A Basic Bahá'í Dictionary, and dates in Glenn http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (1 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


Cameron and Wendi Momen's A Basic Bahá'í Chronology, both useful and rapid desk-top references. William Collins' A Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths, 1844-1985 (Oxford: George Ronald, 1990) is the most exhaustive bibliographic work published in English (others are available on the internet--see "Description of Bahá'í Internet Resources," below) and is very useful for finding additional sources if one already knows the names of authors or titles for which to search. Introduction -- The Bahá'í Faith is the religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh (1817-92), whose name means "Glory (Bahá>) of God (Alláh)." In 1863 Bahá'u'lláh announced that he was the messenger sent by God to bring a new revelation to humanity for this day. Bahá'u'lláh recorded his revelation in the form of books, essays, and especially letters; the Bahá'í World Centre possesses over 15,000 authenticated documents by Him.[1] These constitute the core of the Bahá'í religion's sacred scriptures. Like most great religious teachers, Bahá'u'lláh suffered decades of persecution for his beliefs; he was tortured, imprisoned, and exiled. In his extensive writings Bahá'u'lláh addressed nearly every conceivable question, from the nature of spirituality to the setting of interest rates, from the importance of music, art, and science to child rearing. Many of these teachings can be classified into four categories; (1) teachings about God; (2) teachings about the individual's relationship to God; (3) teachings about how human beings should relate to each other and restructure human society; (4) teachings about the establishment of a Bahá'í community. Teachings about God -- Bahá'u'lláh describes God as an unknowable essence; that is, God is so great that no matter how much we can know about our Creator, there will always be something that transcends the grasp of our finite minds. To help human beings learn about God's nature and about truth, this Essence sends Manifestations of God,[2] individuals who manifest God's perfections and virtues to humanity and expound God's teachings. These Manifestations are very rare; they usually suffer for the teachings they bring; and their teachings become the basis of a new world religion. Bahá'ís believe God has always sent Manifestations to educate humanity. The legends and folklore of many tribes and peoples preserve stories of ancient personalities who may have been Manifestations of God. The Bahá'í writings specifically recognize Krishna, Zoroaster, Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb (the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh), and Bahá'u'lláh as Manifestations. Thus Bahá'ís believe that all the major religions in the world constitute chapters in the Religion of God. The Bahá'í Faith is the most recent chapter in the story. Teachings about the individual -- Bahá'ís believe that God created the world and that everything within it reflects a sign or attribute of God. The Bahá'í scriptures describe the human soul as immortal and as containing all God's attributes, or qualities, but these qualities exist only potentially until they are developed. Developing them constitutes one of the principal purposes of life on this physical plane of existence. Development of these qualities and virtues, and of our knowledge and love of God, leads to a spiritual happiness that constitutes a kind of heaven, in this world or the next; failure to develop them constitutes a kind of hell. Bahá'ís believe that human beings have the volition to develop themselves; Bahá'ís reject, on the one hand, belief in a devil who manipulates and controls human beings, and, on the other hand, belief in a completely passive spiritual life where the individual waits for God to bring about all of his or her spiritual transformation.

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Rather, Bahá'u'lláh stresses an active spiritual life. Central to it is daily reading from and meditating on scripture, so that one internalizes divine teachings and spiritual qualities. Prayer is strongly emphasized, not because God needs the prayers of humans, but because prayer is a form of listening to God and because one needs to learn to speak to God. Bahá'u'lláh has revealed three obligatory prayers, one of which each Bahá'í is supposed to say each day; Bahá'u'lláh has also revealed hundreds of prayers for specific purposes such as illness, forgiveness, spiritual tests, and death, and prayers to say for one's spouse, children, parents, or for those who have died. Bahá'u'lláh urges Bahá'ís to bring themselves to account each day before God, so that they can review their actions, thank God for their successes, ask God to forgive them for their failures, and consider ways of doing better the next day. The Bahá'í religion also has an annual period of fasting; by choosing not to eat or drink from sunrise to sunset, Bahá'ís remember their dependence on God, express their severance from the material world, and strengthen the bonds between them and their fellow believers. Bahá'u'lláh describes two purposes of human existence; one is "to know and to worship God" and the other is "to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization." Bahá'ís accomplish the latter goal by teaching others about the spiritual and social teachings of their religion by word and by deed. Social Teachings -- Bahá'u'lláh wrote extensively about the urgent need to reform human society. His plan revolves around a single principle: the oneness of humanity. This principle rejects all efforts to subordinate any race, religion, nation, ethnic group, or social class to any other. As a result, from the beginning there has been a strenuous effort to diversify the Bahá'í community so that it includes individuals from all races, religions, ethnic groups, and social classes, and to integrate them into diverse and vibrant local Bahá'í communities. The oneness of humanity also includes the principle of the equality of men and women; the Bahá'í scriptures describe humanity as being like a bird with two wings, which must be of equal strength for the bird to fly. The oneness of humanity implies the importance of loyalty, first, to the human race, and second to one's own nation. The resources of the planet Earth must be allocated and distributed for the advantage of the whole. For this reason the Bahá'í Faith advocates a world federal system, to maintain world peace and regulate the world economy. It urges selection of a world language, which all would learn in addition to their native tongues. It supports universal compulsory education, so that everyone can have access to divine revelation and to the accumulated wisdom of humanity. But Bahá'ís do not believe that social reform can be accomplished only through world government; a change of basic attitudes toward others, toward money, toward work, toward knowledge, toward the family, and toward institutions is necessary. To exemplify these changes, Bahá'ís have formed a religious community. Teachings about Religious Community -- Bahá'u'lláh envisioned a diverse religious community that would function through the principles of consultation, that is, the principle that the opinions and ideas of every member are important; that they must be respected; and that in the Bahá'í community decisions are made and actions taken after discussion and consensus. Rather than having a clergy, the Bahá'í Faith has an elected, collective leadership. Each local Bahá'í community (which consists of all the Bahá'ís who live in a particular place) elects each year a nine-member local spiritual assembly, which owns the community http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (3 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


property, plans the community meetings, disciplines members, oversees Bahá'í marriages, divorces, and funerals, counsels individuals, and often runs schools or other projects for the betterment of everyone in that locality. An effort is made to involve all members in the religion's decisions, activities, and functions; spiritual assemblies delegate much authority to representatives and committees, which tap the talents of many Bahá'ís. A nine-member national spiritual assembly, elected annually, coordinates national Bahá'í affairs such as publishing, educating the Bahá'í community, working with governments and non-governmental organizations, and creating long-term plans for expansion and consolidation. The Universal House of Justice, also having nine members, is elected every five years by all the members of the national spiritual assemblies and coordinates the Bahá'í religion at the world level. The Universal House of Justice also appoints individuals called Counselors, who in turn appoint local Auxiliary Board members, who in turn appoint assistants. The Auxiliary Board members and their assistants consult with and advise the local spiritual assemblies; the Counselors do the same with national assemblies and the Universal House of Justice and inform them about local conditions around the world. These individuals have no authority, but represent a tangible institution to maintain consultation between all regions and all levels of the Bahá'í world community. Bahá'í community life involves a minimum of ritual. Nine holy days throughout the year, which usually commemorate events in the lives of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, represent times for Bahá'í communities to meet and for families to share their Bahá'í commitment together. Once every Bahá'í month (which has nineteen days) the Bahá'í community meets in what is called a feast. It consists of a worship portion, where Bahá'í scriptures and prayers are recited; a business portion, where the community and its spiritual assembly consult together; and a social portion, where fellowship is shared. Prayer meetings, deepenings (where the Bahá'í scriptures or teachings are studied) and firesides (where the Bahá'í teachings are discussed at an introductory level) are sponsored by many individuals and local spiritual assemblies in homes on a weekly or monthly basis, and constitute the most common social events in a local Bahá'í community. The Bahá'í Community consists of those persons who have accepted Bahá'u'lláh as the Manifestation of God for this day. Bahá'í communities are found in virtually every nation and territory on the planet. Initially drawing its members from the Shí'í Muslims of Iran, in Bahá'u'lláh's own lifetime the community expanded to include converts from Sunni Muslims, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Christians. From Iran it spread to Central Asia, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Palestine, and Egypt. In the 1870s it reached India and in the 1880s, Burma; there Buddhists became Bahá'ís. Bahá'í teachers traveled throughout southeast Asia, to China, and to Sudan. Bahá'u'lláh appointed his son 'Abdu'l-Bahá (1844-1921), whose name means "Servant ('Abd) of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahá>)," as his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith and to be the exemplar and interpreter of its teachings. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote over 27,000 documents, mostly letters, which are also a part of Bahá'í scripture. Under 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guidance, the Bahá'í Faith spread to Europe, North America, the Pacific islands, and Australia. Bahá'í teaching was conducted in Japan, China, Korea, and southern Africa. 'Abdu'l-Bahá began to establish local and national Bahá'í governing bodies and laid the foundation for http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (4 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


