Bahá'í (pdf - 16kb) - Curriculum Support

FACTSHEET ON THE BAHA’I FAITH
INTRODUCTION
The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion. It has an international membership
of around five million. The Bahá’í Faith was inaugurated in 1863 when Bahá’u’lláh
announced His mission. At the time He was living in Baghdad, having been exiled
from His native country of Iran due to His religious teachings. Bahá’u’lláh spent the
remainder of His life as a prisoner and an exile, passing away in 1892 in Akka in the
Holy Land.
CORE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Bahá’u’lláh taught that there is only one God who successively reveals His will to
humanity through His Divine Messengers. Bahá’ís believe that Bahá’u’lláh is the
most recent of these Messengers, whose common purpose is to bring the human race
to spiritual and moral maturity.
Bahá’u’lláh also teaches that humanity is one; that is, despite differences in gender,
class, ethnicity, nationality etc, the human race is essentially one race and all members
of the human race are equal in the sight of God.
Another key teaching of the Bahá’í Faith is that all religions are one. The core
spiritual teachings of all the divinely revealed religions are the same, but the social
teachings differ according to the exigencies of the time and place of revelation.
TEACHINGS
The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are geared towards the achievement of the unification of
the human family and the building of a peaceful, global society. Among the principles
which the Bahá'í Faith promotes as vital to the achievement of this goal are:
• the abandonment of all forms of prejudice
• the establishment of full equality between men and women
• recognition of the unity and relativity of religious truth
• the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty
• the realization of universal education
• the responsibility of each person to independently search for truth
• the establishment of a global commonwealth of nations
• recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of
scientific knowledge
LIVING THE BAHA’I LIFE
Bahá’ís try to put the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh into practice every day of their lives. In
doing so, they understand the importance of reciting daily the verses revealed by
Bahá’u’lláh and of communing with God through prayer every day.

There are no clergy in the Bahá’í Faith. Elected bodies of lay believers look after the
affairs of the community at local, state, national and international levels. These bodies
perform some of the roles traditionally associated with clergy in other religions.
Bahá’í administration at all levels function on the principle of consultation. In
essence, consultation seeks to build consensus in a manner that unites people instead
of dividing them. It encourages diversity of opinion and acts to control the struggle
for power that is otherwise so common in traditional decision-making systems.
In their personal lives, Bahá’ís try as much as possible to uphold the high moral
standards called for in their teachings such as abstaining from backbiting, alcohol,
drugs and premarital sex.
FESTIVALS AND HOLY DAYS
Bahá’ís observe eleven holy days each year. The most important Festival is Ridván, a
twelve-day period in April/May that commemorates Bahá’u’lláh’s declaration of His
mission. The holy days are commemorated with community gatherings for prayer,
reflection, and fellowship. On nine of these holy days, Bahá’ís abstain from work.
These Holy Days are as follows:
Name
Gregorian Dates
Work
Suspended
Naw Rúz (Bahá'í New Year) March 21
Yes
First day of Ridván April 21 Yes
Ninth day of Ridván April 29 Yes
Twelfth day of Ridván May 2 Yes
Declaration of the Báb May 23 Yes
Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh May 29 Yes
Martyrdom of the Báb July 9 Yes
Birth of the Báb October 20 Yes
Birth of Bahá’u’lláh November 12 Yes
Day of the Covenant November 26 No
Ascension of Abdu’l-Bahá November 28 No
Bahá’ís observe an annual period of fasting from 2 to 20 March, in the lead-up to the
Bahá’í new year. The fast involves abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to
sunset. There are exemptions for those who are sick or elderly, or who cannot fast for
other reasons.
THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH IN AUSTRALIA
In 1920, Englishman John Henry Hyde Dunn, and his English-Irish wife, Clara,
arrived in Australia from the United States, where they had both emigrated. They
were the first Bahá’ís to settle in this country.

In 1922 the first Australians joined the Bahá’í Faith. They were Oswald Whitaker, a
Sydney optometrist, and Effie Baker, a Melbourne photographer.
Soon Bahá’í groups sprang up around the country. By 1934 there were enough
Bahá’ís to elect a national governing body, the first National Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand (New Zealand later formed its own
National Spiritual Assembly).
In 1955 Fred Murray of South Australia was among the first Aboriginal people to
become a Bahá’í.
Today, there are over 17, 000 Bahá’ís in Australia, including about five thousand in
New South Wales and ACT. Bahá’ís are actively engaged in neighbourhood
community development activities that are open to all, regardless of faith or
background. This includes providing spiritual empowerment programs for junior
youth aged 11-14, spiritual education classes for children, gatherings that strengthen
the devotional life of the community, and study circles on spiritual themes.
New South Wales is also home to Australia’s only Bahá’í Temple, which is located at
Ingleside overlooking Sydney’s northern beaches. Opened in 1961, the Bahá’í Temple
is a place of prayer and meditation that welcomes visitors of all backgrounds.
CONTACT
This information sheet has been produced by the Bahá’í community of New South
Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. For further information please contact:
Bahá’í Council for NSW & ACT
107 Derby St
Silverwater, 2128
Tel: 02 9748 1297
Fax: 02 9748 4223
Email: abc@nsw.bahai.org.au
Web: www.bahai.org.au