In the Baha’i Faith, there is a clear tension between its universal message of unity and its dogmatic and theocratic institutional claims.

I. The Absolute Claim of the Baha’i Faith

The Baha’i Faith presents itself as a universal world religion, claiming to complete and fulfill all previous historical faiths.

Scope and Fulfillment

• Universal Scope: The claim is explicitly universal, envisioning the eventual inclusion of all humanity within the Baha’i system.

• Superseding Revelation: Baha’is regard Baha’u’llah as a new Manifestation of God with a revelation intended for the entire world. This revelation fulfills and supersedes all previous religious dispensations—Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others—rendering their laws and rites no longer binding.

• Temporal Exclusivity: Baha’u’llah’s revelation inaugurates a new, all-encompassing cycle (the Baha’i Cycle). During the current thousand-year period, the Baha’i Faith is the sole divinely valid religion. The simultaneous validity of multiple independent religions is explicitly denied. The Baha’i law revealed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas is absolutely and universally binding.

• Prophetic Authority: The authority of Baha’u’llah is regarded as absolute and infallible. No criticism of his revealed knowledge is permitted.

The Theocratic Goal

The Absolute Claim extends into the social realm through the goal of establishing a theocratic world order.

• The envisioned system is a universal commonwealth governed exclusively by Baha’i law and principles.

• Baha’i social laws are intended to be binding even for non-Baha’is within this anticipated order.

• This system requires the overcoming of national sovereignty and the replacement of existing religious and political systems with a centralized Baha’i administration.

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II. The Doctrine and Promotion of Tolerance

The Baha’i Faith publicly promotes significant ideals of tolerance, unity, and openness, especially in its ethical teachings and its appeals to Western audiences.

Principles of Unity and Brotherhood

• Global Unity: The Faith teaches the unity of humanity, nations, and religions, calling for the elimination of all religious, racial, and national prejudices. Loving the entire human race is presented as the highest virtue.

• Peace and Nonviolence: Baha’u’llah firmly rejected holy war and violence, marking a clear departure from elements of early Babism.

• Religious Dialogue: The Faith affirms the divine origin of the major scriptural religions and views them as different expressions of one eternal religious truth.

• Intellectual Freedom and Science: The human intellect is held in high regard, and the Faith teaches the harmony of science and religion: “Any religion not in accord with science is ignorance.” It also upholds the principle of the independent search for truth and states that no one should be coerced into belief.

Pragmatic Tolerance During the ‘Abdu’l-Baha Era

The period of ‘Abdu’l-Baha (1892–1921) was marked by an outward emphasis on tolerance and flexibility.

• ‘Abdu’l-Baha minimized complex Persian theosophy and legal details when addressing Western audiences, presenting the Faith primarily as a religion of unity, love, and reason.

• He largely refrained from emphasizing the absolute doctrinal claims of Baha’u’llah and instead portrayed the Faith as an inclusive, ecumenical movement, easing Western concerns about the strict legal prescriptions of the Kitab-i-Aqdas.

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III. The Contradiction: Intolerance and Dogmatism in Practice

Despite its public message of freedom, unity, and tolerance, the inner reality of the Baha’i Faith is one of dogmatic exclusivity and strict authoritarianism, especially within its administrative order.

Formal and Internal Intolerance

• Exclusion of Alternatives: The Faith is considered formally intolerant due to its goal of imposing a universal religious law upon all peoples, and internally intolerant because it rejects positive recognition of internal diversity.

• Infallible Authority: The Baha’i administrative order consists of two institutions endowed with infallibility: the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice. This structure combines the absolute spiritual authority of the Shi‘ite Imamate with the collective infallibility associated with Sunni consensus.

• Submission and Freedom: While publicly advocating freedom, the system teaches that real freedom lies only in complete obedience to divine law. Human autonomy is treated as merely formal, and deviation from divine ordinances is condemned.

• Rejection of Independent Thought: Although the “independent search for truth” is emphasized for seekers, the principle becomes limited after conversion. Individual believers are barred from independent interpretation or expressing dissenting theological views. This rigid uniformity risks intellectual stagnation.

Sanctions and Exclusion

Maintaining unity of the Faith is considered paramount and is strictly enforced.

• Covenant-breaking: Refusal to accept the authority or infallibility of the institutions, or criticism of their decisions, is labeled “Covenant-breaking,” understood as an attack on the divine order.

• Excommunication: Covenant-breakers are excommunicated and subjected to complete social shunning, dissolving all ties—including family relations—and rendering the individual a complete outcast.

(Extracted from Francesco Ficicchia's Der Baha'ismus: Weltreligion der Zukunft? Geschichte, Lehre und Organisation in kritischer Anfrage, Stuttgart: Quell Verlag, 1981)