Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 98
to the expectations and demands of the administration is indicative of spiritual inadequacy.
As one House member put it:
In your community you may be aware of the fact that people are drifting
away from the Faith. Why? Because they have neglected that sense of
heightened spiritual consciousness. They‘re becoming bitter, they‘re becoming
disillusioned, they‘re becoming frustrated, they‘re giving up on the Baha‘i
community -not because there is anything wrong with the Baha‘i community
or the Baha‘i Faith, because they have failed in their primary duty as Baha‘is
to develop this sense of heightened spiritual consciousness.15
The House of Justice, however, has recently announced, as one of its goals, that the
community begin reaching out to alienated Baha‘is, so a change in this attitude is in the
air.16
There is a real sense, among those Baha‘is that experience this disillusionment, of being
hoodwinked or betrayed. They believe they are joining a broad-minded and tolerant religion
and become actively involved in its promotion, only to run up against authoritarian
expectations that they find insupportable. Since individual experience and tolerance towards
authority figures vary, it sometimes takes years for that limit to be reached, leaving former
members expressing bitterness and loss for the portion of their lives they spent promoting
the religion and serving the needs of the administration.
The dynamic of life in the Baha‘i community and particularly the central role of
administration are often hidden from prospective converts. Non-Baha‘is are not allowed at
any administrative event, including the main worship service, the Nineteen Day Feast, since
this includes time set aside for the discussion of community business. Those who defend the
status quo within the Faith expect that once persons have faith in Baha‘u‘llah, they will quite
naturally become ―deepened‖ (i.e., more knowledgeable) in the religion and accept the
authority claims of the administration. In a talk on scholarship, Baha‘i notable John Hatcher
referred to a resignation letter of a prominent Baha‘i academic, who renounced belief in
Baha‘u‘llah based on institutional action against Baha‘i intellectuals. Hatcher responds this
way:
The individual has wonderful credentials...what‘s the problem in this
reasoning? Answer: it is illogical, because if you accept Baha‘u‘llah, then ―He
doeth what He willeth‖ and His promise is: ―I will perplex you‖. If you judge
the infallibility of an institution by its decisions, this is backwards. It presumes
that the individual is infallible and can make such a judgment!
The logic ―should‖ go like this: first establish Baha‘u‘llah is who He says He is
after that you do not question ‗Abdu‘l-Baha‘s infallibility. Without the links of
the Covenant it all comes crashing down.17
Since the administration derives its authority primarily from the Will and Testament of
‗Abdu‘l-Baha, acceptance of UHJ infallibility is expected to automatically follow belief in his
authority. As a practical matter this means that once converts are emotionally attached to
the Faith by belief in Baha‘u‘llah, they can be led to accept less palatable aspects of Baha‘i
life. Or, if they can‘t, they are free to leave. However, there is little awareness of or
sympathy for the experience of the convert who believes he has found the enlightened
religion he is looking for, only to find one aspect or another intolerable.
Some of these disillusioning aspects are simple and straightforward. For example, some
converts do not discover until after they are members that women are excluded from
service on the UHJ, in spite of the religion‘s clear teaching on the equality of the sexes. This
ruling is based upon interpretations made by Shoghi Effendi, and so it is deemed impossible
to change. However, since this particular policy does not touch the average Baha‘i‘s life
to the expectations and demands of the administration is indicative of spiritual inadequacy.
As one House member put it:
In your community you may be aware of the fact that people are drifting
away from the Faith. Why? Because they have neglected that sense of
heightened spiritual consciousness. They‘re becoming bitter, they‘re becoming
disillusioned, they‘re becoming frustrated, they‘re giving up on the Baha‘i
community -not because there is anything wrong with the Baha‘i community
or the Baha‘i Faith, because they have failed in their primary duty as Baha‘is
to develop this sense of heightened spiritual consciousness.15
The House of Justice, however, has recently announced, as one of its goals, that the
community begin reaching out to alienated Baha‘is, so a change in this attitude is in the
air.16
There is a real sense, among those Baha‘is that experience this disillusionment, of being
hoodwinked or betrayed. They believe they are joining a broad-minded and tolerant religion
and become actively involved in its promotion, only to run up against authoritarian
expectations that they find insupportable. Since individual experience and tolerance towards
authority figures vary, it sometimes takes years for that limit to be reached, leaving former
members expressing bitterness and loss for the portion of their lives they spent promoting
the religion and serving the needs of the administration.
The dynamic of life in the Baha‘i community and particularly the central role of
administration are often hidden from prospective converts. Non-Baha‘is are not allowed at
any administrative event, including the main worship service, the Nineteen Day Feast, since
this includes time set aside for the discussion of community business. Those who defend the
status quo within the Faith expect that once persons have faith in Baha‘u‘llah, they will quite
naturally become ―deepened‖ (i.e., more knowledgeable) in the religion and accept the
authority claims of the administration. In a talk on scholarship, Baha‘i notable John Hatcher
referred to a resignation letter of a prominent Baha‘i academic, who renounced belief in
Baha‘u‘llah based on institutional action against Baha‘i intellectuals. Hatcher responds this
way:
The individual has wonderful credentials...what‘s the problem in this
reasoning? Answer: it is illogical, because if you accept Baha‘u‘llah, then ―He
doeth what He willeth‖ and His promise is: ―I will perplex you‖. If you judge
the infallibility of an institution by its decisions, this is backwards. It presumes
that the individual is infallible and can make such a judgment!
The logic ―should‖ go like this: first establish Baha‘u‘llah is who He says He is
after that you do not question ‗Abdu‘l-Baha‘s infallibility. Without the links of
the Covenant it all comes crashing down.17
Since the administration derives its authority primarily from the Will and Testament of
‗Abdu‘l-Baha, acceptance of UHJ infallibility is expected to automatically follow belief in his
authority. As a practical matter this means that once converts are emotionally attached to
the Faith by belief in Baha‘u‘llah, they can be led to accept less palatable aspects of Baha‘i
life. Or, if they can‘t, they are free to leave. However, there is little awareness of or
sympathy for the experience of the convert who believes he has found the enlightened
religion he is looking for, only to find one aspect or another intolerable.
Some of these disillusioning aspects are simple and straightforward. For example, some
converts do not discover until after they are members that women are excluded from
service on the UHJ, in spite of the religion‘s clear teaching on the equality of the sexes. This
ruling is based upon interpretations made by Shoghi Effendi, and so it is deemed impossible
to change. However, since this particular policy does not touch the average Baha‘i‘s life
