Separation of church and state

2021-04-14T04:48:32Z

Sen McGlinn: inserted headings and categorized quotes

==Papers==

* https://bahai-library.com/uhj_theocracy

==World and cities committed to care of kings of the earth==

"Know thou that We have annulled the rule of the sword, as an aid to Our Cause, and substituted for it the power born of the utterance of men. Thus have We irrevocably decreed, by virtue of Our grace. Say: O people! Sow not the seeds of discord among men, and refrain from contending with your neighbor, for your Lord hath committed the world and the cities thereof to the care of the kings of the earth, and made them the emblems of His own power, by virtue of the sovereignty He hath chosen to bestow upon them. He hath refused to reserve for Himself any share whatever of this world's dominion. To this He Who is Himself the Eternal Truth will testify. The things He hath reserved for Himself are the cities of men's hearts, that He may cleanse them from all earthly defilements, and enable them to draw nigh unto the hallowed Spot which the hands of the infidel can never profane. Open, O people, the city of the human heart with the key of your utterance. Thus have We, according to a pre-ordained measure, prescribed unto you your duty."

:([[Bahá’u’lláh]], ''[[Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh]]'', [[gwbs:139|CXXXIX]], p. [[gwb:303|303]])

==Bahai Assemblies never to be governments==

“Should they place in the arena the crown of the government of the whole world, and invite each one of us to accept it, undoubtedly we shall not condescend, and shall refuse to accept it.”

:([['Abdu'l-Bahá]], ''[[Tablets of the Divine Plan]]'', [[tdp:51|51]])

"The signature of that meeting should be the Spiritual Gathering (House of Spirituality) and the wisdom therein is that hereafter the government should not infer from the term “House of Justice” that a court is signified, that it is connected with political affairs, or that at any time it will interfere with governmental affairs."

:([['Abdu'l-Bahá]], ''[[Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá]]'' Vol. 1, p. [[tab:5|5]]).

“Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country’s constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government of their respective countries.”

:([[Shoghi Effendi]], ''[[World Order of Bahá'u'lláh]]'', p. [[wob:66|66]])

==Bahai Assemblies limited to internal governance==

“The Administrative Order is not a governmental or civic body, it is to regulate and guide the internal affairs of the Bahá’í community; consequently it works, according to its own procedure, best suited to its needs.

:([[On behalf of Shoghi Effendi]], ''[[Messages to Canada]]'', p. [[mc:276|276]])

“Not only with regard to publication, but all matters without any exception whatsoever, regarding the interests of the Cause in that locality … should be referred exclusively to the Spiritual Assembly … unless it be a matter of national interest, in which case it shall be referred to the national body. … By national affairs is not meant matters that are political in their character, for the friends of God the world over are strictly forbidden to meddle with political affairs in any way whatever, but rather things that affect the spiritual activities of the body of the friends in that land.”

:([[Shoghi Effendi]], ''[[Unfolding Destiny]]'', p. [[ud:8|8]])

==To categorize==

"If any person wishes to speak of government affairs, or to interfere with the order of Governors, the others must not combine with him because the Cause of God is withdrawn entirely from political affairs; the political realm pertains only to the Rulers of those matters: it has nothing to do with the souls who are exerting their utmost energy to harmonizing affairs, helping character and inciting (the people) to strive for perfections. Therefore no soul is allowed to interfere with (political) matters, but only in that which is commanded."

:([['Abdu’l-Bahá]], National Bahai Archives (USA), unpublished Tablets of 'Abdu’l-Bahá, printed in ''[[Bahá'í World Faith]]'', p. [[bwf:407|407]])

"The Constitutional Government, according to the irrefutable text of the Religion of God, is the cause of the glory and prosperity of the nation and the civilization and freedom of the people."

:([['Abdu’l-Bahá]], ''[[Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá]]'', p. [[tab:492|492]])

“I would warn [the Bahá’ís] to be on their guard lest the impression be given to the outside world that the Bahá’ís are political in their aims and pursuits or interfere in matters that pertain to the political activities of their respective governments. The Cause, still in its state of infancy, should be adequately protected from this particular danger….”

:([[Shoghi Effendi]], 13 November 1931 to an individual believer, cited in ''The Compilation of Compilations'', Vol II, p. 420; ''[[Youth (compilation)]]'', no. [https://bahai-library.com/compilation_youth#2248 2248])

==Though the international community's development concerns may have some legitimate grounds for concern in opening up role to religion for potential for dogmatic influences, excluding and censoring investigation of spiritual reality and deepest roots of human motivation in favor of orthodoxy of valueless relativism is a delusion==

"It may be argued that, since spiritual and moral issues have historically been bound up with contending theological doctrines which are not susceptible of objective proof, these issues lie outside the framework of the international community's development concerns. To accord them any significant role would be to open the door to precisely those dogmatic influences that have nurtured social conflict and blocked human progress. There is doubtless a measure of truth in such an argument. Exponents of the world's various theological systems bear a heavy responsibility not only for the disrepute into which faith itself has fallen among many progressive thinkers, but for the inhibitions and distortions produced in humanity's continuing discourse on spiritual meaning. To conclude, however, that the answer lies in discouraging the investigation of spiritual reality and ignoring the deepest roots of human motivation is a self-evident delusion. The sole effect, to the degree that such censorship has been achieved in recent history, has been to deliver the shaping of humanity's future into the hands of a new orthodoxy, one which argues that truth is amoral and facts are independent of values."

:([[Bahá'í International Community]] Office of Public Information, ''[[Prosperity of Humankind]]'', par. [https://bahai-library.com/bic_prosperity_humankind#41 41])

==Separation of church and state should not be used as a shield to block positive influence of religion in proposed international moral education campaign==

"We also believe the campaign will be successful only to the extent that the force of religion is relied upon in the effort. The doctrine of the separation of church and state should not be used as a shield to block this salutary influence. Specifically, religious communities will have to be drawn in as collaborative partners in this important initiative.

:([[Bahá'í International Community]], ''[[Turning Point for All Nations]], sec. [https://bahai-library.com/uhj_turning_point_nations#IVD1 IV.D.1])

==See also==
* [[Politics]] (non-political involvement)
* [[Obedience to government]]
* [[Public education in religion]]

==Todos for this page==
* Add more quotes about concept of constitutional, voluntary, democratic process toward Baha'i State, to support for separation in current environment, etc.

Bahai9 - User contributions [en]

Separation of church and state