List of Bahá’í principles
The teachings of the Bahá’í Faith include a number of principles which define the nature of the individual's relationships with God and other human beings, and the proper functioning of society. They address the oneness of God, religion, and humanity; the role of religion; the establishment of justice and unity in the world; education and the acquisition of knowledge; and the development of structures and institutions as foundations for a global civilization with both material and spiritual characteristics. This article lists some of the most well-known of these principles; a fuller treatment of Bahá’í teachings can be found at Teachings.
For the purposes of proclaiming the Bahá’í Faith, some of its well-known principles are sometimes presented in the form of short lists of varied length. A common example would be the three onenesses (the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of mankind). Another common type of list presented twelve principles sourced from the talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the West; these were used extensively for proclamation of the Faith during the 20th century. In reality, Bahá'u'lláh revealed a great many social and spiritual principles, and it is not accurate to limit them to just a few.[1]
Principles proclaimed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá[edit]
During His journeys to the West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delivered talks on a variety of topics, including the foundational principles revealed by Bahá’u’lláh. He cited different principles in different talks and communications; as such, there is not a single canonical list. Shoghi Effendi summarizes these principles as follows:
| “ | The independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition; the oneness of the entire human race, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith; the basic unity of all religions; the condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national; the harmony which must exist between religion and science; the equality of men and women, the two wings on which the bird of human kind is able to soar; the introduction of compulsory education; the adoption of a universal auxiliary language; the abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution of a world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations; the exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank of worship; the glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the protection of all peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind--these stand out as the essential elements of that Divine polity which He proclaimed to leaders of public thought as well as to the masses at large in the course of these missionary journeys. | ” |
| — God Passes By, pp. 281–282 | ||
Volume 2 of The Bahá’í World presents the following list of principles attributed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:[2]
- Unfettered search after truth and the abandonment of all superstition and prejudice.
- The Oneness of Mankind: all are "leaves of one tree, flowers in one garden."
- Religion must be the cause of love and harmony, else it is no religion.
- All religions are one in their fundamental principles.
- Religion must conform with science. Faith and reason must be in full accord.
- Universal Peace: the establishment of a universal League of Nations, of international arbitration and an International Parliament.
- The adoption of an auxiliary international language which shall be taught in all the schools of the world.
- Compulsory education especially for girls, who will be the mothers and the first educators of the next generation.
- Equal opportunities of development and equal rights and privileges for both sexes.
- Work for all: no idle rich and no idle poor. "Work in the spirit of service is worship."
- Abolition of extremes of poverty and wealth: care for the needy.
- Recognition of the Unity of God and obedience to His commands as revealed through His divine Manifestations.
As listed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá[edit]
In His talks and communications, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sometimes presented Bahá’u’lláh's teachings in list form. The following is a table which presents a number of the principles cited by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in such lists. These principles are sourced from seven of his communications and talks in the West (noted below), and are sorted by the frequency with which they appeared in these lists.
| Freq. | Principle | References |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Independent investigation of truth |
|
| 7 | Unity of science and religion |
|
| 7 | Elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty |
|
| 7 | Unity of humanity |
|
| 6 | Power of the Holy Spirit |
|
| 6 | Religion the cause of love and unity |
|
| 6 | Abolition of prejudice |
|
| 6 | Equality of men and women |
|
| 5 | Universal peace / Most Great Peace |
|
| 4 | Universal education |
|
| 3 | Unity of religion |
|
| 2 | Universal (auxiliary) language |
|
| 2 | Equality of all mankind |
|
| Other principles mentioned once |
| |
Key to sources[edit]
- ABL: 'Abdu'l-Bahá in London, 30 September 1911, p. 27. 9 principles presented.
- HAG: Tablet to The Hague, 17 December 1919. 14 principles presented.
- MOH: Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration; "Oneness of the Reality of Humankind", 15 May 1912. 8 principles presented.
- PT: Paris Talks (talks given in November 1911). 11 principles presented.
- PUP: Promulgation of Universal Peace
- 105: Talk at Hotel Schenley, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 7 May 1912; p. 105. 8 principles presented.
- 440: Talk at Genealogical Hall, 252 West Fifty-eighth Street, New York City, 17 November 1912; p. 440. 13 principles presented.
- 453: Talk at Home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward B. Kinney, 780 West End Avenue, New York City, 2 December 1912; p.453. 12 principles presented.
Use in proclamation[edit]
The “three onenesses”[edit]
The principles of the oneness (or unity) of humanity, of religion, and of God are considered central to the Bahá’í Faith, and are often prominently cited together, being known as "the three onenesses":[3]
| “ | ...the three fundamental verities animating and underlying the Bahá’í Faith -- the Unity of God, the Unity of His Prophets, the Unity of Mankind. | ” |
| — The Guardian’s message on the occasion of the dedication of the Mother Temple of the West | ||
“Twelve principles”[edit]
In the aim of proclaiming the Bahá’í Faith to wide audiences, some Bahá’í materials cited lists of twelve principles, or "twelve basic Bahá’í teachings", which were effective at attracting interest.[4][5] As a result, references to "the twelve principles" of the Cause became common in Bahá’í circles during the 20th century.
