Documents in Journal of Bahá'í Studies

Documents published in Journal of Bahá'í Studies

Michael W. Sours. 1844 Ottoman 'Edict of Toleration' in Bahá'í Secondary Literature, The (1998). This edict, issued the year the Bahá'í era began, permitted Jews to return to Palestine. The return of Jews to the Holy Land was thought by Christians to be an event anticipated by biblical prophecy, heralding the Second Advent of Christ.
Lin Poyer. A Leaf of Honey and the Proverbs of the Rainforest, by Joseph Shepperd: Review (1989).
Donald T. Streets. A Way Out of No Way, by Hussein Ahdieh and Hillary Chapman: Review (2017).
Elham Afnan. 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Ezra Pound's Circle (1994). On the 1911 meeting between Ezra Pound, the famous American modernist poet, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá; links between the Bahá'í Faith and a number of important avant-garde circles in the West.
Mina Yazdani. `Abdu'l-Bahá and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution: Embracing Principles while Disapproving Methodologies (2014). Abdu’l-Bahá’s orientation toward the Constitutional Revolution of 1906–1911: he embraced the principles of constitutionalism while disapproving of confrontation; real social change needs to start at the moral-ethical level.
Firuz Kazemzadeh. Abdu'l-Bahá in America, by Robert H. Stockman, and Abdu'l-Bahá's Journey West: The Course of Human Solidarity, ed. Negar Mottahedeh: Reviews (2013).
Anne Gordon Perry. 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the West: A Biographical Guide of the People Associated with His Travels, by Jan Teofil Jasion: Review (2015).
Keven Brown. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Response to the Doctrine of the Unity of Existence (2001). Includes provisional translation of Tablet on the Unity of Existence.
Shapour Rassekh. Louis Brunet, trans, Pierre-Yves Mocquais, trans. `Abdu'l-Bahá, le porte-drapeau d'une nouvelle civilisation: `Abdu'l-Bahá, the Standard Bearer of a New Civilization (2013/2014). Abdu'l-Bahá's mission and objectives in visiting North American, bringing to the West his principles for a new global age. Includes French original, "‘Abdu’l-Bahá, le porte-drapeau d’une nouvelle civilisation."
Alex Gottdank. Abraham: One God Three Wives Five Religions by Frances Worthington: Review (2012).
Rodney H. Clarken. Absolute Poverty and Utter Nothingness (1997). Bahá’u’lláh’s ideas of poverty as detachment, and nothingness as selflessness. Cites some commonalities in concepts of detachment and nothingness from Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, Muhammad and Socrates as five of the greatest philosophers or prophets.
Brad Pokorny. Achieving Peace by the Year 2000, by John Huddleston: Review (1989).
Ismael Velasco. Achieving Reconciliation in a Conflicting World (2008). The dynamics of conflict against the backdrop of globalization, and religion's role in fostering unity. A "logic of reconciliation" will allow us to find harmony among ideas, individuals, and communities.
Catherine Bigonnesse, Jean Marc Bigonnesse. Achieving Universal Participation of Older Adults: An Exploration of Its Challenges and Spiritual Foundations (2015). On involving older adults in the process of participation in society; some of the root causes of ageism, such as avoiding the topic of death and a materialistic view of the soul; the role of older adults in the process of community building.
Rick Johnson. Active Force and That Which Is Its Recipient, The: A Bahá'í View of Creativity (2017). On creativity and the pervasive nature of this concept in Bahá’í thought. The universe is coded to be creative; it exists in a perpetually generative, dynamic state and that creativity is the fundamental reality of the universe.
Sona Farid-Arbab. Advancing in Bahá'í-inspired Education (2016). A number of diverse educators labor in diverse cultural and ecological settings to identify educational needs, develop elements of a coherent pedagogy, and create a series of teaching-learning experience, in light of Bahá'u'lláh's vision for humanity.
Steven Gonzales. Affirmative Action and the Jurisprudence of Equitable Inclusion: Towards a New Consensus on Gender and Race Relations (1995). The principle of equity and the Bahá’í emphasis on unity in diversity as a basis for considering Affirmative Action in relationship to remedying past injustices to women and minorities.
Layli Maparyan. Africanity, Womanism, and Constructive Resilience: Some Reflections (2020). The meanings of the metaphor "pupil of the eye;" experiences of growing up African-American in the West; overcoming cosmological negation; the African worldview on nature, humanity, and creation; gendered expressions of African culture.
Suheil Badi Bushrui. Age of Anxiety and the Century of Light, The: Twentieth-Century Literature, the Poet's Mission, and the Vision of World Unity (2003). W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, and Kahlil Gibran were writers who recognized and confronted the spiritual and intellectual crisis of their time. The mission of the poet is to bear witness, maintain the integrity of language, and express truths.
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard. Ageing: Challenges and Opportunities, by Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian: Review (1994).
Jacqueline McClaran. Ageing: Challenges and Opportunities, by Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian: Review (1994).
Paul Hanley. Agriculture: A Fundamental Principle (1990). The Bahá'í emphasis on agricultural development as a “fundamental principle” conductive to human advancement; the need to redesign food and agricultural systems, locally and internationally; wider social implications.
Christopher Buck. Alain Locke's "Moral Imperatives for World Order" Revisited (2019). In public speeches presented in 1944 Locke argues that racism, although an American problem, is not purely a domestic issue; it has bilateral and multilateral consequences; unity of races, religions, and nations is a moral imperative.
Wendy M. Heller, Hoda Mahmoudi. Altruism and Extensivity in the Bahá'í Religion (1992). Bahá'í teachings relating to research on altruism and prosocial behavior; the interaction of spiritual and social transformation through beliefs and practices that encourage the development of altruistic personalities; socialization and discipline.
Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian. Alzheimer's Disease: An Eclipse before Sunset (1989). Caring for victims of Alzheimer's Disease can be a formidable task. This paper offers some suggestions, based on clinical observations and illumined by the Bahá’í teachings, for meeting those needs.
John S. Hatcher. Amazing Nashville Baha'i Community in the 1960s, The (2019). "From the Editor's Desk": Hatcher's personal memories of time in Nashville; overview of the lives of Robert Hayden and Magdalene Carney.
Suheil Badi Bushrui (published as Suheil Bushrui). Ameen Rihani and the Unity of Religion: The Politics of Time and the Politics of Eternity (2014). Overview of the life and thought of a Lebanese-American writer, intellectual, and political activist, who believed in the oneness of religions and the brotherhood of nations and devoted his life to promoting East-West understanding.
John S. Hatcher. Anecdote of the Jar, The (2017). "From the Editor's Desk": Discussion of a piece of pottery by Bernard Leach; overview of the articles and poems in this issue of the Journal.
Albert Ouimet. Angel Ruckus, by B. K. Filson: Review (1999).
Ann Boyles. "Angle of Ascent", The: Process and Achievement in the Work of Robert Hayden (1992). Hayden's poetry explores the process of individual and collective social and spiritual transformation in the contexts of contemporary culture, the Bahá'í Faith, black history, art, literature, nature, disease, and suffering.
Anne Gordon Perry. Anne Gould Hauberg and Mark Tobey: Lives Lived for Art, Cultivated by Spirit (2016). On the friendship and working relationship between Seattle art patron Hauberg and Seattle-based painter Tobey.
John Huddleston. Another Look at Achieving Peace by the Year 2000 (1999). The process of globalization in terms of trade, culture, corporations, migration, environment, and crime; how to maintain peace; the failure of the world's leaders to achieve peace; institutional frameworks for peace and restructuring the United Nations.
Nader Saiedi. Antinomies of Reason and the Theology of Revelation: Some Preliminary Thoughts (1998). A thesis of Progressive Revelation offers a solution to the fundamental antinomies of philosophical discourse. This concept is applied to the Kantian antinomies of reason: the central question of modern philosophy.
William P. Collins. Apocalypse and Millennium: Catastrophe, Progress, and the Lesser Peace (2002). Some approaches to the Lesser Peace in light of millennialism, and the Bahá'í vision of a divine plan leading to the Lesser Peace and the Most Great Peace which has "progressive” and "catastrophic" aspects.
Ross Woodman. Arc of Ascent: The Purpose of Physical Reality II, by John S. Hatcher: Review (1994).
Fariborz Sahba (published as Fariburz Sahba). Art and Architecture: A Bahá'í Perspective (1997). This essay explores the spiritual significance of the relationship between traditional and new forms of artistic expression from the author’s experience as an architect.
Todd Smith, Michael Karlberg. Articulating a Consultative Epistemology: Toward a Reconciliation of Truth and Relativism (2009). Epistemology has a perennial tension between two contrasting approaches to knowledge: the search for foundational truth vs. the relativity of truth. Consultation can help resolve paradoxical truth claims to develop an integrative approach to knowledge.
Otto Donald Rogers. Artist and the Grammarian, The (2009). On the process and meaning of creating art; its effect on the mind and the brain, the nature of painting; spiritual foundations of the natural world.
