Baha'i

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Science and</div> <div> religion, according to the Baha'i  teachings, are</div> <div> both equally necessary for humanity to progress.</div> <div> Science is the discoverer of the material and the</div> <div> spiritual reality of things, and it is the foundation of</div> <div> material and spiritual development. Religion develops</div> <div> both the individual and society, fostering</div> <div> the love, fellowship, and will that is necessary for</div> <div> humanity to advance. Science and religion counterbalance</div> <div> each other: Religion without science</div> <div> leads to superstition, whereas science without religion</div> <div> leads to materialism.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Historical origins</b></div> <div> The Baha'i  faith originated in nineteenth-century</div> <div> Iran at a time when the country was struggling</div> <div> with economic and political instability, conflict between</div> <div> the religious and secular segments of society,</div> <div> and Russian and British expansionist policies.</div> <div> Iran was in decline under the Qajar dynasty when</div> <div> the Baha'i  millenarian movement was founded</div> <div> in 1844 by the Bab (Siyyid Ali Muhammad,</div> <div> 1819–1850). The rapid rise of the Babi movement</div> <div> and its prophecy of the coming of a world redeemer</div> <div> led to violent suppression, with its leaders</div> <div> either killed or sent into exile, as was the case for</div> <div> Baha u llah (Mirza Husayn Ali, 1817–1892).</div> <div> Baha u llah nursed the decimated Iranian Babi</div> <div> community back to health from nearby Baghdad</div> <div> but was further exiled to Constantinople (modern</div> <div> Istanbul), to Adrianople (modern Edirne), and finally</div> <div> to Acre (modern Akko in Palestine). When he</div> <div> announced that he was the redeemer prophesied</div> <div> by the Bab, most of the Babi community became</div> <div> Baha is, followers of Baha u llah.</div> <div> Baha u llah’s teachings were laid out in numerous</div> <div> books, epistles, and letters to a growing community.</div> <div> The central theme was unity: the unity</div> <div> of religion; the oneness of God; the unity of</div> <div> humanity; the equality of women and men; the</div> <div> need for a united world civilization, and the unity</div> <div> of science and religion. Religion promoted</div> <div> amity and concord as its chief aim, and this required</div> <div> the unfettered search after truth and the</div> <div> elimination of prejudice and superstition characteristic</div> <div> of science.</div> <div> By the early twentieth century, the Bahai faith</div> <div> had spread around the world. Abdul Baha</div> <div> (1844–1921)—Baha u llah’s eldest son and successor—</div> <div> traveled and spoke widely throughout Europe</div> <div> and North America, emphasizing that religion</div> <div> must be progressive. The great progress in technical</div> <div> and material spheres wrought by science necessitated</div> <div> similar progress in religion. “When religion,</div> <div> shorn of its superstitions, traditions, and</div> <div> unintelligent dogmas, shows its conformity with</div> <div> science,” he told his audiences, “then will there be</div> <div> a great unifying, cleansing force in the world</div> <div> which will sweep before it all wars, disagreements,</div> <div> discords and struggles” (1969, p. 146). Shoghi Effendi</div> <div> (1897–1957) succeeded <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >Abdul Baha</FONT>. After</div> <div> his death, leadership passed to the Universal</div> <div> House of Justice seated in Haifa, Israel.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Bahai teachings about science and religion</b></div> <div> The teachings of the Bahai  faith are “founded</div> <div> upon the unity of science and religion and upon</div> <div> investigation of truth.” Science and religion are like</div> <div> the two wings of one bird: “A bird needs two</div> <div> wings for flight, one alone would be useless. Any</div> <div> religion that contradicts science or that is opposed</div> <div> to it, is only ignorance—for ignorance is the opposite</div> <div> of knowledge. Religion which consists only of</div> <div> rites and ceremonies of prejudice is not the truth”</div> <div> (Abdul Baha, 1969 p. 129).</div> <div> The Bahai  writings describe science as “the</div> <div> discoverer of realities,” the means by which humanity</div> <div> explores and understands both material</div> <div> and spiritual phenomena:</div> <div> The virtues of humanity are many, but science</div> <div> is the most noble of them all. . . . It is</div> <div> a bestowal of God; it is not material; it is</div> <div> divine. Science is an effulgence of the Sun</div> <div> of Reality, the power of investigating and</div> <div> discovering the verities of the universe, the</div> <div> means by which man finds a pathway to</div> <div> God. Through intellectual and intelligent</div> <div> inquiry science is the discoverer of all</div> <div> things. (<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >Abdul Baha</FONT>, 1982 p. 49)</div> <div> The purpose of religion is to “safeguard the interests</div> <div> and promote the unity of the human race,</div> <div> and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship</div> <div> amongst men” (Baha u llah, 1978, p. 168). Human</div> <div> nature is fundamentally spiritual, and the “spiritual</div> <div> impulses set in motion by such transcendent figures</div> <div> as Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus,</div> <div> and Muhammad have been the chief influence in</div> <div> the civilizing of human character” (Bahai International</div> <div> Community). Religion and spiritual commitment</div> <div> are necessary if the fruits of science are to be</div> <div> used for the advancement of humanity: “In every</div> <div> sphere of human activity and at every level, the insights</div> <div> and skills that represent scientific accomplishment</div> <div> must look to the force of spiritual commitment</div> <div> and moral principle to ensure their</div> <div> appropriate application” (Bahai International</div> <div> Community).</div> <div> Religious truth must be understood in the light</div> <div> of science and reason if it is not to become superstition</div> <div> and a source of discord. Religious doctrines</div> <div> that disagree with science are likely to disagree</div> <div> with doctrines of other religions, creating and sustaining</div> <div> religious conflict. However, this does not</div> <div> mean the current scientific point of view is necessarily</div> <div> fully correct, nor does it mean that truth is</div> <div> limited to only what science can explain.