The Worldwide Bahá'í Community: A Faith Without Denominations, the Covenant and the Universal House of Justice

IOverview

There is no clergy. Affairs at every level are handled by nine-member councils elected by secret ballot. A few small groups have broken away over the years, and the library has a page for each, but they are very small and the main community does not recognise them. This page is about the main community: why it has held together, how it is organised and how Bahá'ís live their faith.

IIThe Line of Succession

Many religions divide soon after their founder dies over who has the right to lead. Bahá'ís call their answer the Covenant. Under it, Bahá'u'lláh named in his will who would succeed him and who could interpret his words, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá did the same in his own will.

• 1863Ridván
  Bahá'u'lláh's declaration in Baghdad. The founding of the Faith.
• 1892'Abdu'l-Bahá succeeds
  Named in Bahá'u'lláh's will as head of the Faith and sole authorised interpreter.
• 1921Shoghi Effendi becomes Guardian
  Under 'Abdu'l-Bahá's will.
• 1957Shoghi Effendi dies
  He had no children and named no successor Guardian. The Hands of the Cause take temporary charge.
• 1963The Universal House of Justice
  First elected in April in Haifa, and every five years since.

IIIThe Covenant and Unity

From this comes a concept that outsiders find hard to grasp: Covenant-breaking. The community uses the term for someone who actively opposes the established line of succession, for instance by claiming a station no will conferred, and who draws others after him. According to Wikipedia, only the Universal House of Justice can declare someone a Covenant-breaker. Such a person is no longer regarded as a member, and Bahá'ís are asked to shun them while respecting their civil rights and bearing them no hatred. Someone who simply leaves the Faith is not considered a Covenant-breaker.

IVCommunity Life

The rhythm of a local Bahá'í community centres on the Nineteen Day Feast, held once in each Badí' month, with three parts: devotions, consultation on community affairs and fellowship. Bahá'ís say daily obligatory prayers, fast during the month of 'Alá' and observe eleven holy days a year.

Since the 1990s the community has focused on four core activities open to everyone: devotional gatherings, spiritual education classes for children, groups for junior youth and study circles using the Ruhi Institute course books. According to the Bahá'í World News Service, there are over 300 training institutes worldwide and more than 900 large-scale development projects, including more than 600 schools.

VOrganisation and Distribution

The system known as the Administrative Order has three levels of elected councils: Local Spiritual Assemblies, National Spiritual Assemblies and the Universal House of Justice, each with nine members. No one may stand for election or campaign. Alongside them is an appointed branch, the Continental Boards of Counsellors and their Auxiliary Board members, who encourage and advise but hold no administrative authority.

VIGroups That Broke Away

History records a few groups that separated from the line of succession. The library has a page for three of them, written descriptively.

• Azalis. Followers of the Báb who did not accept Bahá'u'lláh and sided with Subh-i-Azal after the split in Edirne in 1866 to 1867. They are Bábís, not Bahá'ís.
• Orthodox Bahá'í Faith. Followers of Mason Remey, who in 1960 declared himself the next Guardian.
• BUPC. A group founded by Leland Jensen in Montana, in the United States, also claiming a line of Guardians through Mason Remey.

The main Bahá'í community does not recognise these groups because, as it understands the matter, they stand outside the line of succession set out in writing in the wills. The groups themselves hold that they are the ones keeping the true succession. According to the sources cited on each page, each group now numbers from a few dozen to a few thousand people.

VIIIn Vietnam

In Vietnam the Bahá'í community is part of this worldwide community under the name Bahá'í Community of Vietnam, with a National Spiritual Assembly first elected on 21 March 2008. According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, there were about 7,000 Bahá'ís in 45 provinces and cities as of December 2021. See the separate page on the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam for details.

VIIISymbol of the Branch

Nine pointed star

IXOther Branches of the Bahá'í Faith

The Worldwide Bahá'í Communityجامعهٔ بهائیThe Bahá'í Faith has no denominations.Bahá'í Community of VietnamCộng đồng tôn giáo Baha'i Việt NamNot a separate branch but the national community of the same Faith under the Universal House of Justice.Uses the common symbol of the pathOrthodox Bahá'í FaithOrthodox Bahá'í FaithFollowers of Mason Remey, who in 1960 claimed to be the Guardian after Shoghi Effendi, later led by Joel Marangella.Uses the common symbol of the pathBahá'ís Under the Provisions of the CovenantBahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant (BUPC)Founded by Leland Jensen in Montana in the 1960s and 1970s, also claiming a line of Guardians via Mason Remey.Uses the common symbol of the pathAzali Bábísازلی AzalīNot Bahá'ís.Uses the common symbol of the path

XSources

The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.

1. Bahá'í World News Service, Statistics
2. Wikipedia, Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
3. Wikipedia, Mason Remey
4. Wikipedia, Bahá'í Azali split
5. Ban Tôn giáo Chính phủ, Tôn giáo và chính sách tôn giáo ở Việt Nam, 2023
6. Wikipedia, Covenant-breaker

?Quick Questions

›Read Next