John S. Hatcher. Ascent of Mount Carmel, The: Celebrating the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb (2019). "From the Editor's Desk": Symbolism of the terraces on the shrine of the Bab; St. John's poem "Ascent of Mount Carmel"; overview of the articles in this issue of the Journal.
Graham Hassall. Asking Questions: A Challenge to Fundamentalism, by Bahíyyih Nakhjavání: Review (1991).
Udo Schaefer. Aspects of Bahá'í Ethics, Some (2006). Summary of concepts from Schaefer's book Bahá'í Ethics in the Light of Scripture.
Peter J. Khan. Aspects of Bahá'í Scholarship, Some (1999). Four ideas that characterize Bahá’í scholarship: the central position of the Word in the acquisition of knowledge; the interconnected Bahá’í model of the world; progressive nature of Bahá’í law; organic relationship of scholarship and the Covenant.
Shirin Sabri. Author's Response to Commentaries on "The Purpose of Poetry" (1989-1990).
Anne Pearson. Awakening: A History of the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths in Nayriz, by Hussein Ahdieh: Review (2015).
Seena Fazel, Khazeh Fananapazir. Bahá'í Approach to the Claim of Finality in Islam, A (1993). Survey of the terms "prophet" and "seal," and a Bahá'í reconciliation of these terms with progressive revelation.
Seena Fazel, Khazeh Fananapazir. Bahá'í Approach to the Claim of Uniqueness and Exclusivity in Christianity, A (1990). Differing interpretations of scriptural passages about exclusivity have caused conflicts between denominations. A Bahá'í approach, focussing on the Gospels and on progressive revelation, can reconcile these disagreements.
Michael W. Sours. Bahá'í Cosmological Symbolism and the Ecofeminist Critique (1995). Constituents of Bahá'í cosmological symbolism; introduction to the main feminist/environmentalist arguments; eschatological character of Bahá'í cosmological symbolism; Bahá'í eschatology provides answers to many feminist and ecological objections.
Ian Kluge. Bahá'í Ethics in Light of Scripture, by Udo Schaefer: Review (2015).
Farhad Rassekh. Bahá'í Faith and the Market Economy, The (2001). Bahá'í teachings relevant to the market system as described in classical economics and the roles of self-interest and morality in economic life; human beings are naturally endowed with a desire to better their lives.
Roger Lapointe. Bahá'í Faith, Sect or Religion? by Udo Schaefer: Review (1989).
Michael J. Bruwer. Bahá'í Families: Perspectives, Principles, Practice, by Patricia Wilcox: Review (1992).
Kurt Hein. Bahá'í Focus on Development, by Moojan Momen: Review (1990).
Leila Rassekh Milani, Kavian Sadeghzade Milani. Bahá'í Fundamentals for Bioethics (1998). The science of the soul; Bahá’í scriptural understanding of suffering, theodicy, and the purpose of creation; definitions of life and death, as well as the purpose of human life; formulating a Bahá’í approach to bioethical dilemmas.
Graham Hassall. Bahá'í History in the Formative Age: The World Crusade 1953-1963 (1995). The major features of the Bahá'í 'World Crusade' 1953-1963; thoughts about the contemporary practice of historical Bahá'í scholarship; the guardianship and evolution of the Universal House of Justice; United Nations and the Bahá'í International Community.
Keven Brown. Bahá'í Perspective on the Origin of Matter, A (1990). The origin of matter is spiritual. Science sees that, at its most fundamental level, reality is not particular materials or structures, but probabilities and transformation. The four elements, three-fold structure of being, and balance are also examined.
Ian Kluge. Bahá'í Philosophy of Human Nature, The (2017). How the essential reality of the individual — the human soul and its powers of rational thought, willpower, memory, and reflection — translates these capacities into physical action through the intermediary of the brain.
Hoda Mahmoudi, Gloria Teckie. Bahá'í Physicians: Emerging Roles and Responsibilities (2010). The role of a Bahá'í doctor; the relationship between medical intervention and health of the mind, soul, as well as body; the patient's role in maintaining their own health; a Bahá'í approach to health-care delivery.
Peter Calkins, Benoit Girard. Bahá'í Village Granary, The: Spiritual Underpinnings and Applications to North America (1998). A village granary helps lay the systemic foundations of Bahá’u’lláh’s spiritualized new world economic order for both rural and urban society, the capstone of God’s progressive revelation of rural institutions for the sustainable use of natural resources.
Sharon Kennedy, Andrew Kennedy. Bahá'í Youth and Sexuality: A Personal/Professional View (1988). The role of Bahá’í youth with respect to prevailing attitudes towards sexuality found in Western society, emphasizing the process of spiritual growth and the principle of chastity; a number of practical suggestions are made.
William P. Collins. Bahá'í: The Religious Construction of a Global Identity, by Michael McMullen: Review (2001).
Soli Shahvar. Bahá'ís of Iran: Socio-Historical Studies, ed. Dominic Brookshaw and Seena Fazel: Review (2011).
Joshua Hall (published as Joshua D. T. Hall). Bahá'u'lláh and the God of Avicenna (2022-03). Comparison of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh on the nature of God with the philosophy of Avicenna; this helps one understand the philosophical content and significance, and rational rigor, of Bahá’u’lláh’s own statements on God’s existence and creative act.
Christopher Buck. Baha'u'llah as 'World Reformer' (1991). This article places Bahá'u'lláh in the context of Islamic reform by comparing him to several contemporary Iranian reformers. Bahá'u'lláh prosecuted his proposed reforms in three stages: (1) Bábí reform; (2) Persian reform; and (3) world reform.
John S. Hatcher, Amrollah Hemmat, Ehsanollah Hemmat. Bahá'u'lláh's "Ode of the Dove": A Provisional Translation (2019). A lengthy dialogue between Bahá'u'lláh (as persona/narrator) and the Huriyyih — the Maid of Heaven (a personification of “the Most Great Spirit”).
Daniel Azim Pschaida. Bahá'u'lláh's 'Long Healing Prayer' ("Lawḥ-i-Anta'l-Káfí") in Light of a Metaphysics of Unity (2022-03). On the originality and deep coherence of this prayer as expressed by its rhyme, alliterations, and structures organized around the number 19; the prayer is an invitation to meditate on God’s names, and see reality in a metaphysics of wholeness and unity.
Ross Woodman. Bahá'u'lláh's Influence on the New York School of Painting: The "Unapprehended Inspiration" of Newman and Rothko (1991). The paintings of New Yorkers Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko may best be understood as a powerful first evidence of what Bahá’u’lláh called “the rising Orb of Divine Revelation, from behind the veil of concealment.”
Andrew R. Hatala. Bahá'u'lláh's Seven Valleys and Developmental Psychology: Toward a Conception of Spiritual Development (2011). Through the lens of the Seven Valleys, this paper creates a dialogue between theories of developmental psychology and Bahá’í philosophical perspectives, explores the evolution of the "self," and examines spiritual striving in human phylogeny and ontogeny.
John S. Hatcher, Amrollah Hemmat, Ehsanollah Hemmat. Bahá'u'lláh's Symbolic Use of the Veiled Ḥúríyyih (2019). Analyzing some of the meanings behind the appearance of the Veiled Maiden, as alluded to by Bahá'u'lláh in His letters.
Will C. van den Hoonaard. Bahá'í Community of Canada, The (1997).
Seena Fazel. Bahá'í Faith Seen through the Eyes of Major Encyclopedias, The (1992). Overview of some themes and organization/structure common to articles about Bahá'í topics published in encyclopedias; includes a list of references to the Bahá’í Faith in major encyclopedias (as of 1992).
Siyamak Zabihi-Moghaddam. Bábí-State Conflict at Shaykh Tabarsí, The (2004). Analysis of first of four major clashes between the Bábís and the Qájár state from 1848-1853. The Bábís were not intent on revolt; factors include the increased public hostility toward the Bábís, their understanding of holy war, and political instability.
Rhett Diessner. Beauty of the Human Psyche, The: The Patterns of the Virtues (2016). Insights from science and the Bahá'í Writings combine to show how the human soul is a shining of divine attributes reflected into our mind, where they manifest as virtuous thoughts and spiritual emotions.
Todd Smith. Becoming Attuned to Reality: Presuppositions and the Power of Learning in Action (2024-03). The learning mode of action, reflection, consultation, and study encourages investigators to attend to six "interplays" which work together to facilitate collaborative readings of reality in the search for truth.
Elena Mustakova. Becoming Hospitable and Uplifting Holding Environments for Humanity's Griefs: Depression and the Bahá'í Community (2017). What depression and anxiety-related conditions can teach us about creating healing spiritual communities; the Bahá'í message can help encourage us toward healing and uplifting communities, to embrace humanity’s griefs and point the way forward.
Chelsea Horton. Beyond Red Power: The Alternative Activism of Dorothy Maquabeak Francis (2004). Aboriginal activism of the 1960s-1970s, which promoted native spirituality and culture, fostered cross-cultural understanding, but now "Red Power" must encompass both the grassroots and the spiritual realms.