systematic plans for the spreading of the Bahá'í religion to the entire world. Under his successor, Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957), Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 to 1957, local and national spiritual assemblies were established all over the world and systematic plans for carrying the Bahá'í Faith to Latin America, Africa, and other places where it had not penetrated were undertaken. Shoghi Effendi laid the foundation for the election of the Universal House of Justice, a body whose functions were described by Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá in great detail. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963 and is the head institution of the Bahá'í Faith today. As of April 1991 the Bahá'í world community had over five million members and was growing at 4.4 percent each year. In at least 34 nations and significant territories the Bahá'í membership had exceeded one percent of the population; in Tuvalu, Tonga, Guyana, and Belize it had exceeded five percent of the population; in Kiribati (a small nation in the mid-Pacific) seventeen percent of the population was Bahá'í. As of April 1996, the Bahá'í international community had 174 national spiritual assemblies and almost 20,000 local spiritual assemblies. Over 2,100 ethnic groups can be found within it, and Bahá'í literature has been translated into 802 languages. The Bahá'í community operates over 1,300 social and economic development projects worldwide, including approximately 650 schools and seven radio stations. The United States has about 120,000 Bahá'ís, residing in approximately 7,200 localities, and 1,350 local spiritual assemblies. Its national headquarters is near the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois; the American Bahá'ís operate a publishing trust, five permanent schools and institutes, and a radio station.[3]

A Three-Hour Section on the Bahá'í Faith Occasionally instructors want not one hour, but several hours of material on a particular topic. This is particularly true if a course meets in the evening; such class sessions usually last two and a half to four hours. This part of the Resource Guide provides a section of three one-hour classes on the Bahá'í Faith, suitable for use in one evening or in three one-hour classes during the day. The material could also be rearranged and shortened so that it is suitable for a two hour or two and a half-hour class. A three-hour section is best prepared by using the information on various Bahá'í subjects provided in Section Two, "Annotated Bibliography of Scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith." One way a three-hour unit could be created would be to expand "The Bahá'í Faith: A Short Introduction" above by adding material from the various subjects in Section Two. An instructor could also assemble three hours of material by combining the introductory lecture with any two subjects chosen from the bibliography. This approach might be characterized as basic information plus "selected studies" on aspects of the Bahá'í religion. Two hours of introductory material plus a third, specialized hour of selected study could also be designed. However, for those who prefer three hours of material that is planned to be comprehensive and http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (5 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


continuous, the following division is offered. The numbers in square brackets represent the various aspects of the Bahá'í Faith outlined in Section Two, the Annotated Bibliography.

1. Bahá'í Origins. Islamic and Iranian Background [¶7]. The Báb and Babism [¶6]. The life of Bahá'u'lláh [¶11]. 2. Bahá'í Teachings. The Bahá'í Concepts of God [¶28], Revelation [¶54], Manifestation [¶37], Creation [¶16], and Humanity [¶34]. Prayer and the Spiritual Life [¶38, ¶64]. Social Teachings [¶63]. 3. Bahá'í Community [¶12]. The Ministries of 'Abdu'l-Bahá [¶1] and Shoghi Effendi [¶61]. Creation of the Administrative Order [¶2] and Expansion of the Bahá'í Faith Globally, 18921996 [¶8, ¶10]. The Future [¶39, ¶48]. 4. Other subjects that could be included: community life [¶12]; consultation [¶13]; education [¶18]; family life [¶22]; holy places [¶32]; Houses of Worship [¶33]; oneness of humanity [¶34, ¶67]; pilgrimage [¶43]; prayer and fasting [¶46]; religious dialogue and pluralism [¶53]; race relations [¶51]; ritual [¶55]; progressive revelation [¶54]; science and religion [¶59]; spiritual life [¶64]; women [¶27]; work [¶68]; peace [¶40].

One-Semester Courses on the Bahá'í Faith: Four Samples The following course outlines were developed to give examples of different ways the Bahá'í religion could be taught in one semester. Undoubtedly other arrangements of the basic material could also be made; these outlines are not exhaustive of the possibilities. Two outlines were drawn up assuming that thirty-six one-hour class meetings were available for lecture and discussion (the remaining meetings being devoted to examinations, videos, etc.). One was drawn up for twenty 90-minute class meetings, as is typical in a school on a quarter system. The other outline divides the class into thirteen one-week segments. The four outlines below approach the Bahá'í Faith from the following perspectives: 1. A "comparative religion" perspective, typical of Religious Studies departments, that would examine the Bahá'í religion in terms of its concept of the holy; its view of God, Manifestations, other religions, humanity, and creation; its myths, narratives, and ritual practices; and its community organization and life. 2. A "sociological" perspective, typical of sociology departments, that emphasizes http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (6 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


routinization of charisma, ideology, community structure and maintenance, recruitment, involvement in society, and case studies. 3. An outline that mixes both of the above approaches, with more emphasis on history. 4. A "traditional" Bahá'í approach, which emphasizes the lives of the central figures of the Bahá'í religion, Bahá'í history, and Bahá'í teachings. The numbers following the paragraph sign (¶) at the end of each line in the curriculum guides give the units in Section Two where one will find a detailed description and bibliography of each relevant topic. Because the four courses sometimes contain the same, or very similar, topics, it seemed best to place the descriptions and bibliographies of the topics covered by each course in a single section. This approach also makes it easier for instructors to prepare their own course by mixing units from different outlines.

A "Comparative Religion" Approach to the Bahá'í Faith Textbooks: James C. Livingston, Anatomy of the Sacred: An Introduction to Religion or some other comparative-religion textbook that describes the various aspects of religion; Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of Bahá'u'lláh; Peter Smith, The Bábí and Bahá'í Religions. For a more introductory class, Moojan Momen's A Short Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith could be substituted for Smith. The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the academic study of religion, using the Bahá'í Faith as an example. It uses Livingston's textbook, which covers the different aspects of religion such as the sacred and holy, ritual, community, the world, the origin of things, and the purpose of human existence. Livingston's text does not mention the Bahá'í Faith; that material comes from original texts and from Peter Smith's text.

1. What is Religion? Livingston, ch. 1; Bahá'u'lláh, 481-82 (Gleanings CX); 420, bottom (Gleanings, XXXIV, near end); 233 (First Ishráq) [¶52]. 2. What is the Bahá'í Faith? A summary. Encyclopedia Britannica article reprint, "The Bahá'í Faith"; Shoghi Effendi, Call to the Nations, xi-xviii [¶9]. 3. How is Religion Studied? How has the Bahá'í religion been studied? Livingston, ch. 2 [¶9].



