The Bahai Faith has hijacked the word "unity" to mean something else. For example religious "unity" actually means "we know more about your religion than you do and you're wrong about topic x,y,z" and "unity of the world" actually means a Baha'i hegemony where everyone has adopted their beliefs and are subjected to censorship and excommunication for stepping out of line. And "unity" in a Baha'i community is more about remaining silent, falling in line, and avoiding conflict. This is a horrible, Orwelian dystopia and not at all what normal people think of when they use the word "unity".
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Baha'i electoral system
Baha'i Law, Baha'u'llah, House of Justice (UHJ), Loyalty, Personal Observations
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Baha'is can't even vote for the UHJ. They elect delegates (each NSA determines what geographic areas get delegates and how many) and the delegates elect the National Spiritual Assembly, and the National Spiritual Assembly members are the only ones who actually get to vote for the UHJ (and in practice they only vote for members of the International Teaching Centre... who are appointed by the UHJ). Baha'i democracy is basically a sham anyway, especially nowadays. It's an entirely top down system with 'campaigns' being forbidden so nobody elected has any accountability and nobody has any idea what people serving actually do. Appointed officers of the Faith like ABM's and Counsellors excercise most of the control over what Bahai's actually do nowadays, with LSA's being limited to organizing pot-luck dinners for the most part in practice.
The Faith's ultimate goal is unity through establishing an unchallengable global theocracy ruled by the UHJ, however a lot of Baha'is aren't really aware of this despite the UHJ very firmly stating this in this letter: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19950427_001/1#985937741. Sen McGlinn wrote a book arguing that the Faith allowed for separation of Church and State and in response the UHJ released communications denouncing him and expelled him from the Baha'i community which is a nice preview of what Baha'i unity would be if they could get more than 0.000000001% of the population to convert. Despite this a lot of Baha'is, especially on reddit, seem to think the Faith believes in a seperation of Church and State, probably because the Ruhi books don't go into this and the Faith generally lets people believe whatever keeps them donating to the fund.
As to your question of how non-Baha'is not having a vote in their government in a hypothetical Baha'i state, as mentioned above the vast majority of Baha'is would also have no say in their government. While the Faith incorporates elections it believes in an unlimited totalitarian authoriatarian approach to governing society where the only protections from corruption and institutional abuse are the benevelonce of the institution itself and faith in divine intervention.
Quotes:
"That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness."
"True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it." - https://bahaiquotes.com/subject/submission
"The Guardian believes that a great deal of the difficulties from which the believers... feel themselves to be suffering are caused by their neither correctly understanding or putting into practice and administration. They seem -- many of them -- to be prone to continually challenging and criticizing the decisions of their Assemblies. If the Bahá’ís undermine the very leaders which are, however immaturely, seeking to coordinate Bahá’í activities and administer Bahá’í affairs, if they continually criticize their acts and challenge or belittle their decisions, they not only prevent any real rapid progress in the Faith's development from taking place, but they repel outsiders who quite rightly may ask however expect to unite the whole world when we are so disunited among ourselves!"
