The big idea: Baha'is hold that there is one God, that humanity is one, and that the great religions are successive stages of one unfolding revelation.
That third claim is the tradition's most distinctive, and it must always be reported as what Baha'is hold — other traditions do not accept it.
The tradition began in nineteenth-century Persia. Baha'is regard the Bab as the herald, and Baha'u'llah, whose writings are the central scripture, as the Manifestation of God for this age. The guide spells his name Baha'ullah; Baha'u'llah is the more usual English form, and either will be recognised.
Baha'is have no clergy. Communities elect governing bodies, and the Universal House of Justice is the international one.
Three teachings to have ready
Oneness of God
One God, described by Baha'is as unknowable in essence and known through the Manifestations. The Baha'i Faith is firmly monotheistic.
Oneness of religion
Baha'is hold that God has sent a succession of Manifestations — the founders of the great religions — each teaching what humanity was ready for at the time. This is called progressive revelation.
Oneness of humanity
Baha'i teaching rejects prejudice of race, nation, class and gender, and calls for the equality of women and men, universal education and the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty.
One God, one religion unfolding, one humanity.
How to write about progressive revelation: Attribute it, every time. "Baha'is hold that the founders of the great religions are Manifestations of God…"
Stated flatly, it would be a claim about other people's traditions that those traditions themselves reject — and that is exactly what this course asks you not to do.
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The guide's first question: Baha'is believe that each child is born pure and holy, and that God created human beings with immortal souls and a dual nature.
The lower nature
- The guide calls it the animalistic and selfish side
- Held to be what a person falls back to when the spiritual side is not developed
- Not a separate evil being, and not inherited guilt
The spiritual nature
- The soul, with reason
- Given in order to develop divine attributes
- And to pursue God's plan for humanity
"Born pure and holy" is the phrase to carry into an exam. Baha'i teaching has no doctrine of original sin, and this is a clean contrast to make with the Christian account in Section B.
The guide's own words for the two sides are blunt, and worth quoting rather than softening: an animalistic and selfish side, and a spiritual side with reason.
Reason is on the spiritual side: In Baha'i teaching reason is not opposed to faith — it belongs with the soul, as one of the divine attributes to be developed.
Baha'is often express this as the harmony of science and religion.
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Not places — states: The guide is explicit. Paradise is "not a place but a state of perfection and in harmony with God's will". Hell is "a state of imperfection, far removed from God and in conflict with his will".
| How Baha'is describe it | How it is arrived at | |
|---|---|---|
| Paradise | A state of perfection, in harmony with God's will | By developing the soul's divine attributes and aligning a life with God's plan |
| Hell | A state of imperfection, far removed from God and in conflict with his will | By denying God and his plan, and performing evil acts |
How the Baha'i Faith answers the guide's three questions, in its own terms.
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Because both are states rather than destinations, Baha'i teaching describes the soul as continuing to progress after death — nearer to God, or further from God.
It is the clearest example in Section C of a tradition using familiar words in an unfamiliar way, and noticing that is exactly the skill Paper 1 rewards.
The guide gives three things, and they line up with the three onenesses.
Acknowledge
- The oneness of God
- And the unity of the Manifestations of God — the prophets
- So no Manifestation is set against another
Develop
- Our divine attributes, including reason
- And be involved in God's plan for the whole of humanity
- Service to humanity is treated as worship
Align
- Our lives with the teachings, laws and obligations revealed by Baha'u'llah
- Daily obligatory prayer; a nineteen-day fast
- Abstention from alcohol and from partisan politics
The structure to use: Notice the shape: believe, become, do.
Acknowledge the oneness of God and of the Manifestations; develop the attributes God gave; align the whole life with what Baha'u'llah taught. One sentence each and the answer is built.
Where students go wrong: Writing that Baha'is "follow all religions", or that the Baha'i Faith is a mixture of others.
Baha'is describe it as an independent revelation, given through Baha'u'llah for this age. Unity of religion is a claim about God's plan, not a blending of practices.