Bahaism

The Bahá'í Faith (Persian: بهائی‎‎ Bahā'i) is a monotheistic religion that emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind. Three core principles establish a basis for Bahá'í teachings and doctrine: the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of humanity. According to Bahá'í teachings, God is known by spiritual virtues such as truthfulness, kindness, unity, love, and justice, and the purpose of religion is to advance these virtues in humankind.

The Bahá'í Faith was founded by Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892) in 19th-century Persia. Due to opposition from Islamic clergy, early Bahá'ís faced heavy persecution that continues in modern Iran. Bahá'u'lláh himself was imprisoned and exiled from Iran, ultimately spending his last 40 years under various forms of house arrest in the Ottoman Empire. Letters written by Bahá'u'lláh to various individuals, including some heads of state, have been collected and canonized into a body of Bahá'í scripture that includes works by his son `Abdu'l-Bahá, and also the Báb, who is regarded as Bahá'u'lláh's forerunner.

At the time of Bahá'u'lláh's death in 1892, the religion was mostly confined to the Persian and Ottoman empires. By the 1910s it had gained a footing in Europe and America and by the 1960s it had been established all over the world. There are estimated at least 5 million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.

According to Bahá'í doctrine, religious history is seen to have unfolded through a series of divine messengers, each of whom established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time and to the capacity of the people. For example, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad are considered the most recent messengers before the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. In Bahá'í belief, each consecutive messenger prophesied of messengers to follow, and Bahá'u'lláh's life and teachings fulfilled the end-time promises of previous scriptures. Humanity is understood to be in a process of collective evolution, and the need of the present time is for the gradual establishment of peace and unity on a global scale.

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