4. The Sacred and the Holy. Livingston, 47-54 (ch. 3); prayers of the greatness and mystery of God, Bahá'u'lláh, 387-88 (Gleanings I); 412-16 (Gleanings XXVI, XXVII); 596-601 (Prayers and Meditations LXXV-LXXX) [¶28]. 5. Concepts of God. Livingston, ch. 7 (163-94); Bahá'u'lláh, 406-7 (Gleanings XIX XX) [¶28]. 6. Manifestations of God. Bahá'u'lláh, 407-423 (Gleanings, XXI-XXXV); 462-63 (Gleanings LXXXVII) [¶37]. 7. The Life of Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'u'lláh, 426 (Gleanings, XLI-XLII); 429-34 (Gleanings XLV-LIV); 43744 (Gleanings, LIX-LXVII); 446-48 (Gleanings, LXXXI-LXXXII) [¶11]. 8. Religious Symbol and Myth. Livingston, ch. 4 (68-93); Bahá'u'lláh, 423 (Gleanings, XXXVI); 73-77 (Íqán, interpretation of the symbols "sun," "moon," and "stars"); 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, 122-26 (interpretation of the Garden of Eden) [¶57]. 9. Revelation. Bahá'u'lláh, 245 (Tablet of Wisdom, where Bahá'u'lláh describes how he receives revelation); 424-25 (Gleanings, XXXVII-XL) [¶54]. 10. Religious Dialogue and Pluralism. Livingston, ch. 13 (351-68); Bahá'u'lláh 175-80 (Tablet to the Christians); 181-82 (first, second, and eighth Glad-Tidings); 187 (second Taráz); 235 (ninth Ishráq) [¶53]. 11. Nature: Its Origin and Purpose. Livingston, ch. 8 (198-224). Bahá'u'lláh, 452-53 (Gleanings, LXXVIIILXIX); 459 (Gleanings LXXXIV); 464 (Gleanings XC) [¶19]. 12. Investigation of Nature: Science. Bahá'u'lláh, 183 (eleventh Glad-Tidings); 189 (sixth Taráz); p. 195 (third Tajallí); 254 (part of tablet of Maqsúd) [¶59]. 13. Humanity: Its Nature and Purpose. Livingston, ch. 9 (228-51); Bahá'u'lláh, 456-59 (Gleanings, LXXXII-LXXXIII); 481 (Gleanings, CIX); 532-34 (Gleanings, CLV); 501 (Gleanings, CXXII) [¶34]. 14. The Spiritual Quest. Livingston, ch. 11 (p. 285-316); Bahá'u'lláh, 3-29 (Seven Valleys); 501-05 (Gleanings, CXXIV-CXXV) [¶38, ¶64]. 15. Sin, Tests, and Growth. Bahá'u'lláh, 183 (ninth Glad-Tidings); 188-89 (third and fourth Taráz); 24849 (Words of Wisdom) [¶64, ¶65]. 16. Life and Afterlife. Livingston, ch. 12, 33-7; Bahá'u'lláh, 35-59 (Hidden Words); 453-56 (Gleanings, LXXIX-LXXXI) [¶3, ¶53.12]. 17. Family Life and Work. Bahá'u'lláh, 162-63 (Synopsis and Codification extracts 8 and 12 / Aqdas paragraphs 48 and 63); 47 (Persian Hidden Words, 80-82); 234-35 (seventh Ishráq); prayers for marriage, http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (8 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


children, and family [¶22, ¶68]. 18. Divine Justice. Livingston, ch. 10 (254-82); Bahá'u'lláh, 51 (Arabic Hidden Words 2); 424 (Gleanings, XXXVII); 576 (Prayers and Meditations LV); 580 (Prayers and Meditations, LVII); 584 (Prayers and Meditations, LX) [¶35]. 19. Religious Community. Livingston, ch. 6, 130-41; Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 160 (Synopsis and Codification extract 5 / Aqdas paragraph 30); 162 (Synopsis and Codification extract 9 / Aqdas paragraph 52); 169 (Synopsis and Codification extract 20 / Aqdas paragraph 173); 182 (fifth Glad-Tidings, in Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (henceforth "Tablets") 22-23); 184 (thirteenth Glad-Tidings, in Tablets 26-27); 185 (fifteenth Glad-Tidings, in Tablets p. 28); 203-4 (eighth and ninth leaves of Paradise, in Tablets 68-71); 234-35 (sixth, seventh, and eighth Ishráq, in Tablets 127-129); Prayer for the Hands of the Cause, in Malaysian Prayer Book, page 37) [¶12]. 20. The Bahá'í community in the Middle East, 1863-92 [¶7, ¶8]. 21. 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Interpreter, Mystery of God, Center of the Covenant. Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 278-81 (Book of the Covenant, Tablet to the Land of Bá, also in Tablets 219-223 and 227-228); Shoghi Effendi, World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, 131-39 ('Abdu'l-Bahá section of Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh) [¶1]. 22. The Bahá'í world community, 1892-1921 [¶8]. 23. Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Faith. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá [¶61]. 24. The Bahá'í Administrative Order. Shoghi Effendi, Call to the Nations, 36-44 [¶2]. 25. The Bahá'í world community, 1921-63 [¶10.2, ¶10.3]. 26. The Bahá'í world community, 1963-96 [¶10.4, ¶10.5]. 27. Consultation and Covenant. Livingston, ch. 6, 141-50 ("Protest and Change"); Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 278-81 (Book of the Covenant, also in Tablets 219-223); 539 (Gleanings, CLXVI); Bahá'u'lláh, in Consultation: A Compilation [¶12, ¶15]. 28. Sacred Space (Bahá'í World Centre, Houses of Worship, places of pilgrimage). Livingston, 54-65. Bahá'u'lláh, 173-74 (Tablet of Carmel); 435-37 (Gleanings, LVII-LVIII); 677-81 (Tablet of Visitation) [¶32, ¶33, ¶43]. 29. Sacred Time: The Bahá'í Calendar and Holy Days. Livingston, 116-20; Bahá'í Calendar handout (from Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, 178-79) [¶24]. 30. Ritual. Livingston, ch. 5 (p. 97-126); Bahá'u'lláh, 681-86 (obligatory prayers); 576-80 (Prayers and http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (9 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


Meditations, LVI, fasting prayer) [¶55]. 31. Social Order. Livingston, ch. 6, 150-58); Bahá'u'lláh, 181-238 (Bishárát, Tarázát, Tajallíyát, Tablet of the World, Ishráqát) [¶63]. 32. The Oneness of Humanity. Bahá'u'lláh, 58 (Arabic Hidden Words, 68); 203 (sixth and seventh leaves of Paradise); 234 (sixth Ishráq) [¶67]. 33. World Peace. The Promise of World Peace; Bahá'u'lláh, 496-99 (Gleanings, CXVII-CXX) [¶40]. 34. A New World Order. Livingston, ch. 12, 320-34; Bahá'u'lláh, 233 (second Ishráq); 478-79 (Gleanings, CIV); 480-81 (Gleanings, CVI-CVIII); 482-83 (Gleanings, CXI-CXII); Shoghi Effendi, Call to the Nations, 45-66 [¶39]. 35. Prospect.

A Sociological Study of the Bahá'í Community by Will C. van den Hoonaard University of New Brunswick (Email: [email protected]) The following syllabus is designed to introduce the Bahá'í Faith to sociology students. It relates developments within the Bahá'í community to particular sociological concerns and tools. Since university and college teachers have individual interests and techniques in mind, the syllabus is simply one of many approaches to the sociological study of the Bahá'í community. While this outline covers the sociological aspects of the Bahá'í community, teachers could consider a follow-up course that outlines the Bahá'í perspective on society. In such a course, one would consider Bahá'í hermeneutics, Bahá'í political and social thought, the Bahá'í conception of historical and social processes, etc.

