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Criticism of the Baháʼí Faith

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Apologetics is the branch of theology which seeks to defend a religion's tenets through reasoned argument.

Bahá'ís often study theological issues in informal study groups, which came to be known as "deepenings" or "study circles". During such groups, Bahá'ís encourage discussion and reasoning about a variety of Bahá'í teachings and literature. As there are no clergy within the Bahá'í Faith, the purpose of such dialogue is to encourage individual understanding and promote a higher level of discourse and among community members. Study groups are merely one example of where Bahá'ís will consider the teachings of their faith.

Many apologetic books have been written in response to attacks on the religion's history and teachings. The religion's founders themselves wrote several books in response to such questioning, among them are the Báb's Seven Proofs and Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb-i-Íqán. Later Bahá'í authors wrote prominent apologetic texts, such as Mirza Abu Fadl's The Brilliant Proof and Udo Schaefer et al.'s Making the Crooked Straight[1]; and today there is an extensive library of such resources.

Schaefer's book was written to refute a polemic supported by the German Protestant Church. Scholarly reviews styled Schaefer’s book as “an important contribution to the critical study of the Bahá’í religion”[2] “clarifying many misconceptions” and presenting “a picture of the Baha’i Faith that no future researcher in the field can afford to overlook”[3]. Since its publication the German Protestant Church has revised its own relationship to the German Bahá’í Community and came back to dialogue[4].

This page attempts to provide a broad overview of some of the issues in question that may be considered challenging in nature. Since the number of potential topics is very large, this page has been divided into sub-categories which go into more detail.

Central Teachings

Bahá'í Faith and the unity of religion

Bahá'ís believe in the fundamental agreement in purpose of all the major world religions. Naturally, a large amount of apologetic literature has been published on how these diverse philosophies are reconciled in the Bahá'í point-of-view.

Bahá'í Faith and gender equality

Bahá'ís assert that gender equality is an incontrovertible reality of the human condition. However, certain practices seem to favor one gender over the other in education, inheritance, and membership on the Universal House of Justice.

Bahá'í Faith and science

Bahá'ís believe that science without religion leads to materialism, and religion without science leads to superstition. The postulate that these two seemingly opposite forces are in harmony is fundamental to Bahá'í teachings.

Bahá'í Faith and language policy

Bahá'ís call for a universal auxiliary language, meaning in addition to one's native tongue.

Issues discussed elsewhere

Homosexuality and Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í teachings only permit sexual relationships between a married husband and wife.

Bahá'í divisions

A survey of disputes in leadership, including individuals who have left or been expelled from the Bahá'í Faith due to disagreements with Bahá'í institutions.

Bábí/Bahá'í split

The Bahá'í Faith identifies itself as the fulfilment of the Bábí Faith. The separation of the two, beginning in 1863, was beleagued with conflict and murders.

Bahá'í review

Bahá'ís wishing to publish about the religion must first submit their work to a Bahá'í review committee.

Persecution of Bahá'ís

Critics of the Bahá'í Faith, especially in Iran, have stated that Bahá'ís are Zionists and enemies of Islam and Islamic states, and point to the location of the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, which is in present-day Israel, as proof.

Bahá'u'lláh's family

Although polygamy is forbidden, Bahá'u'lláh had three concurrent wives.

Notes

  1. ^ Bahá'í Studies Review, Volume 8, 1998, [1]
  2. ^ Manfred Hutter (Dep. of Religious Studies, Graz) in Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 12, 1997, pp. 437-439
  3. ^ Heshmat Moayyad in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 8, 1998, pp. 451-454
  4. ^ Ulrich Dehn in Materialdienst der Evangelischen Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen (EZW), 1/1997, pp. 14-17: “Baha’i und EZW”

References

  • Abrahamian, E. (1993). Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  • Friedrich W. Affolter. The Specter of Ideological Genocide: The Bahá'ís of Iran. War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, 1(1):59– 89, 2005.
  • Christopher Buck. Islam and Minorities: The Case of the Bahá'ís. Studies in Contemporary Islam, 5(1): 83–106, 2003.
  • Schaefer, U. (2000). Making the Crooked Straight: A Contribution to Bahá'í Apologetics. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984433. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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