The Role of Bahá’í teaching in Shaping of the Administrative Order

Introduction 

On December 30, 2021, a message was released outlining the goals of Bahá’í teaching efforts within the Bahá’í administrative framework. This directive reminds Bahá’ís of four key teaching roles that shape the organizational objectives. The Universal House of Justice emphasizes that in fulfilling these roles, Bahá’ís must draw upon the grassroots participation of communities in each region.

This article highlights the essential points of the directive and the actions requested of Bahá’ís.

 

Future Goals of the Bahá’í Organization in the Teaching Plan 

Bahá’ís began the new year of 2022 with a message focused on shaping the goals of the Bahá’í organization within their communities. This message serves to communicate the 25-year strategic plan for the Bahá’í administrative order. To support teaching efforts, structured organizational and administrative programs have been devised, enabling members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors to guide Bahá’ís in their respective regions.

 

Pathways into Bahá’í Teaching Roles Across Regions 

The December message from the Bahá’í World Centre outlines key strategies for engaging Bahá’ís in teaching efforts and introduces the main organizational initiatives. These include:

1. Methods for Bahá’ís to enter and engage with communities worldwide (referred to as clusters)
2. Approaches to mobilize Bahá’ís within those regions
3. Promotion of social transformation led by Bahá’ís
4. Support systems for teaching initiatives in each cluster

The implementation plan is divided into an intensive one-year phase followed by a nine-year phase, ultimately culminating in a 25-year review cycle.

 

The Reality of the Bahá’í Faith and the Outlook of Its Organizational Goals 

A simple review of various messages from the Universal House of Justice reveals that expanding the Bahá’í community has long been an aspiration—one that remains unfulfilled. Despite proclamations by Bahá’í leadership regarding the global spread of the Faith, the current reality shows limited tangible outcomes from the teaching efforts that were expected. It can be concluded that media campaigns and public outreach have not convinced the administrators of the Bahá’í organization to acknowledge the shortcomings in their membership growth strategies after all these years.

As a result, the Universal House of Justice appears to rely on encouraging Bahá’ís to engage in prayer, devotion, and worship as a means of sustaining hope within the community—perhaps to divert attention from these organizational challenges.

 

Structuring Bahá’í Action Plans Based on the Growth Symbol Metric 

The Bahá’í administrative system has divided the world into 17,000 regions, each referred to as a “cluster.” These clusters are categorized according to a “growth symbol,” which reflects the degree of receptivity to the Bahá’í Faith. In practice, this means that as Bahá’í teaching and action plans improve within a cluster, its growth symbol increases—up to level 4.

When a Bahá’í enters a cluster, they are expected to initiate one of four core teaching activities:

1. Children’s classes (based on Book 3 of the Ruhi teaching series)
2. Junior youth groups (based on Book 5 of the Ruhi series)
3. Study circles for adults (based on Book 1 of the Ruhi series)
4. Devotional gatherings (based on Bahá’í prayers and meditations)

The launch of any one of these activities raises the first growth symbol in that cluster. As Bahá’í facilitators (often using platforms like Twitter) encourage others to join these sessions, groups begin to multiply within the cluster. This prepares the cluster to receive its second growth symbol. The process continues until the organizational goals for that cluster are fulfilled, allowing Bahá’ís to formalize their social service efforts with community support.

It is anticipated that clusters reaching the fourth growth symbol will share their teaching experiences and achievements with other clusters. A recent directive from the Universal House of Justice to Continental Counsellors regarding the status of clusters may signal new developments in shaping the future goals of the Bahá’í community.

 

The Promotional Display of Bahá’í Teaching within the Bahá’í Organization 

It is striking that the Bahá’í administrative structure requests reports and asks questions from its Continental Counsellors and teachers regarding information it is expected to already possess. If the members of the Universal House of Justice are considered infallible and divinely guided, one would assume they should have access to such information without needing to ask others. This raises the impression that not only does the Universal House of Justice lack the competence to lead the Bahá’í community, but it may also be in a state of deep slumber. They appear unaware even of basic facts about the state of Bahá’í teaching—let alone capable of addressing the challenges faced by Bahá’ís and their communities.

Although the buzz surrounding the Nine-Year Plan can be heard within the Bahá’í community, its content remains vague and underwhelming. The media fanfare around holding Bahá’í gatherings in public venues is one example of this pattern. How can the presence of a few individuals in a university hall or a small room be presented as an international conference or a milestone in advancing Bahá’í teaching goals? Do Bahá’ís themselves accept such examples from the Universal House of Justice as evidence of the Faith’s global growth—or is true growth contingent on addressing the real needs and struggles of Bahá’ís? Perhaps it is time for the Bahá’í organization and its representatives to stop offering unqualified commentary in international forums and instead fulfill the promises they have made to their own community.

 

The Oneness of Humanity and the Teaching Role of Bahá’ís 

Following the claim of the oneness of humanity made by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and amplified by Bahá’í promotional efforts, the concept of “social transformation” has now emerged as another lofty phrase in the Universal House of Justice’s recent statements. The House has called upon both Continental Counsellors and teachers to reshape family cultures through the expansion of clusters. Since cultural change in any society begins with its smallest unit—the family—this directive effectively amounts to a declaration of war on humanity itself, as it seeks to steer the foundational structure of all societies toward Bahá’í norms.

In this transformation process, the first step is for facilitators to cultivate in individuals a desire for a particular lifestyle and its attributes. Only then is the Bahá’í Faith introduced, with the aim of drawing individuals toward adopting a Bahá’í way of life. Thus, the call for participation in “social transformation” essentially means detaching a community from its existing beliefs under the guise of lifestyle reform, and aligning it with Bahá’í ideology as a new cultural identity.

To describe the individuals involved in advancing the Plan, essentially Bahá’í teachers, it is stated that “they advocate tolerance and understanding, and with the inherent oneness of humanity uppermost in their minds, they view everyone as a potential partner to collaborate with.” Furthermore, “they share their beliefs liberally with others, remaining respectful of the freedom of conscience of every soul, and they never impose their own standards on anyone.”

However, all of this stands in stark contrast to the practice of excommunication within Bahá’í communities. In reality, excommunication undermines the very principles described in these messages. It poses a clear threat to the freedom to share beliefs, to collaborate openly, and to respect the conscience of others, values that are claimed to be at the core of Bahá’í teaching.

Conclusion 

Isn’t the attempt to alter a nation’s cultural identity a violation of its sovereignty? Can international institutions and national laws tolerate such a declaration of cultural warfare? Even more striking is the fact that the Bahá’í organization, through the Universal House of Justice, has pledged to provide resources and funding to support this transformation. Would it not be more appropriate for the House to first publish transparent and reasonable figures on how much of its budget has been allocated to the livelihood and welfare of underprivileged Bahá’í families? Financial transparency and the improvement of Bahá’í living standards are arguably the most rational and pressing demands the community can make of its leadership—demands that have long been buried beneath the promotional machinery of Bahá’í teaching campaigns.