The present syllabus covers thirteen weeks of instruction. I. Introduction http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (10 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


Scholarly attention to study of the Bahá'í Religion: a review of the literature and field. Discussion of sources. II. Theoretical Issues in Sociology a. Typologies in the literature of new religions and social movements. b. The generation of data through the symbolic interactionist, functionalist, and conflict perspectives, and frame analysis. c. The debate of class versus ethnicity. III. Methodological Questions a. Obstacles and prospects of studying the Bahá'í community. b. What constitutes valid sources of information for studying the Bahá'í community? c. Various research strategies IV. Origins a. Background Islam, Shí'ism, Shaykhism 19th-century Iran b. The Báb Life and Teachings Sources and Social Context Rise and Growth of Bábism Persecution and Fragmentation of the Bábí community c. Bahá'u'lláh Life and Teachings Sources and Social Context d. 'Abdu'l-Bahá Biography V. Routinization of Charisma a. Bahá'u'lláh's Death and Succession of 'Abdu'l-Bahá b. Opposition General Principles underlying the Covenant Opposition during 'Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry, 1892-1921 Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá c. Establishment of the Guardianship d. The Period of the Hands of the Cause of God, 1957-63 e. The Establishment of the Universal House of Justice, 1963 http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (11 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


VI. Doctrine and Ideology a. Islamic sources b. Primary versus Secondary Sources c. The Question of Westernization d. Revealed Text, Interpretation, and Infallibility e. Bahá'í Political and Social Thought VII. Growth and Development of the Bahá'í World Community a. The early spread, 1844-92 b. Early spread from East to West, 1892-1921 c. The period from 1921 to 1937 d. Developments, 1937-53 e. Developments since 1953 VIII. Organizational Structures a. Bahá'í theory Bahá'í organizational structure Theory and nature of the institutions of the "rulers" and the "learned" b. Overview and nature of institutions of the "rulers" and the "learned" c. The local structure The Nineteen-Day Feast Local Spiritual Assembly d. The national structure The national convention e. The international structure The Universal House of Justice The International Teaching Centre Other institutions: The Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts, World Centre Library, International Bahá'í Archives IX. Recruitment and Socialization a. Explaining the growth of the Bahá'í community Structural explanations Deprivation model Social disorganization The deviant model, Simmel's "stranger" Conflict of ideology/reality b. Conversion process of acquiring Bahá'í common stock of knowledge http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (12 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


c. Teaching the Bahá'í Faith in various cultural contexts d. The sociological question of recruitment and participation of women in new religious movements X. Maintenance a. Member Commitment and mobilization b. Boundary maintenance c. Authority and power d. Principles of consultation XI. Direct Involvement in Society a. Bahá'ís and the United Nations b. Social and economic development projects c. Peace-related activities d. Racial equality e. Women's rights f. Contact with other religious communities g. The emergence from obscurity XII. Case Studies of Selected Bahá'í Communities a. Historical Iran, 1844-92 Asia, 1892-1921 Occident, 1892-1921 b. Contemporary A national Bahá'í community in an industrial society A Third-World Bahá'í community An emerging national Bahá'í community in Eastern Europe XIII. Some Contemporary Issues a. Non-partisan involvement in politics b. Impact of the persecution of the Iranian Bahá'ís c. Minorities and indigenous peoples d. Integration of Eastern and Western Bahá'ís

The Bahá'í Faith in Historical http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (13 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


and Comparative Perspectives This course is designed to introduce the student to the Bahá'í religion in its basic aspects: its history, the lives of its founders, its teachings, its practices, and its international community. It will follow a framework typical of courses in "comparative" religions. In addition, it will examine the Bahá'í religion from the point of view of questions of importance to scholars of religion today, such as: how does a new religion arise? How does it attract members, and why? How does it survive the death of its founder? How does it balance central authority and individual freedom? When its teachings inevitably evolve, how are the resulting changes justified, and what role does outside cultural, social, and religious influence play? Peter Smith's The Bábí and Bahá'í Religions: From Messianic Shí'ism to a World Religion is the best work to use as a basic textbook, but it will require considerable supplementation from historical and sociological works and from primary sources. Important supplementation comes from Abbas Amanat's Resurrection and Renewal.

Topics Covered: 1. Preliminaries. What is the Bahá'í Faith? A Summary of the Religion. 2. The Problem of Summarizing a Religion, and an Examination of Various Summaries of the Bahá'í Faith that have been produced. One quickly notices the summaries vary enormously in content; why is this? Is one summary "valid" or "better"? What is the history of producing summaries of the Bahá'í Faith? 3, 4. The Rise of the Bábí Movement in Iran, 1844-50. What was the Shí'ite Muslim culture of nineteenthcentury Iran like, and what social and cultural stresses did it face? What were the cultural and social precursors to the rise of Babism? To whom did it appeal, and why? What caused Shí'ite Muslims to become Bábís? Abbas Amanat's book Resurrection and Renewal will be the chief source. 5, 6. The Figure of 'Alí-Muhammad the Báb. Who did he claim to be, and did his claim change? Examination of the Báb's life experience, the question of its influence on his teachings, and the controversy surrounding his claims. Amanat's book will be used here as well. 7. The Bábí Movement. Marxist, polemical Islamic, sociological, and other examinations of it. 8. Husayn-'Alí Bahá'u'lláh. His claims and writings. Juan R. Cole on the sources of his ideas (articles by Cole in World Order magazine and in The International Journal of Middle East Studies). 9. The Bahá'í Community in Iran, 1863-92. Growth and organization. Several published and unpublished articles will provide the information and reading. http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (14 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


10. Conversion of Iranian Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians to the Bahá'í Faith; Cultural and Social Factors that Brought Non-Shí'ite Minorities into the Community (Master's degree thesis and articles by Susan Stiles Maneck). Maneck sees minority conversion as being prompted by modernization of the country, the relatively modern Bahá'í teachings, and the ability of the Bahá'ís to portray their religion as the fulfillment of traditional religious expectations. 11. Midterm Examination. Or: if there is no exam, a time to discuss and review the first half of the quarter. 12. Bahá'u'lláh's Death and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Succession, 1892. Development of the Bahá'í concept of the Covenant. Ideas of routinization of charisma in the Bahá'í community. (Readings from two sociological Ph.D. dissertations on the Bahá'í Faith, one by Vernon Elwin Johnson, the other by Peter L. Berger.) 13. Sources of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Ideas. Did 'Abdu'l-Bahá "westernize" or "modernize" the Bahá'í Faith? Arguments by western missionaries. 14. Introduction of the Bahá'í Faith to the United States, 1894-1899. Inadequate access to the Bahá'í scriptures leads to uniquely American interpretations of the Bahá'í religion, and considerable chaos when more Bahá'í scriptures become available in English. Readings from articles and manuscript works by Peter Smith and Robert Stockman. 15. The American Bahá'í Community, 1900-12. What sort of Americans became Bahá'ís, and why? Did the community have a "mainstream" and a "fringe"? Nature and cause of controversies in the American Bahá'í community. 16. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Visit to the United States and Canada, 1912. What was its purpose, and what impact did it have? The visit is a case study in the difficulty the Bahá'í Faith has in influencing outside culture. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had less impact on American society and culture than Swami Vivekananda and other "oriental" religious teachers, but he was able to consolidate the American Bahá'í community to a considerable degree. 17. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Death and the Succession of Shoghi Effendi, 1921. How and why did Shoghi Effendi immediately establish the Bahá'í organizational system? What impact did it have on the Bahá'í community? Brief readings from works by Peter Smith, Robert Stockman, Loni Bramson-Lerche, Vernon Johnson, and Protestant missionary critics of the Bahá'í Faith. 18. Creation of an International Community, 1937-57. Spread of the Bahá'í Faith in Latin America, Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. Readings from Peter Smith on the role of organization and the development of a Bahá'í community in the Third World. 19. Developments in the 60s and 70s. Election of the Universal House of Justice, 1963. Explosive growth of the American Bahá'í community, 1967-73, through reaching the youth counterculture, involvement in http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (15 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


the civil rights movement, and controversial new teaching techniques that bring thousands of rural blacks into the Bahá'í Faith. Contemporary readings. 20. Developments in the 80s and 90s. The Iranian Revolution and persecution of the Iranian Bahá'í community; the new interest in Bahá'í scholarship; a new emphasis on social and economic development and literacy in the Bahá'í community; rapid growth and maturity of the Third World Bahá'í communities; explosive growth of the Bahá'í Faith in the former Soviet bloc.

