Progressive Religion?

The Bahá'í faith is (as some sources claim) the second fastest growing religion in the world. And for a reason. When you break down some of the aspects of the Bahá'í faith you can see that it is a very progressive religion and has many features that are attractive to people of our modern world. The idea that the religion has the ability to evolve as well as other important details about the laws and teachings are the most attractive aspects of the Bahá'í faith.

One of the aspects of the religion that jumps out is how badly they are prosecuted against in the middle-east, in primarily muslim areas. This makes it a religion of losers, much like christianity; a religion where a prophet lives a lowly life and then is put to death. Bahá'u'lláh spent much time of his life in prison and was tortured. People naturally want to support the underdog, and this religion definitely hasn't had an easy time surviving. But of course this is not the only attractive part of this religion. The other intriguing aspect of this religion is that it has a progressive aspect. The messengers of God (the "Manifestations of God") have the ability to change a previous messengers teachings, and the idea that every time there is a new messenger, they become the central focus of the religion is something the differs from most religions. And this is definitely an aspect that seems to make a lot of sense, because times change and having a message relevant to the times is important. They recognize the messengers that Islam and Christianity follow, however they recognize that the teachings of their messengers will not always be relevant to the times. Not being stuck to the teachings of a messenger who lived over 2000 years ago, is a smart idea because it helps to make it relevant to the times and that makes it easier to apply the religion to peoples own lives.

This brings us to some seemingly very modern ideas in the Bahá'í faith. The equality of men and women is something that differs from the muslim religion which the Bahá'í faith essentially broke off of, and it is certainly attractive to many women in the world who are struggling for equality. Another attractive quality of the Bahá'í faith is the belief that science and religion should exist harmoniously. Nothing in science should contradict any aspect of the faith and nothing the faith should contradict any aspect of science. This is to many people a refreshing view coming from major religions that reject many aspects of science. And yet another aspect of he Bahá'í faith that seems particularly attractive to the modern world in which we live is the idea that as a member of the faith you are required to abstain from partisan politics. This would look to many like a refreshing view in our confusing and frustrating world of politics.

Now, I would not say the the Bahá'í is a perfect faith; for there are aspects that are going to drive many people away and are not progressive and are a bit odd and do not promote equality. For starters, only two people ever have seen the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, the general population of members is not allowed to interpret the scriptures. This is very very different from other religions and very much limits people's freedom to apply their religion to their own lives. The Bahá'í faith is also against homosexuality; it is prohibited to engage in any homosexual action. Clearly this makes it less appealing to those looking for a progressive faith and doesn't not go along with the idea of equality and justice which the faith stands for.

Though the Bahá'í faith has it's bad parts, it is (compared to many of todays major religions) a fairly progressive religion with some good ideas. And the fact that it has 6 million members in over 200 countries and is growing at a fast rate is an encouraging fact.