Separation of Church and State
Documents
- https://bahai-library.com/uhj_theocracy
- https://bahai-library.com/uhj_messages_1986_2001#Activities_of_Bahá’ís_in_Relation_to_Governments
- https://bahai-library.com/uhj_takfir
- https://bahai-library.com/uhj_turning_point_nations#IVD1
Lack of government interference by Bahá'ís
Bahá'ís not to seek government authority
“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.”
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."
Assemblies do not interfere with governmental affairs or assume such authority
"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. 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.”
"You also ask how these statements could be reconciled...with the following words in his letter of 21 March 1932 addressed to the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada:
- 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.
"As for the statement made by Shoghi Effendi in his letter of 21 March 1932, the well-established principles of the Faith concerning the relationship of the Bahá'í institutions to those of the country in which the Bahá'ís reside make it unthinkable that they would ever purpose to violate a country's constitution or so to meddle in its political machinery as to attempt to take over the powers of government. This is an integral element of the Bahá'í principle of abstention from involvement in politics. However, this does not by any means imply that the country itself may not, by constitutional means, decide to adopt Bahá'í laws and practices and modify its constitution or method of government accordingly..."
“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.
See also
Future voluntary, democratic process toward Bahá'í World Commonwealth of future uniting spiritual and civil authority
Letters
While this cycle of the House of Justice currently has little connection to temporal matters and temporal matters are subservient to spiritual matters, this cycle does embrace temporal as well as spiritual matters
"Ye have asked concerning the wisdom of referring certain important laws to the House of Justice. Before all else, this divine cycle is purely heavenly and spiritual, and concerned with the matters of the soul. It hath but little connection to physical, temporal, or worldly matters. The Christian dispensation was in like manner solely spiritual. Thus, in the entire New Testament, there appeareth naught but the prohibition of divorce and the allusion to the abrogation of the Sabbath. Even as He saith, 'the Son of man came not to judge the world but to save the world'. This most great cycle is likewise of purely spiritual character and is the bestower of life eternal. For the head cornerstone of the religion of God consisteth in refining the characters, reforming the manners, and improving the attributes of men. The purpose is that beings that are veiled may see, and that dark and defective realities may become illumined.
"All other ordinances are subservient to faith, certitude, confidence, and understanding. This blessed cycle being however the greatest of all divine cycles, it embraceth all spiritual and temporal matters, and is endowed with the utmost power and sovereignty...
(Tablet misleading if only citing first paragraph)
"The second issue causing you concern is that of relating other excerpts from Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which have appeared on the Internet to the statement of the House of Justice that the future Bahá'í World Commonwealth will unite spiritual and civil authority...
"The extract presented on the Internet is that translated and appearing as the first paragraph of this passage. It is clear that use of that portion of the passage alone, out of context, conveys a misleading impression which is immediately rectified by perusal of the entire passage. The statement of 'Abdu'l-Bahá that the Bahá'í Faith "embraceth all spiritual and temporal matters" is consonant with that of the House of Justice about the future Bahá'í World Commonwealth."
All affairs are committed to just kings, presidents, and Trustees of the House of Justice
According to the fundamental laws which We have formerly revealed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and other Tablets, all affairs are committed to the care of just kings and presidents and of the Trustees of the House of Justice.
Ministers of the House of Justice to promote the Lesser Peace
"It is incumbent upon the ministers of the House of Justice to promote the Lesser Peace so that the people of the earth may be relieved from the burden of exorbitant expenditures. This matter is imperative and absolutely essential, inasmuch as hostilities and conflict lie at the root of affliction and calamity."
All matters of State to be referred to the House of Justice
"All matters of State should be referred to the House of Justice, but acts of worship must be observed according to that which God hath revealed in His Book."
House of Justice endowed with political as well as religious function, blending church and state and under power of Bahá'u'lláh
"He [Bahá’u’lláh] has ordained and established the House of Justice, which is endowed with a political as well as a religious function, the consummate union and blending of church and state. This institution is under the protecting power of Bahá’u’lláh Himself."
- (Attributed to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, 1982 ed., p. 455)
Not using present-day separation to block moral influence of religion
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. 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.
Historical developments of separation of Church and State affecting the Bahá'í community
Events in the Near and Middle East leading to development of separation of Church and State
"Events, of a startling character and of the utmost significance to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, have recently transpired throughout the Near and Middle East in such rapid succession, that I feel moved to write about them to those who, in distant lands and with eager hearts, are waiting to witness the fulfillment of the prophecies of Bahá'u'lláh. You will, I am certain, rejoice with me to learn that the quickening forces of internal reform are swiftly awakening from their age-long slumber of negligence those lands which, trodden by the feet of Bahá'u'lláh and wherein are enshrined the memorable scenes of His birth, His ministry, His exiles, His banishments, His suffering and His ascension, are destined in the fulness of time to play a pre-eminent role in the regeneration of the East--nay of all mankind."
"From a communication addressed to me recently by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia, as well as from reliable reports submitted by the local representatives of the Persian believers, and confirmed by the vivid narrative of visiting pilgrims, it is becoming increasingly manifest that the glowing promises so many times uttered by our departed Master are, with extraordinary exactitude and remarkable swiftness, being successively fulfilled... In matters of dress; in the obligatory enforcement of a uniform style of national head-gear; in the strict limitation of the number, the rights and the prerogatives of high ecclesiastical officials; in the growing unpopularity of the veil among almost every section of society; in the marked distinction which unofficially and in various phases of public life is being made by an enlightened and pressing minority between the tottering forms of a discredited Ecclesiasticism and the civil rights and duties of civilized society; in the general laxity in religious observances and ceremonies; in the slow and hidden process of secularization invading many a government department under the courageous guidance of the Governors of outlying provinces--in all of these a discerning eye can easily discover the symptoms that augur well for a future that is sure to witness the formal and complete separation of Church and State."
- (Shoghi Effendi, Bahá'í Administration, pp. 147-149 passim)
Passage is not enunciating a general principle but enumerating factors impinging on development of the Faith
"You also ask how these statements could be reconciled with Shoghi Effendi's comment on page 149 of Bahá'í Administration, which appears to anticipate "a future that is sure to witness the formal and complete separation of Church and State"...
"A careful reading of the letter dated 6 December 1928 in which the Guardian's comment about the separation of Church and State occurs would suggest that, rather than enunciating a general principle, Shoghi Effendi is simply reviewing "the quickening forces of internal reform" that had "recently transpired throughout the Near and Middle East", and enumerating a number of factors that impinge on the development of the Faith in those parts of the world."
See also
- Bahá'í State
- Politics (non-political involvement)
- Obedience to government
- Public education in religion
To-dos 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.