Loni Bramson (published as Loni Bramson-Lerche). Beyond the Clash of Religions: The Emergence of a New Paradigm, by Udo Schaefer: Review (1995).
Vargha Taefi (published as Vargha Bolodo-Taefi). Beyond Welfare: A Preliminary Bahá'í Normative Framework for Economic Rights and Responsibilities (2022). The conceptual underpinnings of a Bahá’í approach to economic growth and disparity, mapped onto an applied framework of economic rights and responsibilities, give rise to economic justice and individual and institutional rights and responsibilities.
Roger M. Dahl. Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths 1844-1985, by William Collins: Review (1991).
Nader Saiedi. Birth of the Human Being, The: Beyond Religious Traditionalism and Materialist Modernity (2011). We have arrived at a turning point in human evolution: the moment of the birth of the human being. This paper examines the development of this idea in the Writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and its opposite concept, dehumanization.
Jonah Winters. Buddhism and the Bahá'í Faith, by Moojan Momen: Review (1994). Issues raised by Momen's attempt to show that both religions are compatible, that the manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh fulfills the prophecies of the Buddha on the coming of a future Maitreya Buddha, and Bahá'í re-interpretations of Buddhist theology.
Chelsea Horton. Building Intercultural Community: Insights from Indigenous Bahá'í History (2016). Bridging Bahá'í communities with Indigenous populations in Canada and the United States was not easy, and was especially fraught for native believers, who also confronted tensions of intercultural understanding and sometimes outright racism.
Julie Badiee, Heshmatollah Badiee. Calligraphy of Mishkin-Qalam, The (1991). The life and work of a one-time court artist for Nasiri'd-Din Shah, who was present for the nascent years of the Baha’i revelation and moved to Edirne to be near to Baha'u'lláh; examples of Islamic calligraphic traditions and his own compositions.
Derik Smith. Centering the "Pupil of the Eye": Blackness, Modernity, and the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh (2019). The "pupil of the eye" metaphor is a deeply consequential, distinguishing feature of the transformative social and spiritual system laid out in Bahá’u’lláh's Revelation.
Augusto Lopez-Carlos. Challenges of Sustainable Development (2012). Economic growth contributes to global prosperity, but it may conflict with environmental constraints. The interactions among conservation, technology, international cooperation, and human values can prevent future crises and assist collective evolution.
Lex Musta. Champions of Oneness: Louis Gregory and His Shining Circle, by Janet Ruhe-Schoen: Review (2016).
Philip Selznick. Civility and Piety as Foundations of Community (2004). Text of a talk by a sociologist on moral commitments we make in life, democratic principles, the nature of "community," and articles of faith.
Graham Hassall. Collective Security within Reach by Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing: Review (2013).
Nancy Lease. Commentary on "Equality of Women: The Bahá'í Principle of Complementarity," by Linda O'Neil: Response (1991).
Caitlyn Bolton. Community Agency and Islamic Education in Contemporary Zanzibar (2020). Western political philosophy is primarily concerned with the dynamics of rights and responsibilities between the individual and the institutions; the concept of community is overlooked in such theories, and is even antithetical to the modern nation-state.
Patricia Verge. Compassionate Woman: The Life and Legacy of Patricia Locke by John Kolstoe: Review (2012).
Nader Saiedi. Concealment and Revelation in Bahá'u'lláh's Book of the River (1999). Analysis and provisional translation of Sahífiy-i-Shattíyyih (Book of the River); on Bahá'u'lláh's experience in the Síyáh-Chál and whether he considered himself a Manifestation of God prior to his Ridván declaration.
Amrollah Hemmat. Concept of the Manifestation of God in Chinese Symbolism: An Inter-civilizational Hermeneutic Study (2016). Seemingly incompatible symbols can point to a common underlying meaning, connecting worldviews and perspectives often considered incommensurable. There are elements of the Chinese tradition that resonate deeply with the Bahá’í concept of Manifestation.
Steven Gonzales. Conflict Resolution Movement, The (1999). What exactly is conflict resolution? Why do so many different disciplines lay claim to it? This article is an introduction to the field, a review of conflict resolution in history, and a survey of contemporary legislation worldwide.
Michael Karlberg. Constructive Imaginary, The (2020). In a 2007 letter on the closing of the BIHE, the Universal House of Justice introduced the concept of "constructive resilience"; on the relationship of this to other concepts in discourses on social change, and its relevance to the exigencies of the age.
Firaydoun Javaheri. Constructive Resilience (2018). How the perseverance of the Bahá'ís in Iran has resulted in the generality of the Iranian people beginning to admire and, in some cases, arising to assist the Bahá'ís.
Susan Maneck (published as Susan Stiles Maneck). Conversion of Religious Minorities to the Bahá'í Faith in Iran: Some Preliminary Observations (1990). Conversion patterns of Zoroastrians and Jews in the period 1877-1921.
Foad Katirai. "Conversion of Religious Minorities to the Bahá'í Faith in Iran," by Susan Stiles Maneck: Commentary (1992).
Susan Berry Brill de Ramirez (published as Susan B. Brill). Conversive Relationality in Bahá'í Scholarship: Centering the Sacred and Decentering the Self (1995). Ways in which Bahá’í scholars might follow the process of consecration by centering the sacred within and decentering the self out of academic work; a conversive model of communication and scholarship is rooted in the sacred, emphasizing relationality.
Sandra S. Fotos, Stephen R. Friberg, Susan Berry Brill de Ramirez. "Conversive Relationality in Bahá'í Scholarship," by Susan B. Brill: Commentaries and Response (1998).
Susan Berry Brill de Ramirez. Conversive Turn in Bahá'í Scripture, The: An Intersubjective Communications Model for Bridging Global Diversity (2007). Communications which manifest equality of participants bring diverse persons and elements of the world together. Bahá'í consultation exemplifies the capacity of language to transform the world through the unifying power of interpersonal connections.
Mary Fish, M. E. Muttart. Created Rich, by Patrick Barker: Reviews (1995).
Lasse Thoresen. Creation (2002). Contributing to the creation of a new civilization as a researcher or an artist means participating in the process of never-ending unfolding; the divine names are the eternal archetypes organizing the material world; dialogue between thinking and reality.
Phyllis Sternberg Perrakis. Creative Circle: Art, Literature and Music in the Bahá'í Perspective, ed. Michael Fitzgerald: Review (1989-1990).
Todd Smith. Crisis and the Power of an Inclusive Historical Consciousness: Progressing from Delusional Habits to Dynamic Freedom (2020). On delusional ways of thinking: the habits of totalizing reality vs. fragmenting reality. These lead us to ideologize and dichotomize. Maturity needs inclusive historical consciousness and equal interplay between the individual and the collective.
Shirin Sabri. Crystallizations: 20 Works by Bahá'í Artists, ed. Ross Woodman: Review (1999).
Dianne Coin. Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation, by Jennifer Harvey: Review (2017).
Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian. Depression: Biological, Psychosocial, and Spiritual Dimensions and Treatment (2015). Biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors contribute to the development of depression. If religious beliefs and spiritual values also play a role, what insights can the Bahá'í Faith offer?
Patricia McIlvride. Depression, Stigma, and the Soul (2017). New recovery models, like interpersonal neurobiology, are challenging the medical model in the treatment of mental illness. By defining the mind as transcendent and both embodied and relational, new avenues of healing become possible.
Julio Savi. Destiny and Freedom in the Bahá'í Writings (2010). Bahá'í writings on human free will and fate: our lives are free, yet also regulated by the decrees of God. Freedom is best enjoyed through understanding God's will, our spiritual purpose (H.M. Balyuzi Memorial Lecture).
Maija Pihlainen. Developing a Participatory Approach to Learning (1991). The Macau-based School of the Nations’ philosophy of education, and its implications for the school’s curriculum development process. The Bahá'í approach to education emphasizes moral education, participation, cooperation, and consultation.
Will C. van den Hoonaard. Dilemmas and Prospects of Writing a Bahá'í Encyclopedia (1989). The need for a Bahá’í encyclopedia and a description of the nature, organization, and editing of the encyclopedic dictionary project endorsed in 1984 by the United States Bahá’ís; dilemmas which accompany its undertaking.
Julio Savi. Dimensions of Spirituality, by Jack McLean: Review (1995).
Michael Sabet. Discerning a Framework for the Treatment of Animals in the Bahá'í Writings: Ethics, Ontology, and Discourse (2023-01). Bahá'í exegesis can discern a framework governing the treatment of animals and our relationship to the natural world; examination of the author’s own relationship with animals; ethics of kindness and justice flow from underlying ontological principles.
Ali Murad Davudi. Vargha Taefi, trans. Discourse on Bahá'í Theology, A: A Treatise by Dr. 'Alí-Murád Dávúdí on God and Revelation (2021). Overview of the life of Davudi, a distinguished scholar and researcher and prolific author, followed by a translation of a treatise on the transcendence of God, apophatic theology, knowledge of God, emanation and manifestation, and divine attributes.
