Baha'i divisions and sects

[Seeker_of_truth]

On the website it states:

"In order to be effective in promoting world unity the Bahá'í Faith must itself be firmly united. Bahá'í unity has been assured by provisions in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá that establish authoritative guidance on the intent of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation and on the administration of the affairs of the international Bahá'í community. Throughout the critical first century of the Faith's existence these provisions have protected the Bahá'í community from sectarianism, and have enabled it to adapt itself to the requirements of a rapidly evolving civilization. The institutions which embody this authority are the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice ."



My question is how is this true when there are in fact several Baha'i sects: Orthodox Baha'i Faith, Baha'is under the Provision of the Covenant, The Remey Society, Baha'is Loyal to the Fourth Guardian.



When answering please do not give a history lesson (we have wikipedia for that). My only question is how is the above quote justified.



Thanks




-Seeker

[Popeyesays]

Go to Adherents.com, and look for the top ten world religions for cohesiveness, or unity. You'll find that the Baha`i Faith is number one on that list because about 99% of the seven million Baha`is around the world are part of the Baha`i Faith. The other sects altogether do not make up 1% of that seven million, not by a long shot. There is no reason to believe there are more than a couple thousand members of other 'sects' of the Baha`i Faith including the few that you neglected to mention.

Regards,
Scott

[arthra]

Hi Seeker of Truth!

What is significant is that inspite of several attempts to divide Baha'is into say sects or denominations as you have with many religions, no one has successfully managed to split the Baha'is or alienate them from the Center of the Faith or the Covenant of Baha'u'llah.

Have there been attempts to divide the Baha'i community? Yes indeed! But none have proved successful.

- Art

[BruceDLimber]

Hi again!

Originally Posted by Seeker_of_truth

On the website it states:

"In order to be effective in promoting world unity the Bahá'í Faith must itself be firmly united. Bahá'í unity has been assured by provisions in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá that establish authoritative guidance on the intent of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation and on the administration of the affairs of the international Bahá'í community. Throughout the critical first century of the Faith's existence these provisions have protected the Bahá'í community from sectarianism. . . ."

My question is how is this true when there are in fact several Baha'i sects?

Very simply, the answer is this:

A Baha'i is by definition one who accepts and endeavors to follow the Baha'i Covenant (which was revealed by Baha'u'llah, our Founder). It is explicitly laid out in our scriptures in--what else?--the Book of the Covenant (aka Kitab-i-Ahd). You can read this at various Baha'i websites such as www.bahai-library.org

These other groups you mention don't even attempt to follow this Covenant, and thus are not Baha'i no matter what they call themselves!

And as was mentioned, these groups amount to only a few hundred individuals at best, as contrasted with the roughly seven million Baha'is. And none of these attempted breakaway groups has ever lasted longer than a single lifetime; hence the statement that the Faith remains undivided. (Try, for example, to find a group of so-called "Baha'is" who reject 'Abdu'l-Baha's succession after Baha'u'llah, or Shoghi Effendi's after 'Abd'ul-Baha. All such groups no longer exist, and neither do a number of the more recent breakaways.

What tiny dissenting groups remain from the time after Shoghi Effendi's death have themselves further divided and splintered since that time--hence the multiple names and conflicting claims of leadership--, and a bunch of them such as the Remey Society and the Jensenites are already extinct! Widkipedia lists several others as having respectively 30 and about 100 members, with one group being a few individuals in a single town in the southwest US. Even the erstwhile leaders of some of these groups were ultimately buried without religious rites of any sort whatever (in contrast to Baha'i practice).

The Web and the Internet have given these groups a second life, at least temporarily, as it's entirely possible for anyone to post enough material online to appear to be a far larger and numerous group than is actually the case--hence the pletora of hollow claims by several of these bodies currently found online.

One of these groups even sued the US National Spiritual Assembly in an attempt to take over the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, IL. The case was rejected by the court, but not before the court issued an injunciton forbidding that group from calling itself the "National Spiritual Assembly" or using photos and trademarked emblems of the Baha'i Faith (which it had been doing). Again, you can read the documents from this court case at the website I provided above.

Meanwhile the Baha'i Faith, having spread to literally every country on earth, continues to grow, develop, and gain widespread recognition.

Regards,

Bruce

[Seeker_of_truth]

Thanks for the answers! I knew i could count on this very active online community we have