"There can be no protection for the Faith unless the friends are willing to submit to their administrative bodies, especially when these are acting in good faith; the individual believers are not in a position to judge their national Body. If any wrong has been done we must leave it in the hands of god, knowing, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, that he will right it, and in the meantime not disrupt the Cause of God by constantly harping on these matters." - https://www.bahaiquotes.com/subject/assemblies-obedience
"Once a decision has been reached, all members of the consultative body, having had the opportunity fully to state their views, agree wholeheartedly to support the outcome. What if the minority view is right? “If they agree upon a subject,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained, “even though it be wrong, it is better than to disagree and be in the right, for this difference will produce the demolition of the divine foundation. Though one of the parties may be in the right and they disagree, that will be the cause of a thousand wrongs, but if they agree and both parties are in the wrong, as it is in unity, the truth will be revealed and the wrong made right.” Implicit in this approach to the social utility of thought is the profundity of the change in the standard of public discussion intended by Bahá’u’lláh for a mature society." - https://www.bahai.org/documents/the-universal-house-of-justice/individual-rights-freedoms
"One delegate then asked about the income of NSA members and other employees of the Faith, inquiring as to whether some families earned large incomes from the Fund, and asking whether or not the Universal House of Justice could be consulted about what the delegate perceived as a widespread national concern over executive compensation. William Davis then replied, saying that the NSA reviews the financial needs of full-time executive employees annually, and that the UHJ is then apprised of the arrangements. Davis then expounded on the differences between the checks and balances in the "old world" US system, saying that lack of trust is endemic to it. He then questioned the faith in the Covenant of those who would mistrust the NSA, while saying that the question itself was a legitimate one." - https://bahai-library.com/langness_report_1995_convention
The Faith's ultimate goal is unity through establishing an unchallengable global theocracy ruled by the UHJ, however a lot of Baha'is aren't really aware of this despite the UHJ very firmly stating this in this letter: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19950427_001/1#985937741. Sen McGlinn wrote a book arguing that the Faith allowed for separation of Church and State and in response the UHJ released communications denouncing him and expelled him from the Baha'i community which is a nice preview of what Baha'i unity would be if they could get more than 0.000000001% of the population to convert. Despite this a lot of Baha'is, especially on reddit, seem to think the Faith believes in a seperation of Church and State, probably because the Ruhi books don't go into this and the Faith generally lets people believe whatever keeps them donating to the fund.
As to your question of how non-Baha'is not having a vote in their government in a hypothetical Baha'i state, as mentioned above the vast majority of Baha'is would also have no say in their government. While the Faith incorporates elections it believes in an unlimited totalitarian authoriatarian approach to governing society where the only protections from corruption and institutional abuse are the benevelonce of the institution itself and faith in divine intervention.
Quotes:
"That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness."
"True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it." - https://bahaiquotes.com/subject/submission
"The Guardian believes that a great deal of the difficulties from which the believers... feel themselves to be suffering are caused by their neither correctly understanding or putting into practice and administration. They seem -- many of them -- to be prone to continually challenging and criticizing the decisions of their Assemblies. If the Bahá’ís undermine the very leaders which are, however immaturely, seeking to coordinate Bahá’í activities and administer Bahá’í affairs, if they continually criticize their acts and challenge or belittle their decisions, they not only prevent any real rapid progress in the Faith's development from taking place, but they repel outsiders who quite rightly may ask however expect to unite the whole world when we are so disunited among ourselves!"
"There can be no protection for the Faith unless the friends are willing to submit to their administrative bodies, especially when these are acting in good faith; the individual believers are not in a position to judge their national Body. If any wrong has been done we must leave it in the hands of god, knowing, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, that he will right it, and in the meantime not disrupt the Cause of God by constantly harping on these matters." - https://www.bahaiquotes.com/subject/assemblies-obedience
"Once a decision has been reached, all members of the consultative body, having had the opportunity fully to state their views, agree wholeheartedly to support the outcome. What if the minority view is right? “If they agree upon a subject,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained, “even though it be wrong, it is better than to disagree and be in the right, for this difference will produce the demolition of the divine foundation. Though one of the parties may be in the right and they disagree, that will be the cause of a thousand wrongs, but if they agree and both parties are in the wrong, as it is in unity, the truth will be revealed and the wrong made right.” Implicit in this approach to the social utility of thought is the profundity of the change in the standard of public discussion intended by Bahá’u’lláh for a mature society." - https://www.bahai.org/documents/the-universal-house-of-justice/individual-rights-freedoms
"One delegate then asked about the income of NSA members and other employees of the Faith, inquiring as to whether some families earned large incomes from the Fund, and asking whether or not the Universal House of Justice could be consulted about what the delegate perceived as a widespread national concern over executive compensation. William Davis then replied, saying that the NSA reviews the financial needs of full-time executive employees annually, and that the UHJ is then apprised of the arrangements. Davis then expounded on the differences between the checks and balances in the "old world" US system, saying that lack of trust is endemic to it. He then questioned the faith in the Covenant of those who would mistrust the NSA, while saying that the question itself was a legitimate one." - https://bahai-library.com/langness_report_1995_convention
https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/1lkmu1y/unity/