Naysan Sahba. Divisive Barbarity or Global Civilization? ed. M. L. Bradbury and Suheil Bushrui: Review (1998).
Julie Badiee. Drawings, Verse, and Belief, by Bernard Leach: Review (1989).
Peter Calkins. Eco Principle: Ecology and Economics in Symbiosis, by Arthur Lyon Dahl: Review (1997).
John Thelen Steere. Ecological Stewardship as Applied Spirituality: A Bahá'í Perspective (2005). The significance and dimensions of environmental stewardship — the name given to the emerging practice of habitation restoration, land conservation, resource management, and parks and recreation — and its relationship to the Bahá’í teachings.
Mary Fish. Economic Prosperity: A Global Imperative (1997). Economic growth does not necessarily enhance human welfare. The Prosperity of Humankind recognizes the role of economics in igniting the capacity of humankind. The Bahá'í concept of human nature opens a dialogue between religion and economists.
Susan Clay Stoddart. Education and Moral Development in Children (1988). We are caught between the imperative to function as a world culture and a belief that we need to maintain separate racial, cultural, and ethnic identities; strategies that parents and teachers can use to help children develop an identity with all peoples.
Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani. Effect of Philosophical and Linguistic Gender Biases on the Degradation of Women's Status in Religion, The (1997). Women’s rights have been undermined for centuries; philosophical and linguistic gender-related biases and their effect on the degradation of women’s status in religion; suggestions for eradicating the causes of inequality in order to hasten world unity.
Helen Cheng, Catherine Nash. Emblems of Faithfulness: Pluralism in Meaning and Beauty in the Ordinary (2015). Memorials of the Faithful is notable for the diversity of personalities described, and the sheer ordinariness of many of those remembered lives. These two aspects of the text highlight some of the broader questions raised by the Bahá'í Faith.
Will C. van den Hoonaard. Emergence from Obscurity: The Journey of Sociology in the Bahá'í Community (2008). The field of sociology and the Bahá’í Faith share important principles and both challenge widely-held beliefs, yet there has sometimes been a wall of silence separating them. This paper explores how the Faith informs the sociology of Bahá'í scholars.
Holly Hanson. Enacting Thought: Divine Will, Human Agency, and the Possibility of Justice (2009). Societies evolve through generations of human decision making. Using the examples of 300 years of politics in Uganda vis à vis England, processes that create injustice can be seen as gradual and unintentional, while implementing justice is deliberate.
Nooshfar B. Afnan. Encouragement of the Arts During the Ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: The Services of Master Calligrapher Mishkín-Qalam (2023-10). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá promoted the arts, including through support of Mishkín-Qalam and artistic conceptions for the interment of the remains of the Báb, the construction of the first Bahá’í House of Worship, and transcription of Bahá’í literature.
Alfred Kahn. Encouragement, Challenges, Healing, and Progress: The Bahá'í Faith in Indigenous Communities (2016). On the challenges of community-building among Indigenous people, written from the perspective of a childhood spent among Bahá'í pioneers on Native American land, and on reconciling traditional views with global Bahá'í teachings.
Ross Woodman. End of the World: Whatever Happened?, The: Or Leftover Time to Kill (1991). If we contrast the eschatology of Bahá’u’lláh with that of Hegel and Nietzsche, we can locate and explore the spiritual origins of the planetary consciousness (the Divine Springtime) upon which the survival of humankind and the globe itself now depends.
Arthur Lyon Dahl. Environnement: Patrimoine de l'humanité, by ABS Francophone Europe: Review (1993).
William S. Hatcher. Epistemological Implications of the Gradated Claims to Divine Authority in the Bahá'í Writings: Reflections on Infallibility (2007). There are different levels of infallibility, from the greater (the Manifestations who are "omniscient at will") to the lesser (like the Guardian, who has conferred freedom-from-error).
Ann Boyles. Epistolary Style of Shoghi Effendi, The (2022-09). The purposes of this paper are to investigate the new style of the epistle and the roots of its development, and demonstrate that elements of the form have been modified to accommodate the vision of Shoghi Effendi, architect of Bahá'u'lláh's World Order.
Lynn Echevarria-Howe (published as Lynn Echevarria). Equality of Women and Men: The Experience of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, by Deborah and Will van den Hoonaard: Review (2006).
John S. Hatcher. Equality of Women, The: The Bahá'í Principle of Complementarity (1990). The Bahá’í teachings simultaneously assert the equality of men and women whilst advocating in some cases distinct duties according to gender. This seems paradoxical, but there can be gender distinction without inequality in status or function.
William S. Hatcher. Eternal Quest For God, The, by Julio Savi: Review (1992).
Peter P. Morgan. Ethel Jenner Rosenberg, by Robert Weinberg: Review (1997).
Whitney White Kazemipour. Even as the Waves of One Sea: Bahá'í Consultation's Implicit Cultural Support for the Clash of Differing Opinions (2024-03). A letter from Shoghi Effendi introduces some cultural dynamics which underlie Bahá'í consultation; disagreement can precede collective understanding and is not a sign of failure; the prayer to open meetings gives a moral motivation and ethos of tolerance.
Tony Michel. "Evolution of Reality,: Commentary (1991).
George Land. Evolution of Reality, The (1990). Entropy maintains that all structures eventually decay. Humanity's challenge is to understand that nature's creative process changes systems, including organizations and civilization; this can lead to new connections, ideas, resources, and opportunities.
Vahid Rafati. Evolving Role of Bahá'í Scholarship, The (2015). Lecture on the evolution of Bahá’í scholarship; ulamás and the Faith; role of the ulamás in Islam; changes instituted by Bahá'u'lláh; abolition of clerical authority; historical legacy of some scholars; present challenges and future scholarship.
Gregory C. Dahl. Evolving toward a Bahá'í Economic System (1991). Ideals are fruitless if not implemented. There needs to be a balance and an interplay between goals and actions. A "Bahá’í economic system" suggests a number of topics for further research.
Farhad Sabetan. Exploration into the Political Economy of Global Prosperity, An (1997). Concepts of prosperity and well-being from an economic and global perspective; concept of global destitution; current assumptions about human nature and human relationships with the physical world and society are inadequate; ethical first principles.
Janet Huggins. Exploring Male Oppression from a Family Systems Perspective (1990). On sexual inequality; parallels between adolescent sex role development and the evolutionary stage of our society; examples of how both men and women are oppressed; implications of achieving equality for both world peace and individual intrapsychic unity.
Hoda Mahmoudi, Janet Huggins. "Exploring Male Oppressions from a Family-Systems Perspective,: Commentary and Response (1991).
John S. Hatcher. Exploring the Implications of a Conceptual Framework for Action for Bahá'í Scholarship (2018). "From the Editor's Desk": How elements of the conceptual framework that encompasses the vision and activities of the worldwide Bahá’í community can be incorporated into the Association's various initiatives.
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani. Fact and Fiction: Interrelationships between History and Imagination (2000). On the tension between "fact" and "fiction," between objective history and our relative and subjective stories, between art as the representation of reality and faith based on the Word of God. We inherited a responsibility to resolve this tension.
Mary Fish. Faith and World Economy: A Joint Venture, Bahá'í Perspective, by Guiseppe Robiati: Review (1991).
Edward Rappaport. Faith and World Economy: A Joint Venture, Bahá'í Perspective, by Guiseppe Robiati: Review (1991).
Bradley Wilson. Faith in Action: Reflections on Constructive Resilience from Nicaragua (2020). Poverty and hunger among farmworkers; faith and social action; observations on the discourse of constructive resilience; social movements seeking to overcome oppression; the practice of "accompaniment" — long-term immersive participation and observation.
Brian Aull. Faith of Science and the Method of Religion, The (1988). A fundamental teaching of the Bahá’í Faith is that science and religion are harmonious and complementary: religious faith should be shaped by a process of critical inquiry and the limitations of science acknowledged.
H. Elsie Austin. Faith, Protest, and Progress (1998). Protest is occasionally necessary and justified; it does not have to mean violence, but rather the courage to reject the false and unjust. Protest based on faith can have a transforming effect on both the individual and society and racial unity.
Paula A. Drewek. Feminine Forms of the Divine in Bahá'í Scriptures (1992). Examples of the interaction between male and female principles in the writings. Complementarity of masculine and feminine images of divinity enriches our understanding of the divine–human encounter, but does not supplant the unity or unknowability of God.
William Barnes. Forging More Perfect Unions (1992). Social advances toward inclusive political structures must be accompanied by a moral advance toward universal values; three stages of global political unification as described in the Bahá’í writings are confederation, federation, and commonwealth.
John A. Grayzel. "Forging More Perfect Unions," by William Barnes: Commentary (1994).
William Barnes. "Forging More Perfect Unions," Commentary by John A. Grayzel: Author's Response (1994).
Amin Banani. Forgotten Schools: The Baha'is and Modern Education in Iran, 1899-1934, by Soli Shahvar: Review (2010).