</div> <div> Similarly, science alone is inadequate. Doctrines</div> <div> inspired by science—most notably, the view</div> <div> that only material things are real—have had pernicious</div> <div> and corrosive effects when imposed on the</div> <div> people of the world. These doctrines need to be</div> <div> counteracted by the truths of religion. Abdu<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >l Baha</FONT></div> <div> in <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Garamond-LightItalic" ><I>Paris Talks </I></FONT>emphasized that “with the wing of</div> <div> science alone he would also make no progress,</div> <div> but fall into the despairing slough of materialism”</div> <div> (<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >Abdul Baha</FONT> 1969, p. 143). Furthermore, the</div> <div> commitment and the will that derives from religion</div> <div> is required if the results of science are to be applied</div> <div> to the benefit of the people of the world.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Evolution and the emergence of humanity.</b></div> <div> The Bahai  writings address in depth the issue of</div> <div> evolution and the emergence of humanity—a</div> <div> major source of conflict between science and contemporary</div> <div> religion. Humanity is described as</div> <div> emerging by a gradual progression that starts at a</div> <div> simple material stage and advances degree by degree</div> <div> to the human stage. In each stage, according</div> <div> to <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >Abdul Baha</FONT>, humanity develops capacity for</div> <div> advancement to the next stage: “While in the kingdom</div> <div> of the mineral he was attaining the capacity</div> <div> for promotion into the degree of the vegetable. In</div> <div> the kingdom of the vegetable he underwent preparation</div> <div> for the world of the animal, and from thence</div> <div> he has come onward to the human degree, or</div> <div> kingdom” (<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >Abdul Baha</FONT> 1982, p. 225). Evolutionary</div> <div> processes—indeed, all natural processes—are</div> <div> the expression of God’s will and the mechanism</div> <div> for the unfolding of God’s creation:</div> <div> Nature in its essence is the embodiment of</div> <div> My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations</div> <div> are diversified by varying causes,</div> <div> and in this diversity there are signs for men</div> <div> of discernment. Nature is God’s Will and is</div> <div> its expression in and through the contingent</div> <div> world (Baha u llah, p. 142).</div> <div> Humanity, therefore, was created by God and</div> <div> potentially existed even before being actualized as</div> <div> a “composition of the atoms of the elements.”</div> <div> Humans and animals and are distinct and different</div> <div> kinds of beings, according to the Bahai</div> <div> view. It is incorrect to say that humans are descended</div> <div> from animals, even though physically that</div> <div> is the case. This is because humans have a rational </div> <div> and spiritual side in addition to the physical reality</div> <div> they share with animals: “The reality of man is his</div> <div> thought, not his material body. The thought force</div> <div> and the animal force are partners. Although man is</div> <div> part of the animal creation, he possesses a power</div> <div> of thought superior to all other created beings”</div> <div> (<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >Abdul Baha</FONT> 1969, p. 17). The Bahai point of</div> <div> view therefore diverges from understandings of</div> <div> evolution that see no distinction between humans</div> <div> and animals. It reconciles two perspectives—natural</div> <div> evolution and divine creation—that many have</div> <div> deemed irremediably in conflict.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Types of knowledge. </b></div> <div> Abdul Baha<B> </b><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Garamond-Light" >describes</FONT></div> <div> human knowledge as being of two kinds. One</div> <div> kind “is the knowledge of things perceptible to the</div> <div> senses.” The other kind “is intellectual—that is to</div> <div> say, it is a reality of the intellect; it has no outward</div> <div> form and no place and is not perceptible to the</div> <div> senses” (<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="GaramondLightPhonetic" >Abdul Baha</FONT> 1981, p. 83). The knowledge</div> <div> that people have of the laws of the universe is such</div> <div> an intellectual reality, as is the knowledge of God.</div> <div> Abdul Baha <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Garamond-Light" > further describes four criteria for</FONT></div> <div> knowledge: sense perception (empiricism), reason</div> <div> (rationality), tradition, and inspiration. By itself,</div> <div> each criterion is inadequate: The senses can be</div> <div> fooled, reasonable thinkers differ, understanding</div> <div> of tradition is reasoned and gives differing interpretations,</div> <div> and the heart’s promptings are not reliable.</div> <div> Only when evidence from all criteria is in</div> <div> agreement can a proof be trusted as reliable.</div> <div> The Bahai  model of how reliable knowledge</div> <div> is obtained gives a perspective for viewing the</div> <div> roles of science and religion in society. Purely empirical</div> <div> approaches or rational approaches to</div> <div> knowledge, even when combined as they are in</div> <div> science, are inadequate to meet social needs. Approaches</div> <div> based solely on tradition—prophetic or</div> <div> otherwise—or intuition and feeling are likewise inadequate.</div> <div> Rather, contributions from all the approaches</div> <div> are needed. Neither science nor religion</div> <div> separately provides the broad foundations by</div> <div> which society can progress. Both are needed.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Conclusion</b></div> <div> The task facing humanity, according to the Universal</div> <div> House of Justice, the global Bahai administrative</div> <div> body, “is to create a global civilization which</div> <div> embodies both the spiritual and material dimensions</div> <div> of existence.” Carrying out this task requires</div> <div> “a progressive interaction between the truths and</div> <div> principles of religion and the discoveries and insights</div> <div> of scientific inquiry.” Science provides the</div> <div> understanding and technical capabilities that allow</div> <div> humanity to overcome the limitations of nature,</div> <div> making the goal of a peaceful and just world civilization</div> <div> an achievable one. Religion provides the</div> <div> moral, ethical, and spiritual strength, the discipline,</div> <div> and the commitment that are necessary if the goal</div> <div> is to become a reality.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>