A Traditional Bahá'í Approach to the Bahá'í Faith A course on the Bahá'í Faith that follows a fairly "traditional" Bahá'í approach may not be appropriate as a credit-course at a college or university, but might be useful as a non-credit course or as a course at a Bahá'í summer school. Various introductory textbooks could be used: Esslemont, Momen, Smith, or Hatcher and Martin are probably the best choices. The appropriate page numbers may be found in the modules in Section Two of this Resource Guide, "Annotated Bibliography of Scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith." For the study of the Bahá'í scriptures, the works of Bahá'u'lláh have been published together as a single volume titled Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, but no comparable work yet exists for 'Abdu'l-Bahá or Shoghi Effendi; thus the teacher cannot avoid assigning reading from a large number of books.

1. Introduction: Course Philosophy and Structure. Summary of the Bahá'í religion 2. Background: Islam and Shí'ism 3. Background: Nineteenth Century Iran and Shaykhism 4. The Báb: Early Life and Prophetic Career 5. The Báb's Teachings: Sources and Historical Context 6. The Bábí Movement 7. Bahá'u'lláh: Early Life and Prophetic Career



8. The Early Writings of Bahá'u'lláh: The Hidden Words, Seven Valleys, Four Valleys, and The Kitáb-iÍqán. 9. Later Writings of Bahá'u'lláh: Proclamation to the Kings, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas 10. Creation of a Bahá'í Community, 1863-92 11. 'Abdu'l-Bahá: His Ministry and Works 12. Bahá'í Communities in Southwest and South Asia, 1892-1921 13. The Bahá'í Faith in the Occident, 1892-21 14. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Journeys in America and Europe: Impact on the Bahá'í Community and on Bahá'í Doctrine 15. Major Works of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Tablets of the Divine Plan and The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 16. Shoghi Effendi: Life and Works, Summary 17. Establishment of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, 1921-37 18. Codification of Bahá'í Belief: World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, Advent of Divine Justice, and Promised Day is Come. 19. The Bahá'í Faith Worldwide: Growth, Persecution, and The First and Second Seven Year Plans (192153) 20. Globalization and Completion of the Administration: The Ten Year Crusade (1953-63) and the Death of the Guardian 21. The Interregnum and Election of the House of Justice (1957-63) 22. The Bahá'í Community, 1963-79: Emergence of a Third World Bahá'í Community 23. The Bahá'í World Community, 1979 present: Iranian Persecution, Globalization 24. Messages of the Universal House of Justice, 1963 present 25. Bahá'í Theology: God, Revelation, Manifestation, Humanity, and Creation http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.curricula.html (17 of 19) [6-6-2004 16:14:12]


26. Bahá'í Epistemology: Science and Investigation of Reality 27. Bahá'í Sacred History: Progressive Revelation and the Bahá'í Theology of Religions 28. Bahá'í Piety: The Spiritual Path and Journey of the Soul 29. Bahá'í Pilgrimage; The Bahá'í World Centre 30. Marriage and Family; The Roles of Men and Women 31. The Community Experience: Bahá'í Community and Ritual Life 32. Bahá'í Houses of Worship: Architecture and Social Theory 33. The Experience of Diversity: Racial Integration in the Bahá'í Community 34. Peace, War, and the "Lesser Peace" 35. The "Most Great Peace": A Bahá'í Utopia? 36. Prospect

Footnotes: 1 See section ¶60. Scripture for a discussion of these numbers. 2 The term "Manifestation" will be consistently capitalized to distinguish the person of the Manifestation from the philosophical concept of manifestation (see 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, 205-207), which is wholly unrelated. 3 These statistics are as of April, 1996. Many are estimates.





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A Resource Guide for Baha'i Studies--bibliography

Section Two: Annotated Bibliography of Noteworthy Scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith TABLE OF CONTENTS

¶i. Some Prefatory Notes and Considerations ¶ii. Format of this section ¶1. 'Abdu'l-Bahá ¶1.1. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Journeys in America and Europe ¶2. Administrative Order: History and Institutions ¶2.1. Establishment of the Administrative Order, 1921-37 ¶2.2. The Guardianship ¶2.3. Rulers and Learned ¶2.4. The Interregnum and Election of the House of Justice (1957-63) ¶2.5. Houses of Justice ¶3. Afterlife ¶4. Agriculture ¶5. Art, Literature, Music, Architecture ¶6. The Báb and the Bábí Movement, 1844-62 ¶6.1. The Báb: Early Life and Prophetic Career ¶6.2. The Báb's Teachings: Sources and Historical Context ¶6.3. The Bábí Community ¶7. Background of the Bahá'í Faith: Islam, Shaykhism, and Iran ¶7.1. Background: Islam and Shí'ism ¶7.2. Background: Nineteenth-Century Iran and Shaykhism ¶8. Bahá'í Communities of the World ¶8.1. The Bahá'í Faith in Africa, Latin America, and Oceania ¶8.2. The Bahá'í Faith in Europe ¶8.3. The Bahá'í Faith in Iran http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio01.html (1 of 7) [6-6-2004 16:14:30]


¶8.4. The Bahá'í Faith in North America ¶8.5. The Bahá'í Faith in the Former Soviet Union ¶8.6. The Bahá'í Faith in South and East Asia ¶9. Bahá'í Faith, Introduction to ¶10. Bahá'í History ¶10.1. Bahá'í History, 1863-92 ¶10.2. Bahá'í History, 1921-1953 ¶10.3. Bahá'í History, 1953-63 ¶10.4. Bahá'í History, 1963-79 ¶10.5. Bahá'í History, 1979-Present ¶11. Bahá'u'lláh ¶11.1. Bahá'u'lláh's Life and Mission ¶11.2. Bahá'u'lláh's Writings ¶12. Community ¶13. Consultation ¶14. Conversion ¶15. Covenant ¶16. Creation: Its Origin and Purpose ¶17. Economics ¶18. Education ¶19. Environment ¶20. Epistemology: The Bahá'í Theory and Sources of Knowledge ¶21. Ethics ¶22. Family Life: Marriage, Divorce, and Sexuality ¶23. Fasting ¶24. Feasts, Holy Days, and the Calendar ¶25. Female Imagery / Maid of Heaven ¶26. Funds and the Huqúqu'lláh ¶27. Gender Issues and Equality ¶28. God, Concept of ¶29. Health, Healing, and Medicine ¶30. Hermeneutics and Interpretation http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio01.html (2 of 7) [6-6-2004 16:14:30]