Phyllis Sternberg Perrakis. Four Levels of Detachment in Doris Lessing's Shikasta,, The (2004). The concept of detachment in Bahá’u’lláh’s Writings and its application to Doris Lessing’s Sufi-inspired novel, Shikasta; the reciprocal relation between detachment and attachment and service to the new prophet.
Nader Saiedi. From Oppression to Empowerment (2016). On four contemporary types of oppression: in the international political order, forms of the state, economic structures, and forms of cultural identity; Bahá’u’lláh’s personal response to oppression; and a Bahá’í approach to empowerment and liberation.
Hoda Mahmoudi. From Oppression to Equality: The Emergence of the Feminist Perspective (1989). The Bahá’í principle of the equality between women and men; history of the obstructions and prejudices toward women as promoted by religious institutions; what it means to be a liberated woman in the eye of the Bahá'í writings.
Linda S. Covey, Roshan Danesh. From The Editor's Desk (2016). Introduction to this issue's articles on the unique potentials of the indigenous population of America, recovery from the residential schools, eradicating prejudice, and the intersection between the Bahá’í Faith and native peoples.
Tom Lysaght. Genesis in King Lear: Joseph's Many-Colored Coat Suits Shakespeare (2019). Creative comparison of the biblical figure of Joseph and the character of Edgar in Shakespeare's King Lear, in light of the Báb’s and Bahá'u'lláh's Writings.
Geza Farkas. God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible, by Adam Nicolson: Review (2005-12/2015-06).
Elham Afnan. Good of the World and the Happiness of the Nations, The: A Study of Modern Utopian and Dystopian Literature (1989). The Bahá'í Writings, with their new understanding of human destiny, can bridge the gap between utopian visions of progress from 19th-century literature and dystopian visions of 20th-century fiction, disillusioned by war and social and economic disasters.
Ross Woodman. "Good of the World and the Happiness of the Nations: A Study of Modern Utopian and Dystopian Literature,: Commentary (1989).
John S. Hatcher. Governance and the Governed: Leadership, Conflict, Resilience, Resolution, and Hope (2018). "From the Editor's Desk": If the purpose of governance and leadership is to respond to the needs of the governed, then what attributes and methodologies should characterize the process of those in positions of authority?
Roger M. Dahl. Great Adventure, by Florence Mayberry: Review (1997).
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew. Great Tao, The (1991). On a philosophy of the ancient Chinese people, a Tao whose eternal spirit has seeped into the very heart of Chinese tradition, culture, and way of life for centuries; similarities with other religions and the Bahá'í Faith.
Gilbert Bartholomew (published as G. A. Bartholomew). Harmony of Science and Religion: A Complementarity Perspective (1989). The principle of complementarity, which can account for certain phenomena in quantum mechanics, can also be an aid in understanding the nature of the harmony between science and religion, the unity of mankind, and the oneness of religion.
John S. Hatcher. Helen Elsie Austin (1908-2004) (2019). Overview of the life of the first black woman to graduate from the University of Cincinnati Law School, an active Bahá'í pioneer and travel teacher, and tireless educator on race issues.
Robert Postlethwaite. Her Eternal Crown: Queen Marie of Romania and the Bahá'í Faith, by Della L. Marcus: Review (2000).
Will C. van den Hoonaard. Hidden Bounties: Memories of Pioneering on the Magdalene Islands, by Larry Rowdon: Review (1994).
Anne Pearson. Hinduism and the Bahá'í Faith, by Moojan Momen: Review (1990).
François Couillard. History of EBBF, The: Twenty-Five Years of Contributing to the Discourse of Ethics in Business (2015). The European Bahá’í Business Forum, a small network of individuals dedicated to promoting ethical behavior and other Bahá’í values in the workplace, has had significant influence at the local, national, and international levels.
Arash Abizadeh. How Bahá'ís Should Vote (2008). When voting, Bahá'ís should consider the qualifications of individual Assembly members, the collective makeup of the Assembly as a whole, changes in the individual Assembly members over time, and changes in the collective makeup of the Assembly over time.
Hoda Mahmoudi. Human Knowledge and the Advancement of Society (2012). Knowledge is the means toward realizing a global civilization. The current Five Year Plan focuses the Bahá'í community’s consultation, reflection, and global growth, and the individual’s applying spiritual and secular knowledge to help this process.
Michael L. Penn. Human Nature and Mental Health: A Bahá'í-Inspired Perspective (2015). Overview of one research-practitioner’s understanding of the nature of mind from the perspective of the Bahá’í teachings, and implications of this view for understanding mental health and mental illness.
Matthew Weinberg. Identity, Discourse, and Policy: Reconstructing the Public Sphere (2011). Through interchange, individuals and their communities define their identities and goals. Life has a fundamentally dialogical character. Giving consideration to the multiple dimensions of human experience leads to new, greater social meanings.
Julie Badiee. Image of the Mystic Flower, The: Exploring the Lotus Symbolism in the Bahá'í House of Worship (2000). The design of the temple in India creates the visual effect of a large, white lotus blossom emerging from the pools of water around it. Besides many other deep and old cultural meanings, flower imagery symbolizes the appearance of the new Manifestation.
Julie Badiee. Images of a 'New Creation' in Twentieth-Century Art, Some (1995). A look at the works of some 20th-century artists to show that, whether they were aware of the Baha’i revelation or not, many of these artists have been compelled to express the quiet, yet unmistakable theme of a "new creation."
Michael W. Sours. Immanence and Transcendence in Theophanic Symbolism (1992). Bahá'u'lláh uses symbols to depict theophanies — the appearance of God and the divine in the realm of creation — such as "angel," "fire," and the prophets' claims to be incarnating the "face" or "voice" of God; these convey the transcendence of God.
John E. Kolstoe. Improved Access to Intelligent Responses Using the Bahá'í Model of Consultation: Two Exploratory Small-Sample Studies (1997). Studies using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale show that people consulting together can access intelligent responses superior to that attained through individual effort, and suggest several areas of inquiry for further investigation.
Paul Lample. In Pursuit of Harmony between Science and Religion (2016). The capacity to unite in the investigation of truth for the advancement of civilization requires the harmony of science and religion, in which science is freed from materialism and religion from superstition.
Ross Woodman. "In the Beginning Was the Word": Apocalypse and the Education of the Soul (1993). Hidden meanings in scripture and the soul are metaphorically identified with the huris, or brides. The bridegroom, Bahá'ulláh, enters union as the marriage of the Manifestation with the Maid of Heaven, who releases the Logos and the newly created soul.
Betty Hoff Conow (published as B. Hoff Conow). "'In the Beginning Was the Word': Apocalypse and the Education of the Soul," by Ross Woodman: Commentary (1995).
John Danesh. Inner Limits of Mankind: Heretical Reflections on Today's Values, Culture and Politics, by Ervin Laszlo: Review (1991).
Paul Lample. Insights from the First Century of the Formative Age, Some (2013). On the Covenant from a historical perspective; authority and powers of the UHJ; learning within an evolving framework for action; organic growth and development; relationships among individuals, communities, and institutions; and society-building power.
Farzam Arbab. Intellectual Life of the Bahá'í Community, The (2016). The 34th Hasan M. Balyuzi Memorial Lecture at the ABS conference in Montreal, on the need for us to have intellectual courage, a lack of elitism, and the harmony of science and religion. Includes video, published version, and an outline of the talk.
Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani. Interdependence of Bahá'í Communities, The: Services of North American Bahá'í Women to Iran (1991). Some early American Bahá’í women’s contribution to the development of the Iranian Bahá’í community.
Todd Lawson. Interpretation as Revelation: The Qur'an Commentary of the Báb (1990). Overview and context of two of the Bab's earliest writings and their relevance to Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá’í and Siyyid Kázim Rashtí: a commentary on the Qur'an's Chapter of the Cow, and his famous Qayyúm al-Asmá, Commentary on the Chapter of Joseph.
Nasser Sabet. Introduction to the Kitáb-i-Iqán, An (1991). The importance, style, and contents of the Book of Certitude, and its five major themes: the true seeker and independent investigation of truth, rebirth of spirituality, Christianity and Islam, the Bábí dispensation, and the process of revelation.
Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian, Shadi Salehian. Is Spirituality Effective in Addiction Recovery and Prevention? (2018). Substance abuse has become a global health crisis, the leading cause of death and disability worldwide; various theories have emerged about the positive influence of spirituality; how an effective approach to prevention and treatment might be realized.
Seena Fazel. Is the Bahá'í Faith a World Religion? (1994). Examination of the terms "world religion" and "new religious movement" to demonstrate that the Bahá'í Faith is best categorized as a "world religion."
Roshan Danesh. Journey Motif in the Bahá'í Faith, The: From Doubt to Certitude (2012). The process of individual spiritual growth lies at the heart of human purpose. Bahá’u’lláh speaks about the collective spiritualization of humanity — creating new patterns of community and social relations — as the "journey" of the human body politic.
