Criticism of the Baháʼí Faith

Part of a series on the
Baháʼí Faith
show Central figures Baháʼu'lláh The Báb ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
show Basics Teachings Unity of God Unity of humanity Unity of religion Laws Prayer Calendar Nineteen Day Feast
show Key scripture Kitáb-i-Aqdas Kitáb-i-Íqán The Hidden Words Some Answered Questions Other Texts
show Institutions Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh Administrative Order The Guardianship Universal House of Justice Spiritual Assemblies
show History Baháʼí history Timeline Bábism Persecution
show People Shoghi Effendi Hands of the Cause Apostles Other Baháʼís Bábis Letters of the Living Mullá Husayn Táhirih
show Places House of Worship Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh Qiblih Shrine of the Báb Síyáh-Chál World Centre Pilgrimage Haifa Acre
show Other topics Socioeconomic development Progressive revelation Cosmology Symbols Prophecies Statistics Orthography
Category
v t

The Baháʼí Faith is a relatively new religion teaching the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people.

The religion began with considerable controversy. Its first leader, the Báb, was imprisoned and executed for heresy in 1850, and Baháʼu'lláh, another central figure, was exiled from Iran and both the Ottoman and Persian Empires tried to destroy his movement. In Iran and other parts of the Middle East, Baháʼís continue to be criticized for breaking with Islam and accused of conspiring with western powers, resulting in intense persecution and the loss of civil rights.^[1][2]

The criticism and challenges it has faced vary considerably in different regions of the world. In the West, liberals have criticized the Baháʼí Faith for some of its conservative social practices, notably the prohibition on premarital or homosexual intimacy for Baháʼís.^[1] Western academics have criticized the requirement for Baháʼís to seek pre-publication review when publishing on the religion,^[2] and the exclusion of women from serving on the Universal House of Justice is generally seen in conflict with its teachings on the equality of men and women.^[3]

The religion's rise in the Middle East and subsequent movement into the West has given rise to a body of anti-Baháʼí polemic. Christian and Islamic authors (e.g. John Ankerberg) have attacked its history and founders, institutions, teachings, and use of prophecy.^[4][5][6]

The Baháʼí Faith has maintained its unity and avoided serious division, although several attempts have been made to create sects. Every attempted Baháʼí schism has failed to attract more than a few hundred individuals and declined over time. The followers of such splinter groups are shunned and not considered Baháʼís by the majority.^[2][7]

Baháʼí teachings[]

All-male Universal House of Justice[]

The restriction of membership of the Universal House of Justice, the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith, to men is one of the Baháʼí practices that has caused discontent among small but vocal groups of western Baháʼís,^[1] and criticism from others.^[8] ʻAbdu'l-Bahá said that it would become clear in the future why the restriction was in place.^[8] According to Juan Cole, the law of not allowing women to serve on the Universal House of Justice is a misinterpretation of Baha'i scripture.^[8]

Manifestations of God[]

In his book The Messiah of Shiraz, Denis MacEoin noted a possible discrepancy between the contemporary Baháʼí understanding of Baháʼu'lláh's station as a Manifestation of God and that found in Baháʼu'lláh's own works. Specifically, he contrasted the "official modern Bahāʾī doctrine rejects any notion of incarnationism and stresses instead his status as a locus of divine manifestation [...] comparable to a mirror with respect to the sun" to several quotes from the writings of Baháʼu'lláh, which he argues are suggestive of a more radical interpretation.^[9]

Islamic scholars reject all prophets after Muhammad, and regard Baháʼís as apostates if they had been Muslims before conversion.^[10]

Stance on homosexuality[]

The exclusion of same-sex marriage among Baháʼís has garnered considerable criticism in the Western world, where the Baháʼí teachings on sexuality may appear to be unreasonable, dogmatic, and difficult to apply in Western society.^{[11][better source needed]} Particularly in the United States, Baháʼís have attempted to reconcile the immutable conservative teachings on sexuality with the otherwise socially progressive teachings of the religion, but it continues to be a source of controversy.^[12] Former Baháʼí William Garlington said the Baháʼí position in America, "can at most be characterized as one of sympathetic disapproval" toward homosexuality.^[12]

Capital punishment[]

In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Baháʼu'lláh prescribed the death penalty both for intentional arson and murder.^[13] In an article on Baháʼí laws, Baháʼí scholar Udo Schaefer states that the legitimization of the death penalty in cases of murder and arson is usually met with disapproval and suspicion in Europe.^[14]

Historical events[]

Wives of Baháʼu'lláh[]

Although polygamy is forbidden by Baháʼí law, Baháʼu'lláh himself had three concurrent wives.^[15] Under Islamic law a man may have up to four wives, and Baháʼu'lláh wrote in 1873 that a Baháʼí may have two wives. His son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had one wife and said that having a second wife is conditional upon treating both wives with justice and equality, and was not possible in practice. Baháʼís view the issue as a gradual transition towards monogamy.^{[citation needed]}

Guardianship[]

The Baháʼí scriptures intend for a line of Guardians to fill an executive role alongside the Universal House of Justice, each Guardian appointed by the preceding one from among the male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh. The first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, had nobody eligible to appoint and died in 1957 without making an appointment or leaving a will. Six years later the first Universal House of Justice was elected and has functioned without a Guardian.^[16] In 1960 Mason Remey announced that he should be regarded as the next Guardian, creating a schism that attracted a few hundred followers.^[17]

Criticism of leadership[]

Political accusations[]

Baháʼís have been accused, particularly by successive Iranian governments, of being agents or spies of Russia, Britain, the Shah, the United States, and as agents of Zionism—each claim being linked to each regime's relevant enemy and justifying anti-Baháʼí actions. The last claim is partially rooted in the presence of the Baháʼí World Centre in northern Israel.^[10]

Former Baháʼís[]

From 1980 onward, there was a wave of well-educated Baháʼís who left the religion and subsequently criticized it.^[18] For example, Juan Cole converted to the Baháʼí Faith in 1972, but later resigned in 1996 after conflicts with members of the administration who perceived him as extreme. Cole went on to critically attack the Baháʼí Faith in several books and articles written from 1998-2000, describing a prominent Baháʼí as "inquisitor" and "bigot", and describing Baháʼí institutions as socially isolating, dictatorial, and controlling, with financial irregularities and sexual deviance.^[18] Cole accused the Baháʼí administration of exaggerating the numbers of believers.^[19] Central to Cole's complaints was the Baháʼí review, a process that required Baháʼí authors to gain approval before publishing on the religion.^[18] Soon after his resignation, Cole created an email list and website called H-Bahai, which became a repository of both primary source material and critical analysis on the religion.^[18][20]

Citations[]

References[]