¶31. History and Historiography ¶32. Holy Places, Bahá'í (World Centre and the Arc) ¶33. Houses of Worship ¶34. Humanity: Its Nature and Purpose ¶35. Justice / Divine Justice ¶36. Law and Personal Conduct ¶37. Manifestations of God ¶38. Mysticism ¶39. New World Order ¶40. Peace and War ¶41. Persecution and Martyrdom ¶42. Philosophy ¶43. Pilgrimage ¶44. Pioneering ¶45. Politics ¶46. Prayer and Meditation ¶47. Principles, Bahá'í ¶48. Prophecy ¶48.1. Biblical and Islamic Prophecies ¶48.2. Prophecies in Hinduism and Buddhism ¶48.3. Native American Prophecies ¶48.4. Other Prophecies ¶49. Psychic Phenomena and the Occult ¶50. Psychology ¶51. Racial Diversity and Race Relations ¶52. Religion: Definition of ¶53. Religious Dialogue and Pluralism ¶53.1. Ahmadíyya ¶53.2. Buddhism ¶53.3. Christianity ¶53.4. Confucianism and Taoism ¶53.5. Hinduism http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio01.html (3 of 7) [6-6-2004 16:14:30]


¶53.6. Islam and Sufism ¶53.7. Jainism ¶53.8. Judaism ¶53.9. Manichaeism ¶53.10. Mormonism ¶53.11. Native and "Primal" Religions ¶53.12. New Age Movements ¶53.13. Sabaeanism ¶53.14. Sikhism ¶53.15. Zoroastrianism ¶54. Revelation ¶55. Ritual Practices and Ceremonies ¶56. Sacred History: Progressive Revelation ¶57. Sacred Story (Mythology) ¶58. Scholarship and the Academy ¶59. Science and Religion ¶60. Scripture ¶61. Shoghi Effendi ¶62. Sin, Evil, and Satan ¶63. Social Order ¶64. The Spiritual Life ¶65. Tests, and Growth ¶66. Theology ¶67. Unity / Unity in Diversity ¶68. Work

¶i. Some Prefatory Notes and Considerations: This guide is the product of years of work by a variety of people, and may display consequent inconsistencies. We are gradually making it more uniform as we revise it, but the sheer volume of articles and our attempt to link all parts of the guide into one uniform presentation make it unavoidable http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio01.html (4 of 7) [6-6-2004 16:14:30]


that there will be gaps. Below are the gaps we are aware of. * Where the writings of the primary figures are included in multiple books, as they usually are, we have included some of the more common sources but have made no attempt to be exhaustive. The exception is the volume Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, which, containing all of Bahá'u'lláh's translated writings--save parts of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, and Bahá'í Prayers--is the most complete single collection of Bahá'u'lláh's texts in English. Since some instructors might wish to assign this one book and others use individual texts instead (and since Writings of Bahá'u'lláh neither contains an index nor is in REFER), we have cross-referenced all of these citations. * We have given some of the main scriptural citations for every topic, but these are not and could not be complete: not only are the writings too vast to cite every relevant quote, and not only are new translations, both authoritative (done under the auspices of the Universal House of Justice) and provisional (done by individuals) continually being produced, but not all of the extant writings have even been archived yet. * There are many academic and semi-academic journals which are both of quite limited circulation and are somewhat obscure. We have not included articles found in some of these partly because we sometimes could not find them and partly because only the professional researcher will have access to them. Indeed, even the most thorough of all bibliographies on the Bahá'í Faith, William Collins' Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths 1844-1985, does not cite every article ever published. * Many unpublished translations, articles, historical documents, bibliographies, pilgrims' notes, and book reviews are available on the internet. These have not been cited here. Please see "Description of Bahá'í Internet Resources," below. * Since this Guide has an index we have not extensively cross-referenced topics. The index should be consulted because sometimes more than one subject heading will include relevant information for any particular topic. For ideas on what related topics to look up, one can consult the sections given in the curriculum guides, above, or the cross-referencing provided in the index. * The guide is thorough, but not exhaustive. There are doubtless numerous books which deserve to be listed that we either do not know of or have overlooked. Recommendations for additions are encouraged.

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The format of entries in this section will, for the most part, follow the following pattern. The presentation of certain subjects may depart slightly from the following, for some entries will not feature all four of these elements.

¶X. Subject Heading ¶X.1. Subject sub-heading (if applicable) 1- Brief definition of subject (if applicable). 2- Primary source writings: i.e., works of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, or the Universal House of Justice pertaining to the subject.* 3- References to the subject in the basic Bahá'í textbooks. Books cited here are J. E. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (5th ed.), Gloria Faizi's The Bahá'í Faith, John Ferraby's All Things Made New, William S. Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin's The Bahá'í Faith, John Huddleston's The Earth is But One Country, Moojan Momen's A Short Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith, and Peter Smith's A Short History of the Bahá'í Faith, (cited as Smith 1996) and The Bábí and Bahá'í Religions (cited as Smith 1987). Pages cited here supplement but are not identical with the page numbers offered in the indices of these books. Wendi Momen's A Basic Bahá'í Dictionary and Glenn Cameron and Wendi Momen's A Basic Bahá'í Chronology would also be useful to an instructor or researcher.

4- Bibliographic notes of modern scholarship on the subject. This latter section will, of course, be more temporally limited than the above. That is, while the references in the above textbooks will remain useful (indeed, Esslemont's book is now over s even decades old), the journal and book entries of contemporary scholarship will only be as current as the latest edition of this guide.

* It should be noted that the edition of Lights of Guidance cited here, 2d revised and enlarged edition 1988, differs in page and citation numbering from the 1st, 3d, and 4th editions. This edition was chosen to cite because it seems to be the most commonly-owned one.



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A Resource Guide for Baha'i Studies--bibliography ●




Annotated Bibliography of Noteworthy Scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith

¶1. 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, became the "Center of the Covenant" following Bahá'u'lláh's death. He is, to Bahá'ís, the perfect exemplar of human perfection: he was human, unlike his father who held the dual station of Manifestation of God and human, but he was the embodiment of all human perfections. His writings, though not divinely revealed, are considered sacred scripture. Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 278-81 (Book of the Covenant, Tablet to the Land of Bá, also in Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (henceforth "Tablets") 219-223 and 227-228). 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá gives some idea of the suffering he endured as a result of the plots of his brothers. Shoghi Effendi's section on 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, in World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, 131-39, is the authoritative statement of the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Lights of Guidance provides a variety of notes on 'Abdu'l-Bahá, 484-88. Esslemont, 51-70; 243-51 Faizi, 18-22 Ferraby, 224-38 Hatcher and Martin, 50-60

Huddleston, 204-14 Momen 126-7 Smith 1987, 69-71, 73-4 Smith 1996, 64-83

The life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá has been the focus of one biography, Balyuzi's 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, a work that makes little effort to set 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the context of his times or to assess the role he played in developing the Bahá'í community. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's station is most clearly defined by Shoghi Effendi in World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, 131-39. Numerous pilgrims' notes describe what it was like to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá, what he talked about, and how he lived his life. Thornton Chase's In Galilee is perhaps the most analytical and literate example of pilgrim's notes, but Julia M. Grundy's Ten Days in the Light of 'Akká and Helen Goodall and Ella Goodall Cooper's Daily Lessons received at 'Akká, January 1908 are also interesting and useful. Myron Phelps' The Master in 'Akká (originally published as The Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi) offers a sympathetic description of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and his teachings by a nonBahá'í. Juliet Thompson's Diary of Juliet Thompson offers a glimpse not only of 'Abdu'l-Bahá but especially of the devotion the Bahá'ís felt toward him, particularly the love and devotion of Juliet Thompson. Memoirs of meeting 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Thornton Chase and Juanita Storch have been published in World Order, 25.1 (Fall 1993). Other relevant pilgrim's notes are listed in section ¶43. Pilgrimage. http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio02.html (1 of 8) [6-6-2004 16:14:45]


A detailed account of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing, by two Americans present, is found in Florian and Grace Krug's "Accounts of the Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá," in World Order, 7.2 (Winter 1972-73). The entire Fall 1971 issue of World Order (6.1) was devoted to articles on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's life as a commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of his passing.

