Ten Principles of the Baha'i Faith

In 1913, Abdu'l Baha set forth ten principles that were meant to lead to a better world for all. Although he credited the list to Baha'u'llah, founder of the faith, such a list does not exist in any of his writings and several of the ideas are entirely absent from his writings. Today, this list is widely used as a summary of Baha'i goals and outlooks on life.

This is a precept borrowed from Shi'a Islam. Although the writings of Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l Baha, and Shoghi Effendi are to be accepted as infallible, Baha'is recognize no clergy to further interpret those writings or dictate new beliefs. Because the Muslim majority was (and often still is) hostile to the Baha'i movement, and because the Baha'is view the history of the Manifestations of God as a tale of continual rejection by established authority (the Egyptians rejecting Moses, the Jews rejecting Jesus, etc.), Baha'is urge people to form their own investigations and conclusions concerning the truth of reality.

God created all of humanity with equal value. Baha'is hold that they best way to improve life for everyone on earth is for the world population to work as one, rather than working in fragmented groups scattered across the globe that are primarily concerned only for themselves.

Peace is always preferred over war. Baha'u'llah had already banned Baha'is from waging religious war, and he had urged world leaders to limit their military spending in the hope that the money saved could then be applied to bettering living conditions for the poor.

This may have been included to win over converts in France, which was already a strongly secular country at the beginning of the 20th century. Because the messages of each Manifestation are tailored to be comprehensible by the people receiving it, past holy texts do not need to be followed literally when they conflict with current understandings of the workings of the universe.

Because all of humanity is a single people, religious, racial, political and patriotic prejudices unnecessarily divide us and cause detrimental strife. Both the Bab and Baha'u'llah had suffered considerably from religious prejudice, so emphasizing this issue is a natural choice.

Discrimination based on gender was singled out by Abdu'l Baha, in part to embrace the women's movements in the West such as the petitions for women's suffrage. It also has roots in the teachings of the Bab, which forbid the wearing of veils by women and encouraged discreet interactions between men and women (unlike traditional Islam, where the genders are frequently quite segregated).

The Baha'i Faith has always stressed charity for and education of the poor. It also emphasizes working for the service of others rather than simply for the betterment of oneself.

Baha'u'llah called for national and international Houses of Justice, which would act in a legislative capacity alongside political governments. He envisioned the Houses of Justice would be staffed entirely by Baha'is, but also recognized that such a reality would be a long time in coming. In the meantime, the secular United Nations is considered a first step toward world government and international goodwill.

Baha'u'llah called for all Baha'is to educate their children. Abdu'l Baha took it one step further and called for universal education, based upon Western ideas of public schooling

Universal Language:

Baha'u'llah also first suggested this. A common world language would break down barriers in communication and enable greater cooperation. The Baha'is are not suggesting that native languages be abandoned, but rather that everyone simply take on a common second language.