The earliest such references arose after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's journeys to the West from 1911 to 1913, during which time He proclaimed the Bahá’í Faith widely. These presentations appear to be the original source of most of the lists of principles in common use. In 1917, Charles Mason Remey created a pamphlet presenting a list of twelve principles sourced from these talks, which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá approved for publication in a communication published in Star of the West.[6] By the 1930s, such lists were in common enough use that speakers made them the focus of talks,[7] and they were printed on placards for use in informational displays.[8]
Although these lists were widely used in proclamation, Rúḥíyyih Khánum stated that references to "twelve principles" of the Bahá’í Faith were "misleading", as "Bahá’u’lláh never mentioned such a thing":
| “ | If you stop and count the social principles given by Bahá’u’lláh they come to much more than twelve, and if you study the talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá you will see that He mentioned different principles in His different talks. So it is very misleading to always refer to ‘Twelve Principles’. | ” |
| — THE GREAT SAFARI | ||
The most common list[edit]
The most commonly cited list of "twelve principles" is sourced from a talk given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Genealogical Hall in New York City on 17 November 1912. Notably, this talk also included "The protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit" as a principle, to make a total of thirteen; it is left out of the list of twelve. The list appears below, including variations in common use, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's original wording as recorded in The Promulgation of Universal Peace.
| Common wording (incl. variations) | Abdu'l-Baha's wording[w 1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The oneness of mankind (or: The oneness of the world of humanity) | The oneness of the world of humanity | |
| 2 | Independent investigation of truth | Independent investigation of truth | |
| 3 | The foundation of all religion(s) is one | The foundation of all religion is one | |
| 4 | Religion must be the cause of unity | Religion must be the cause of unity | |
| 5 | Religion must be in accord with science and reason (or: Religion must accord with science and reason) | Religion must accord with science and reason | |
| 6 | Equality between men and women (or: Equality of men and women) | Equality between men and women | |
| 7 | Prejudice of all kinds must be forgotten (or: The abolition of all forms of prejudice, ...) | The abandoning of all prejudices among mankind | |
| 8 | Universal peace | Universal peace | |
| 9 | Universal education | Universal education | |
| 10 | Spiritual solution (of/to) (the) economic problem(s) | Solution of the economic problem | |
| 11 | A universal language (or: Universal auxiliary language) | A universal language | |
| 12 | (An) international tribunal | An international tribunal | |
Notes
| |||
Examples in books and pamphlets[edit]
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Examples in public displays[edit]
Lists of Bahá’í principles are often included in informational displays, for example, when Bahá’ís host booths or exhibits at fairs and other public gatherings, or at other large events such as National Conventions. On occasion, they are also displayed in public-facing areas of Bahá’í centres.
The list of "twelve principles" cited above often appeared with the principles written in order and numbered, with occasional variations in wording. They also sometimes appeared without numbers in a different order. At other times, different lists appeared which left out some of these principles or substituted them for others.
“Twelve principles”, original order
-
Wilmette Temple, National Convention, 1942 -
Kahului County Fair, Maui, Hawaii, 1947 -
Providence, Rhode Island, 1952 -
Dane County Junior Fair, Wisconsin, 1957 -
Royal Agricultural Show, Perth, Australia, 1963
“Twelve principles”, alternate order
-
Mississippi State Fair, 1952 -
Wilmette Temple, 1954 -
Montevideo, Uruguay, 1955 -
International Fair, Nice, France, 1966 -
Bahá’í sign in Tuvalu, 2008
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Other lists
-
World Religion Day poster, 1957 -
Los Angeles County Fair, 1969 -
Santa Monica, California, 1973 -
Bahá’í Centre, Montreal, Canada, 2006 -
Bahá’í Centre, Bangalore, India, 2009
Notes[edit]
- ↑ From an account of the travels of Rúḥíyyih Khánum titled THE GREAT SAFARI
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1928). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. New York City, NY. Volume 2 (1926-1928), Pg(s) 3-4. View as PDF.
- ↑ The American Bahá’í (1992). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 23, Issue 6, pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ Star of the West (June 5, 1919). Bahai News Service. Volume 10, Issue 5. Pg(s) 90. View as PDF.
- ↑ Star of the West (November, 1931). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 22, Issue 8. Pg(s) 239. View as PDF.
- ↑ Star of the West (September 8, 1917). Bahai News Service. Volume 8, Issue 10. Pg(s) 133-134. View as PDF.
- ↑ Star of the West (March, 1932). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Volume 22, Issue 12. Pg(s) 371. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1931). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 57, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
References[edit]
- Shoghi Effendi, cited in The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 12 (1950-1954), Pg(s) 141. View as PDF.
- Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 501, Pg(s) 19-20. View as PDF.
External links[edit]
- "Principles of the Bahá'í Faith". bahai.com. Retrieved 2025-02-16.
- "Bahai Activities. Power of Abdul Baha—Regeneration" Newspaper article in which Hand of the Cause Louis G. Gregory lists twelve principles.