¶1.1. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Journeys in America and Europe The 1909 overthrow of the Turkish government by the Young Turks ended the reign of those responsible for the exile of Bahá'u'lláh's family to 'Akká, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá was for the first time free to leave Palestine. He quickly embarked on what would be a three-year voyage to many Western countries, visiting Bahá'í communities and delivering talks in numerous cities. In 1910 he set sail for Egypt, where he remained for a year before traveling on to Europe. In 1912 he traveled across America, and finally spent almost a year in Europe before returning to Egypt in June 1913 and Haifa in December 1913. Esslemont, 60-1 Ferraby, 232-36 Hatcher and Martin, 56-8 Huddleston, 211-12

Momen, 126-7 Smith 1987, 103-4 Smith 1996, 79-82

STUDIES Several volumes collect some of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's talks in Europe, namely Paris Talks and 'Abdu'l-Bahá in London. Most of his talks in North America were collected and published as a single book titled The Promulgation of Universal Peace. Though much has been written on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visits to America little has addressed his travel in Europe, save pilgrim's notes such as The Diary of Juliet Thompson. The most complete study of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to North America, Allan L. Ward's Two Hundred Thirty-Nine Days: 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Journey in America, is a chronicle of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's trip, but it makes little effort to analyze the trip's impact on the Bahá'í community or on American culture. A shorter summary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit may be found in Hasan Balyuzi's 'Abdu'lBahá, chapters 12-18. Gary L. Morrison's "'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Early American Bahá'ís," in World Order, 6.3 (Spring 1972), though short, is a good analytical piece on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit, though it was written before the first critical works on American Bahá'í history had been published, and thus inevitably suffers from lack of context. ACCOUNTS Memoirs by Thornton Chase and Juanita Storch about 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to North America, describing the http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio02.html (2 of 8) [6-6-2004 16:14:45]


impact he had on Bahá'ís, their friends, and journalists, have been published in World Order, 25.1 (Fall, 1993). A series of short works on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visits to specific sites, containing newspaper articles, itineraries, and photographs as well as transcriptions of his talks, include 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Canada, Hussein Ahdieh and Eliane A. Hopson's 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York: The City of the Covenant, and the article "'Abdu'lBahá in Chicago" in Bahá'í News, 558 (September 1977). The Diary of Juliet Thompson also includes a wealth of information about his visits to America, especially pages 223-395, and some of his time in Europe, especially pages 147-222. Agnes Parsons' diary, edited by Richard Hollinger and published as 'Abdu'l-Bahá in America: Agnes Parsons' Diary, and the biography of Lua Getsinger, Lua Getsinger: Herald of the Covenant, also cover much of the same ground. EGYPT Mirza Ahmad Sohrab provided a detailed record of three months of Abdu'l-Bahá's time in Egypt in Abdul Baha in Egypt, in which he includes a historical presentation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's activities while there as well as translations of his talks.

¶2. Administrative Order: History and Institutions The Bahá'í Administrative Order is the organizational system of the Bahá'í religion. It is divided into two branches: "the Rulers" are legislative councils of nine members at local, regional/national, and international levels who are democratically elected by all believers; "the Learned" are individuals who function at local and regional/national levels as advisory and inspirational leaders, are appointed by "the Rulers," and have no individual executive authority. Bahá'ís believe that, on the one hand, this arrangement combines the best features of democratic, aristocratic, and monarchical institutions and that, on the other hand, its unique arrangement of checks-and-balances--such as consultation, prohibition on campaigning, and carefullydelineated jurisdiction of legislative authority--and the well-defined spheres of each branch preserves the administrative order from the potentially abusable features of common democratic and monarchical institutions. The entire administrative order derives directly from Bahá'u'lláh--Bahá'u'lláh appointed 'Abdu'lBahá, 'Abdu'l-Bahá appointed Shoghi Effendi, and Shoghi Effendi helped realize the establishment of the Universal House of Justice. Recognizing and obeying the Manifestation of God for this day is an aspect of the "Greater Covenant," and obedience to the institutions he inaugurated--seen as the only means by which a peaceful world order can be created--is an aspect of the "Lesser Covenant." The Administrative Order evolved gradually. Bahá'u'lláh established it by defining two institutions: the house of justice, a council of nine or more individuals, in each locality and at the worldwide level; and the Hands of the Cause of God, individuals Bahá'u'lláh appointed to travel, teach the Bahá'í Faith, and deepen the understanding of the Bahá'ís. No houses of justice were established in Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime. 'Abdu'l-Bahá temporarily changed the name of the institution of the house of justice to spiritual assembly so as to avoid judicial or political implications, and oversaw the establishment of the first spiritual assemblies in Iran, the United States, Egypt, and India. He also defined the complete organizational system in his will and testament: local spiritual assemblies, national spiritual assemblies elected by delegates from local http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio02.html (3 of 8) [6-6-2004 16:14:45]


communities, and a Universal House of Justice elected by the members of the various National Spiritual Assemblies. Shoghi Effendi established this system between 1921 and 1957, making it possible to elect the Universal House of Justice in 1963. Shoghi Effendi appointed additional Hands of the Cause of God and authorized the Hands to select Auxiliary Board members to serve them regionally. The House of Justice cannot appoint Hands of the Cause and thus has replaced that institution with another that carries out some of the same functions, called the Counselors. The Counselors are appointed to five-year terms, whereas the Hands were appointed for life. Most Counselors serve in large jurisdictional areas--the world is divided into five of these regions, called "continents." These Continental Counselors appoint Auxiliary Board members, who in turn appoint assistants, who work with individual local Bahá'í communities. There are also nine "International Counselors" who serve at the Bahá'í World Centre in a body called the International Teaching Centre. In 1997 the Universal House of Justice added a fourth governing body of the "Institution of the Rulers," called regional councils. The regional council lies between the local and the national spiritual assemblies; the members of the former elect its members though secret ballot, while the latter institution determines the boundaries of its jurisdiction. Regional councils report to and are subordinate to the national spiritual assembly. Since the insitution is new, its authority and repsonsibility are still being defined. Shoghi Effendi, Call to the Nations, 36-44, provides a detailed discussion of the differences between the Bahá'í administrative order and the organizational systems of secular governments and previous religions. Shoghi Effendi wrote a series of books that describe the features of Bahá'í administration, among them Bahá'í Administration, Advent of Divine Justice, and World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Pages 143-57 of the latter work provide an essential description of the Administrative Order. The guidance of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice about Bahá'í organization, especially at the local level, has been compiled into a single work titled Developing Distinctive Bahá'í Communities. A compilation of Bahá'í scriptures called The Continental Board of Counselors provides a clear picture of this branch of the administrative order. 'Abdu'l-Bahá discusses it in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, 77-89. Lights of Guidance includes comments on a variety of administrative topics, 1-94, 164-75, 309-38. Esslemont, 131-32, 264-73 Ferraby, 256-75 Hatcher and Martin, 133-36, 144-51 Huddleston, 110-14

Momen, 68-73, 75-7, 80 Smith 1987, 120-26 Smith 1996, 91-2, 94, 118

One of the only general works on the administrative order is Eunice Braun's The March of the Institutions: A Commentary on the Interdependence of Rulers and Learned, which outlines the structure of the administrative order and details the interrelationships of its bodies. Adib Taherzadeh wrote an inspirational and historical work on the covenant and its relation to the administrative order, The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. A shorter analysis comparing Western versus Bahá'í types of governance is Arash Abizadeh's "Liberal Democracy and the Bahá'í Administrative Order," in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 2.3 (1990). Deepen magazine has begun a series of articles which will discuss the history and day-to-day functioning of the United States Bahá'í National Center; first is Deepen 10.4.1 (1996), "The Bahá'í National Center: part one: Forty-Nine Years, a personal perspective," followed by Deepen 11.4.2 (1996), "The Bahá'í National Center: part two: The Establishment of the Bahá'í Faith in America." http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio02.html (4 of 8) [6-6-2004 16:14:45]