Martha L. Schweitz. Kitab-i-Aqdas, The: Bahá'í Law, Legitimacy, and World Order (1994). On the Kitáb-i-Aqdas from the perspective of contemporary secular national and international law; its institution-building provisions as a Charter for future world civilization; relationship between law and principle; transformation of international law.
Layli Miller-Muro. Knowledge into Action: The Bahá'í Imperative to Serve Humanity (2014). On the history of experience and evolution in thinking regarding social action in the Bahá’í community; the Tahirih Justice Center’s experience as one example of such learning; the culture of service we must embody.
Glen A. Eyford. Lab, the Temple, and the Market, ed. Sharon Harper: Review (2002).
Gregory Paul P. Meyjes. Language and Universalization: A 'Linguistic Ecology' Reading of Bahá'í Writings (1999). How the promotion of linguistic minority rights may coincide with promotion of an International Auxiliary Language, opposing trends toward increased globalization and growing nationalism, and the unregulated global spread of English.
Alvino E. Fantini. Language and Worldview (1989). Languages are paradigms of a view of the world. Knowledge of more than one language holds promise for an expanded worldview, for understanding other people on their own terms.
Carol Skrenes Trabing. Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, by Francis Collins: Review (2007).
Richard Thomas. Last War: Racism, Spirituality, and the Future of Civilization, by Mark L. Perry: Review (2006).
Layli Maria Miron. Laura Barney's Discipleship to 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Tracing a Theological Flow from the Middle East to the United States, 1900-1916 (2018). How Laura Barney employed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teachings to influence social discourse as she taught the Bahá'í Faith in Europe and the United States.
Misagh Ziaei. Lawh-i-Tibb (Tablet to the Physician), The: Beyond Health Maxims (2019). On the tablet's historical context, as well as some of its guidance regarding the study and practice of medicine, including attributes its practitioners must acquire and maintain.
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard. Learning from 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a Society Characterized by Ageism (2023-01). On the nature and impact of ageism and how we learn to be old by the way people treat us, and how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s example informs our own lives given the prevalence of ageism in Western society.
Moojan Momen. Learning from History (1989). The challenges caused by the influx of Third World villagers into the Bahá’í world community. The value of a study of the history of the Bahá’í Faith in understanding this development and in helping us towards appropriate presentations of the Faith.
Haleh Arbab. Learning to Read Social Reality in the Light of the Revelation: Twenty-Five Years of Contributing to the Discourse of Ethics in Business (2015). The Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity works to learn how to advance the capacity of individuals and groups to participate in some of the prevalent discourses of society, for the betterment of the world and the growth of civilization.
Jordan van Rijn. Learning to Sift: Reflections on Ten Years of Engaging with the Economics Discourse (2023-10). Collaborators explored diverse approaches how to examine economic discourse from a Bahá’í perspective, offering guidance to others in similar processes.
Rodney H. Clarken. Lectures on Bahá'í Inspired Curricula, by Farzam Arbab: Review (1995).
Ian Kluge. Legacies of the Heart, by Larry Rowdon: Review (1999).
Robert LaLiberte. Les Jardiniers de Dieu: À la Rencontre de Cinq Millions de Bahá'ís, par Colette Gouvion et Philippe Jouvion: Review (1990).
Jean-Marc Lepain. Les Paradigmes cachés de l'histoire: Comparaison de l'histoire des premiers siècles du christianisme et de la foi bahà'ie (1994). Exploration of some lessons from history relevant to our era and our near future, from the perspective of philosophy of history; paradigms of Christian history which illuminate Bahá'í history; the rise and decline of civilizations; role of the Zeitgeist.
William S. Hatcher. Les Valeurs economiques et les valeurs morales (1989).
May Khadem. Lessons in Leadership (2018). A personal journey of learning about leadership; widely shared false assumptions have led many off-course in addressing the challenges in the fight against blindness, and other public health concerns.
William P. Collins, Jan T. Jasion. Lev Tolstoi and the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions: A Bibliography (1991). The great spiritual crisis of Tolstoi’s life led him to a search for a pure faith. Late in life, this search led to his examination of the Bábí–Bahá’í religions. A bibliography of material on Tolstoi’s association with the Bahá'í Faith.
Arash Abizadeh. Liberal Democracy and the Bahá'í Administrative Order: An Analysis (1990). Comparison of the Bahá'í political system with two dominant types of liberal democracy, namely Responsible Government and Separation of Powers, as potential models for global government. (Link to PDF, offsite.)
Jack McLean. Life after Death: A Study of the Afterlife in Religions, by Farnaz Ma'sumian: Review (1998).
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard. Life Histories of Bahá'í Women in Canada: Constructing Religious Identity in the Twentieth Century by Lynn Echevarria: Review (2014).
Janet Ruhe-Schoen. Lighting the Western Sky: The Hearst Pilgrimage and the Establishment of the Bahá'í Faith in the West by Kathryn Jewett Hogenson: Review (2014).
John S. Hatcher. Louis Gregory (1874-1951) (2019). Overview of the life of a famous Bahá'í lawyer, anti-racism educator and travel-teacher, and Hand of the Cause.
Janet A. Khan. Louise Dixon Boyle and Maria Montessori (2006). American Louise Dixon Boyle (1875–1953) was an active Bahá'í who engaged with wider social issues. Here the focus is on her involvement in the field of education, particularly the work of the Italian physician and educator Dr. Maria Montessori.
William S. Hatcher. Love, Power, and Justice (1999). The pursuit and abuse of power are moral choices for which there is no moral justification.
Felicity Rawlings. Maharishi Ayurveda: A Bahá'í Exploration (1992). Some of the therapeutic strategies of Maharishi Ayurveda and how they correspond to the Bahá’í writings on healing.
Michael W. Sours. Maid of Heaven, the Image of Sophia, and the Logos, The: Personification of the Spirit of God in Scripture and Sacred Literature (1991). The Logos in Christianity and the Maiden for Bahá'u'lláh can be equated as one and the same eternal reality; the divine image of wisdom in Proverbs; Sophia and Logos are combined in the feminine personification of the Most Great Spirit.
Julie Badiee. Mark Tobey's City Paintings: Meditations on an Age of Transition (1989). On the evolutionary character of Tobey's "City Paintings" during the decades of the 1930s-50s: they may be understood as modern reinterpretations of the traditional themes of the Apocalypse, Hell, the Day of Judgment, and New Jerusalem — the Bahá'í age.
Ross Woodman. Metaphor and the Language of Revelation (1997). To enter the realm of metaphor as the language of the soul is to come into direct contact with the Word as the originating power of creation.
Gerald Filson. Mind: "The Power of the Human Spirit" (2023-07). Correlating Bahá’í concepts of the mind with insights from philosophy; conceptual ways of knowing; implications of language for philosophy of mind; science and religion both shed light on the capacities and nature of the mind, including the spiritual.
Leo R. Zrudlo. Missing Dimension in the Built Environment, The: A Challenge for the 21st Century (1990). There is a missing dimension in the built environment -- architecture is unable to satisfy the emotional and aesthetic needs of people. But architects disagree about how to rectify the situation. A spiritual aspect is needed.
John S. Hatcher. Mizán of Affect in Material v. Metaphysical Models of Human Consciousness, The (2023-07). Though Bahá'í teachings hold that the soul progresses after the body ceases to exist, the physical brain is essential to our development; emotional processing requires a healthy brain; the brain-as-transceiver model can help treat affective disorders.
Barbara Hacker. Montessori and the Bahá'í Faith (1988). The work of the educationalist Maria Montessori was attuned to the spirit of the Bahá’í Era. Her view that children are key to the development of human society and ultimately world peace are presented in relation to Bahá’í writings on these subjects.
William P. Collins. Mormonism and the Bahá'í Faith (1990). Historical contacts between Bahá’ís and Mormons; Mormon views of the Bahá’í Faith; Bahá’í views of Mormonism; literature on Mormons and Bahá’ís.
Robert Stockman. Music, Devotions, and Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, by R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram: Review (1988).
Anna C. Vakil. Natural Stirrings at the Grassroots: Development, Doctrine, and the Dignity Principle (2001). Grassroots-led initiatives are central to the development efforts in the global Bahá’í community. Modernization, Marxian, and civil society paradigms seek to explain these “stirrings at the grassroots”, to which is here added "development with dignity".
John S. Hatcher. Nature of Human Nature, The (2017). "From the Editor's Desk": Introduction to this issue's two articles: Ian Kluge's on human nature and Patricia McIlvride’s on mental disorders and depression, stigma, and the soul.
Linda S. Covey. Necessary History, A: Teaching On and Off The Reservations (2016). On the early Bahá’í literature directed toward Native Americans; history of Bahá’í conversion activities with Indigenous populations; and the work conducted by the Central States Regional American Indian Teaching.
Bayan Jalalizadeh. Need for an Integrative Conceptual Framework for Addressing Mental Health Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic, The (2022). Overview of the state of mental health and illness in the world during the Covid pandemic, summary of the prevailing frameworks and practices, and a potential framework which could guide a response to current mental health challenges.
