"We testify that when [Christ] came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things ... Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him." - Baha'u'llah
That both science and religion have roles to play in the development process can no longer be a matter of debate. Sociological and organizational questions relating to social and economic development must, of necessity, refer to spiritual perspectives and values. However, the manner in which spiritual perspectives are integrated into development activities must involve the same logical and rigorous methods employed by science. This will ensure that development efforts are anchored to tangible and objective outcomes. Indeed, if religion is to be the partner of science in the development arena, its specific contributions must be carefully scrutinized. It is, unfortunately, the case that established religion is often burdened by doctrines and practices that militate against efforts to improve material conditions. Sectarian teachings that encourage passivity, acceptance of poverty, social exclusion or inequality between the sexes must be weighed against more universal spiritual concepts that emphasize the importance of justice and service to others. Therefore, a new approach to development must also seek to identify traditions of paternalism and other patterns of behavior that serve to undermine development initiatives.
This page was last updated on: August 19, 2009
The creation of a climate of religious tolerance is a challenge that faces religious leaders, educators, the media, and government officials especially. Many believers find it difficult to reconcile deep religious conviction with tolerance of other beliefs. It is tempting to insist that one has discovered the one and only truth and to relegate the remaining masses of humanity, adhering to other beliefs, to the status of apostates or unbelievers, spiritually doomed, deserving pity at best, or outright ridicule and persecution at worst. Throughout history too many sincere people in every part of the world have fallen victim to this thinking. In the Bahá'í view, such attitudes are, in part, the product of ignorance. If other religions are shrouded in mystery, then they become an empty vessel into which the individual is tempted to pour fears and fantasies. Experience shows that ignorance breeds superstition and perpetuates religious prejudice and animosity. The effectiveness of any individual grows as he is taught to appreciate through the exercise of his own faculties, the way in which diversity of faith enriches social life. Bahá'u'lláh urges the right of the individual to freely investigate truth for himself as a principle essential to the advancement of civilization. In order to exercise this capacity fully, however, one must be able to read. One great value of literacy, therefore, is the access it gives ordinary people to the scriptures of their own faith as well as to the sacred texts of other faiths. The most powerful remedy for religious superstition and contention is an examination of the original teachings of the founders of the world's great faiths. No student of comparative religion can fail to be struck by the extraordinary degree of harmony to be found in these original scriptures. Certainly, a fair-minded examination of these principal sources for the civilizing of human nature will reveal nothing to support the animosities that pit one religious community against another. Lamentably, some sectarian leaders discourage investigation of other beliefs and even dissuade their followers from fully investigating the truth of their own religious teachings. Such attitudes foster prejudice, and lead, all too often, to violent attacks on believers of other faiths. Indeed, one of the strangest and saddest features of the current outbreak of religious fanaticism is the extent to which, in each case, it is undermining not only the spiritual values which are conducive to the unity of mankind but also those unique moral victories won by the particular religion it purports to serve. Bahá'u'lláh taught that the primary purpose of religion is to "establish unity and concord amongst the people of the world." Governments, NGOs, and citizens' groups who are struggling to mobilize a common response to the various crises afflicting our world have the right to expect from religious leadership a similar willingness to sacrifice dogmas and sectarian interests that inhibit the mobilization of humanity's spiritual resources. 
©1999-2009
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís
of Clatsop County Oregon
91997 HWY 202 Astoria OR 97103
503-338-8469
bahai.sec.clatsopco@twowings.net