¶2.1. Establishment of the Administrative Order, 1921-37 A history of this period is largely identical to a history of the life and work of Shoghi Effendi. To him fell the responsibility of designing and implementing many of the fine details of the administrative organization and fine-tuning the Bahá'í world community and its understanding of the Faith. Many of Shoghi Effendi's writings were letters to individual communities responding to their administrative concerns and guiding their development. Some of these have been collected in Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932, and Principles of Bahá'í Administration: A Compilation. He also alludes to the administrative difficulties in the United States in World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, 3-5. Esslemont, 179-81; 264-73 Ferraby, 256-9 Hatcher and Martin, 66-68

Huddleston, 214-19 Smith 1987, 120-22 Smith 1996, 107-9

Loni Bramson-Lerche has published on the period in "Some Aspects of the Development of Bahá'í Administration in America, 1922-1936," in Moojan Momen, Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History, volume 1, followed by her "Some Aspects of the Establishment of the Guardianship," in Studies in Honor of the Late Hasan M. Balyuzi: Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, volume 5.* The period is also outlined in Eunice Braun, From Strength to Strength, 5-8. One can also glean some information from Gayle Morrison's To Move the World: Louis Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America, 153-78. Adib Taherzadeh's The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh provides some information, especially in chapter 26. Many passing mentions of the establishing of the administrative order can be found in Richard Hollinger, ed., Community Histories: Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, volume 6. * The inconsistency of the titles of this series is not an error. Volumes 1-4 of the series are titled Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History, and volumes 5-7 are titled Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í Religions.

¶2.2. The Guardianship Bahá'u'lláh anticipated the institution of the Guardian in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, but it was left to 'Abdu'l-Bahá to clarify its nature and appoint Shoghi Effendi as the first Guardian. To the Guardianship was assigned the province of authoritatively interpreting the Bahá'í scriptures, appointing members of the branch of the Learned, and overseeing the promulgation and protection of the Faith. The Guardian had no legislative power.



Lights of Guidance includes a section explaining the institution of the Guardianship, pages 309-14. Esslemont, 130, 261-3, 284-5 Ferraby, 256, 260-3 Hatcher and Martin, 133-36

Huddleston, 214-15, 222 Smith 1987, 115, 130, 132, 134-5 Smith 1996, 101, 106

Though much has been written on the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, almost no studies have been devoted to the institution itself. The Universal House of Justice has addressed certain aspects of the institution in "Comments on the Guardianship and The Universal House of Justice," in Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973. The decision that no additional Guardians can be appointed is also given by the Universal House of Justice in Wellspring of Guidance: Messages from the Universal House of Justice 19361968, 11, 81-91. Both of these letters have been reprinted in Adib Taherzadeh's The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, in an appendix called "The Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice." Brent Poirier has examined this issue in "The Flow of Divine Authority: Scriptural authority for the Universal House of Justice to function infallibly without the presence of a Guardian," in Deepen Magazine, No. 9 (1996), reprinted in The American Bahá'í, August 1, 1996, pull-out section. Mentions of the institution of the Guardianship, its founding by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and its ending with the death of Shoghi Effendi can be found scattered throughout The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. The essays in Richard Hollinger, ed., Community Histories: Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History, volume 6, contain many passing references to the institution of the Guardian.

¶2.3. Rulers and Learned Bahá'u'lláh, in describing the organization of his religion, refers to the "rulers and learned" several times. This phrase has come to capture the two halves of Bahá'í organization: the elected governing bodies, which function as a collective and have the authority to make major decisions, and the appointed Counselors, their Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, who primarily advise, consult with, and encourage Bahá'í communities, and who act as individuals, not as collective groups. The application of Bahá'u'lláh's term to these two institutions was made by the Universal House of Justice. Bahá'u'lláh refers to the Rulers and the Learned in Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 279 (Kitáb-i-Ahd in Tablets 219223). The Universal House of Justice explained further in "Elucidation of the Nature of the Continental Boards of Counselors," in Messages of the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973, 91-95. Esslemont, 263, 285 Hatcher and Martin, 133 Momen, 71-2

Smith 1987, 134-5 Smith 1996, 118

Also useful is the compilation of Bahá'í scriptures called The Continental Board of Counselors. "The Continental Board of Counselors: Its Role and Station: A talk by the Hand of the Cause William Sears," transcribed and printed in Deepen, 9.3/4 (1996), describes some of the basic functions of the institution of http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio02.html (6 of 8) [6-6-2004 16:14:45]


the Counselors.

¶2.4. The Interregnum and Election of the Universal House of Justice (1957-63) Shoghi Effendi's death on 4 November 1957 was completely unexpected and proved to be a great shock to the Bahá'í world. Bahá'ís had expected Shoghi Effendi to be only the first of a line of Guardians, but Shoghi Effendi had appointed no successor. He had appointed Hands of the Cause of God, however, and one month before his death he wrote a long letter about their importance, calling them the "chief stewards" of the Bahá'í administrative order. After Shoghi Effendi's passing, the Hands met and decided that the best course to pursue was to elect the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, in 1963, when the Ten Year Crusade--Shoghi Effendi's plan to take the Bahá'í Faith to most of the world--would end. A full compilation of texts relating to this period, Establishment of the Universal House of Justice, has been included in Compilation of Compilations, volume I. Ferraby, 261-3 Hatcher and Martin, 70-2 Huddleston, 221-23

Smith 1987, 128-32 Smith 1996, 112-5

No history of the period has yet been written, though many of the letters written by the Hands were published (see The Bahá'í World, vol. 13, 1954-1963, 333-78) and a comprehensive collection of their letters called The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963 is available. Adib Taherzadeh discusses concerns of this time period in The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, chapters 34-36.

¶2.5. Houses of Justice Bahá'u'lláh described a system in which every community containing at least nine adult Bahá'ís would have a "House of Justice," an elected body of nine or more individuals who would exercise spiritual and administrative authority over their jurisdiction. While the Faith is still young and not always well known to the outside world, it has been deemed prudent to refer to the Houses of Justice instead as spiritual assemblies to help prevent possible assumptions about their having a political function: the local Houses of Justice are referred to as Local Spiritual Assemblies and the regional/national governing councils as National Spiritual Assemblies. The only level of governance which currently rules under its title of a House of Justice is the international one, the Universal House of Justice, the highest governing body in the Bahá'í world. As the only remaining recipient of conferred infallibility, it is the point of obedience of all Bahá'ís. Bahá'ís write to the Universal House of Justice when they wish guidance on certain matters or clarifications of Bahá'í http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/rg/rg.biblio02.html (7 of 8) [6-6-2004 16:14:45]


teachings; though the Universal House of Justice does not have the authority to interpret the sacred writings, they do have the facilities to search the vast archives of the original writings to find guidance from one of the central figures* or Shoghi Effendi. The spiritual assemblies do not enjoy conferred infallibility, and this status will not change upon their eventually assuming the title "Houses of Justice." Lights of Guidance, 314-19. Esslemont, 129-30, 272-3 Hatcher and Martin, 59, 144-51, 134-5

Huddleston, 114 Smith 1996, 73

No significant scholarship has been produced on the institution of the Universal House of Justice. However, many of its writings have been published, either as the compilations of its letters Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973, Wellspring of Guidance: Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1968, A Wider Horizon: Selected Messages of the Universal House of Justice 1983-1992 and Third Epoch of the Formative Age: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-86, or as excerpted in the many topical compilations of Bahá'í scripture. A significant document was the 1985 statement The Promise of World Peace. Eunice Braun has summarized the first ten years of the history of the Universal House of Justice in From Strength to Strength 55-64, and Adib Taherzadeh briefly discusses the institution in The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, chapter 35. * The term "central figures" is a standard Bahá'í term for the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and