Derik Smith. New Black Power: Constructive Resilience and the Efforts of African American Bahá'ís (2020). The Bahá’í approach to social transformation expands our conceptions of power; we need to develop new images of Black Power especially; individuals, institutions, and communities can use constructive resilience to transform society and counter oppression.
Gayle Morrison. New Creation, A: The Power of the Covenant in the Life of Louis Gregory (1999). Louis Gregory's achievements, focussing on his promotion of the oneness of humankind, teaching the Bahá’í Faith, and administering its affairs. Gregory became both a herald of the Covenant and an enduring example of its transforming power.
Gregory C. Dahl. New Directions for Economics (2018). How spiritual principles can be applied to economic life; Bahá'ís are called to concern themselves with the inequalities in the world and bring their personal lives and the actions of their communities more in line with principles of compassion.
David S. Ruhe. New Evolution, A: Religious Bonding for World Unity (1995). America's spiritual destiny; world forces conducive to the unity of humankind; post-Darwinian evolution; bonding of humankind for a golden age; Bahá’ís as authentic saviors of the world.
Lev Rickards. New Knowledge from Old: Conceptions of the Library in the Writings of Shoghi Effendi (2022-09). Conceptions of libraries in the writings of Shoghi Effendi compared to different meanings assigned to libraries throughout history; comments on Bahá’í beliefs that could inform the practice of librarianship; avenues for future research.
Douglas Martin. Next Stage, The (2013). Bahá'í scholars find themselves at a stage in the Faith’s development where they must construct a discourse that is free of "haughty intellectualism." The Association for Bahá’í Studies can help promote the Bahá'í cause to institutions of higher learning.
Larry Rowdon. Night Songs and New Seeds, by Michael Fitzgerald: Review (1993).
Richard Thomas. No Jim Crow Church: The Origins of South Carolina's Bahá'í Community, by Louis Venters: Review (2016).
Graham Hassall. Notes on the Babi and Bahá'í Religions in Russia and its territories (1993). Overview of the history of Bábí and Bahá'í communities in Russia and Russian territories.
Larry Rowdon. "Notes Postmarked The Mountain of God," by Roger White: Review (1997).
Roxanne Lalonde. Obedience: Liberation through Love of God in Practice (1998). The virtue of obedience in light of the Covenant, contemporary secular notions of obedience, attitudes and behavior of Bahá'ís in the West, and some incidents of expulsion or resignation from the Faith.
Alex Aronson. Occasions of Grace, by Roger White: Review (1991).
Craig Loehle. On Human Origins: A Bahá'í Perspective (1990). The science of evolution is difficult for those who demand a literal interpretation of scripture and believe in a special origin for humanity. The Bahá’í writings view evolution and individual spiritual growth as one fundamental developmental process.
Iraj Ayman, Susan Berry Brill de Ramirez, M. K. Rohani. "On Human Origins: A Bahá'í Perspective," by Craig Loehle: Commentary and Responses (1991). Ayman comments (1) on determinism vs. fate and (2) that Loehle's article doesn't take into account the original meanings in Arabic and Persian of the word for "chance." Brill and Rohani reply with observations about translation and interpretation.
Arash Abizadeh. "On Human Origins: A Bahá'í Perspective," by Craig Loehle: Commentary (1990).
Iraj Ayman, John S. Hatcher, Craig Loehle. "On Human Origins: A Bahá'í Perspective," by Craig Loehle: Commentaries and Responses (1992).
Keven Brown. "On Human Origins: A Bahá'í Perspective," by Craig Loehle: Response to Commentary (1994).
Gilbert Bartholomew. On the Shoulders of Giants, by Craig Loehle: Review (1994).
Paul Mantle. One Life, One Memory, by Rúhá Asdáq: Review (2016).
Suheil Badi Bushrui. Opening of the Academic Mind, The: The Challenges Facing a Culture in Crisis (2004). Perspective on the state of the academy: reforms essential to the progress and development of society: the central place of teaching in the curriculum; humility in place of intellectual arrogance; abrogating the practice of "publish or perish."
Loni Bramson (published as Loni Bramson-Lerche). Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada 1898-1948, The, by Will C. van den Hoonaard: Review (1998).
Graham Hassall. Origins of the Bahá'í Faith in the Pacific Islands: The Case of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (2006). The introduction of the Bahá’í Teachings to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in the 1950s and the consequent disturbance of the delicate church-state relationship operating at that time. Similar interactions may have occurred in other colonial environments.
Hoda Mahmoudi. Permanence of Change, The: Contemporary Sociological and Bahá'í Perspectives (2008). Sociohistorical changes of the Axial Age and the Renaissance, sociological views on modernity and its contemporary challenges, and key features of modernity as identified in the Bahá’í writings as "the universal awakening of historical consciousness."
Patricia Verge. Personal Journey toward Reconciliation, A (2016). On the author's spiritual journey and how it has been entwined with First Nations people; tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Bahá'ís; pioneering to the Nakoda community; and the importance of learning, listening, and personal transformation.
Robert E. Hayden, Douglas Ruhe, John S. Hatcher. Place of Poetry in Religion and Society, The: An Interview of Robert E. Hayden with Douglas Ruhe (2014). Introduction by Hatcher to the life of Hayden (2014); transcript of a talk between Hayden and Douglas Ruhe in 1975 on the future of poetry, transcendence, American destiny, important American poets, the Library of Congress, and Bahá'í spirituality.
Lynn Echevarria-Howe. Planning Progress: Lessons from Shoghi Effendi, by June Manning Thomas: Review (2000).
Peter E. Murphy. Poetry and Transformation (2014). A personal story of how the evolving attraction to and love of poetry transformed the author's life. Poetry, faith, and the revealed Word can have a dramatic effect on one's struggle for personal transformation in the midst of crisis and turmoil.
Mary A. Sobhani. Postsecular Look at the Reading Motif in Bahiyyih Nakhjavani's The Woman Who Read Too Much, A (2015). Nakhjavani’s historical novel includes metaphors that underscore a link between the secular and the sacred through the material and metaphysical act of reading; cf. McClure’s Partial Faiths: Postsecular Fiction in the Age of Pynchon and Morrison.
Annette Prosterman. Potential of the Bahá'í Faith to Grow in Scope and Influence, The (1992). A sociological perspective says that, to grow and develop, a religion must have ideological and structural elements that foster its effective growth, maintain its cohesion as a collective unit, and enable it to mobilize its members toward social change.
Shahla Ali. Power of Reflection, The: Advancing Governance and Dispute Resolution Systems through Devolved Reflection and Shared Knowledge Generation (2018). Reflection is the "source of crafts, sciences and arts," with the capacity to produce "pearls of wisdom and utterance as will promote the well-being and harmony of all the kindreds of the earth." It can improve institutions and community governance.
Dann J. May. Preliminary Survey of Hermeneutical Principles Found within the Baha'i Writings, A (1989). The multiple meanings contained within religious texts; symbolic and mythological nature of religious language; the role of science in interpreting sources; progressive and relative nature of truth; essential aspects of all religions; personal biases.
Aaron Alizadeh. Primum Non Nocere: Reflections of a Bahá'í Oncologist about Treating the Dying Patient (2015). Doctors must learn how to bring the topic of death into the physician-patient conversation. The Bahá’í Faith can help to address how death is perceived and discussed in the medical community.
Robert B. Rosenfeld, Michael H. Winger-Bearskin. Principles of Consultation Applied to the Process of Innovation in a Corporate Environment (1990). Innovation is essential for industrial growth, but is obstructed when creative employees are unable to communicate ideas and the organization is unresponsive. The Bahá’í process of consultation can enhance communication to promote innovation.
William P. Collins. Processes of the Lesser Peace, ed. by Babak Bahador and Nazila Ghanea: Review (2004).
Jack McLean. Prolegomena to a Bahá'í Theology (1992). Groundbreaking and thorough essay on the basic concerns of scholarly Bahá'í theology.
Janet A. Khan. Promoting the Equality of Women and Men: The Role of the Covenant (2000). The implementation of the principle of gender equality; the application of relevant Bahá’í law, including progressive clarification and application, the principle of convergence, and the exercise of restraint, all so as to ensure enduring change.
Kavian Sadeghzade Milani, Leila Rassekh Milani. Proof Based on Establishment (Dalíl-i-taqrír) and the Proof Based on Verses (Hujjiyyat-i-ayát), The: An Introduction to the Bahá'í-Muslim Polemics (1997). Study of Bahá'í apologetics based largely on the work of Mirza Abu'l-Fadl.
Michael W. Sours, Christopher Buck. Prophecies of Jesus, by Michael Sours: Commentary and Responses (1994). Editorial statement about the nature of Bahá'í scholarship and academic debate, followed by responses from each of the authors.
Brian D. Lepard. Protecting the Human Family: Humanitarian Intervention, International Law, and Bahá'í Principles (2003). The moral and legal problems raised by the use of military force to aid human rights victims. Relevant Bahá’í ethical principles and how these might assist us to reform existing international law to better protect all members of the human family.
Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian. Psychological and Spiritual Dimensions of Persecution and Suffering (1994). Persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran as an example of spiritual resilience: what are the spiritual meanings of suffering? When confronted with persecution or torture, why do some individuals show radiant acceptance; what role do faith and belief play?
Ronald Roesch. Psychology and Peace (1988). The relevance of psychology to the establishment of peace in the context of the Bahá’í peace message.
Shirin Sabri. Purpose of Poetry, The (1988). Justifications for the work of contemporary artists; now is the time for Bahá’ís to work towards the flowering of civilization, using art as a unifying force to create links of understanding; poetry provides a means of approaching spiritual reality.
David L. Erickson. "Purpose of Poetry," by Shirin Sabri: Commentary (1989).
Robert Postlethwaite. Queen Marie and the Baha'i Faith (1994). On the first monarch to embrace the Bahá'í Faith; the stature and the character of Queen Marie and her unique position in the early 20th century; her identification as a Bahá'í and her plan to visit Haifa in 1929; her relationship with Martha Root.
Jan T. Jasion. Queen Marie of Romania: A Preliminary Bibliography (1994). Very few royals have left such a rich literary legacy as did Marie of Romania. She published novels, fairy tales, articles and essays for newspapers and magazines in Europe and North America, and she wrote of the Bahá'í Faith.
Matthew Hughey. Race and Racism: Perspectives from Bahá'í Theology and Critical Sociology (2017). Review of the concepts of race and racism based on social scientific understanding, in order to better understand their definition and to delineate their relation to one another, and correlate them with the Bahá'í Writings.
June Manning Thomas. Race Unity: Implications for the Metropolis (1995). Universal principles of unity which apply to cities; how racial disunity has been imprinted upon the metropolitan landscape in the United States; spiritual principles necessary to improve the fragmented urban life around the world.
June Manning Thomas. Race, Place, and Clusters: Current Vision and Possible Strategies (2017). Division by place affects the possibilities for racial unity, especially in fragmented U.S. metropolitan areas. The "institute process” as a strategy could overcome challenges that place-based action poses for racial unity.
John S. Hatcher. Racial Identity and the Patterns of Consolation in the Poetry of Robert Hayden (1990). The dramatic tension in Robert Hayden’s poetry has often been mistaken for personal ambivalence and confusion with regard to both his ethnic identity and his beliefs as a Bahá’í — rather than the clear pattern of consolation that unites them.
Graham Hassall. Racial Unity: An Imperative for Social Progress, by Richard Thomas: Review (1997).
Janet A. Khan. Rank and Station: Reflections on the Life of Bahíyyh Khánum (2007). Distinctive characteristics of the designation of rank in the Bahá’í administration and the nature of "station," drawing upon the example of Bahíyyih Khánum, the highest-ranking woman in the Bahá’í dispensation.
Gerald Filson. Reading of Sona Farid-Arbab's Moral Empowerment: In Quest of a Pedagogy, A (2018). On the central goal of education and how it can address our evolving need to learn about both the physical and social world at a time when knowledge and information are accumulating at such an incredible pace.
Betty Hoff Conow. Reality Matters (1992). Bahá'í teachings discuss how reality affects matter and vice-versa. The "new physics" of relativity and high energy describe the reality of matter in similar terms. Our universe is both intelligible and is encoded with intelligence on the subatomic level.
June Manning Thomas. Reconsidering the Civil Rights Era in the Footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (2022-09). On principles of racial prejudice and 1960s South Carolina, including the fallacy of racial prejudice, the need to judge people by their moral character rather than their race, and the responsibilities of different races toward each other.
William S. Hatcher. Reflections on Infallibility (2007). The progress seen in human history would have been impossible without periodic Revelations. Infallibility is the main source of rationality, preventing humanity from losing itself in superstition, but should not be confused with omniscience or fanaticism.
John S. Hatcher, ed. Reflections on the Art of My Poetry: An Interview of Roger White (1929-1993) (2016). A glimpse into the mind of a gifted poet and the struggles that he, like many Bahá'í artists, encountered in responding to Bahá'u'lláh's exhortation that art best serves humanity when it elevates and edifies the soul and its spiritual receptivity.
Paul Lample. Reflections on the Challenge of Our Age (2022). On how Bahá'ís expect to search for truth and build a just and peaceful world through the conscious transformation of the moral order — not by force or coercion but by example, persuasion, and cooperation.
Roshan Danesh. Reflections on the Concept of Law in the Bahá'í Faith, Some (2014). The concept of law in the Bahá’í Faith; its early Islamic context; the nature of legal language and discourse in Bahá’u’lláh’s writings. Religious law, rooted in conscious knowledge and the dynamics of love, rejects rigid and legalistic rules.
Mikhail Sergeev. Reflections on the Epistemological Views of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (2012). Abdu’l-Bahá explored four sources of knowledge—sensory perception, reason, intuition, and tradition—to examine the importance of scripture, limitations of human knowledge, distinctions between objective and subjective knowledge, and between human/divine.
Amrollah Hemmat. Reflections on The Four Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh (2021). Studies of this book often focus on its Sufi and mystical aspects. But when it is seen within the larger context of the totality of the Bahá’í Writings, its purpose appears as a guide for spiritual wayfarers to the recognition of the Manifestation of God.
Alessandro Bausani. Reflections on the Spiritual Dynamics of the Bahá'í Faith (1988). The spiritual force released by Bahá’u’lláh has the power to change the entire world; he has given us the power both to understand human problems and to correct them; the gathering together of Bahá’ís in prayer will augment these spiritual forces.
Roshan Danesh. Reflections on the Structure of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Some (2015). While the Kitab-i-Aqdas might seem unstructured, lacking apparent logical or discernible order, there is meaning to be found in its organization — particularly the first 19 paragraphs: the pivotal constructs of Bahá’í spiritual and social teachings.
Courosh Mehanian, Stephen R. Friberg. Religion and Evolution Reconciled: 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Comments on Evolution (2003). A survey of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teachings on evolution showing that He reconciles two viewpoints — evolution and divine creation — that other thinkers have deemed irremediably in conflict.
Roger K Doost. Religion, the Bahá'í Faith, and Accounting: Is There a Link? (1997). Summary of discussions in an accounting class about spirituality. As a system that seeks to create balance, order, and justice in human business affairs, the philosophy of accounting is in line with belief in God and Baha’i principles.
Wendy M. Heller. Religious Foundations of Civil Society, The (2000). A Bahá'í perspective on the loss of a transcendent ethical basis as a central problem of modern social theory; religion is the source of society’s moral foundations and its organizing principles of order, law, and governance.
Gary K. Waite. Religious State, The: A Comparative Study of Sixteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Opposition: The Case of the Anabaptists and the Bábís (1995). Brief overview of the nature of and opposition to the Dutch and North German Anabaptist movement of the sixteenth century; survey for the nineteenth-century Bábís; conclusions regarding important parallels noted between these movements.
Hoda Mahmoudi, Nasim Ahmadiyeh. Resilience in Children: Within a Spiritual, Social, and Neurobiological Framework (2002). Exposure to hardship and to events requiring adaptation to change allows the child to learn flexibility and resilience, and so find his or her sphere of useful service in a constantly changing world.
Amin Banani. Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Bábí Movement in Iran, by Abbas Amanat: Review (1989-1990).
Dwight Bashir. Rethinking Humanitarian Intervention: A Fresh Legal Approach Based on Fundamental Ethical Principles in International Law and World Religions, by Brian Lepard: Review (2004).
Louise Profeit-LeBlanc. Return to Tyendinaga: The Story of Jim and Melba Loft, Bahá'í Pioneers, by Evelyn Loft Watts and Patricia Verge: Review (2014).
Kenneth E. Bowers. Revelation and Social Reality: Learning to Translate What Is Written into Reality, by Paul Lample: Review (2009).
Stephen R. Friberg. Revelation as Scientific in its Method: Science, Diversity, Consultation, and Learning in Action (2024-03). An exploration of Shoghi Effendi's statement that the Bahá'í Faith is scientific in method; the role of diversity in scientific objectivity and bias; the process of action, reflection, consultation, and study.
Susan Maneck. Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, by Jack McLean: Review (1999).
Ann Boyles. Rhapsody, God's Whimsy, and Planet Dreams, by Michael Fitzgerald: Reviews (1991).
Hoda Mahmoudi, Richard Dabell. Rights and Responsibilities in the Bahá'í Family System (1992). Duties ascribed in the Bahá’í teachings to the members of the family; complementary functions of women and men; the institution of marriage and family is fundamental in the development of a new society and global civilization based on equality and unity.
John S. Hatcher. Road Less Travelled By, The (2017). "From the Editor's Desk": Overview of this issue's articles regarding racism and proper responses to it, both among the general population and within the Bahá'í community itself.
Lin Poyer. Role of Material Goods in Spiritual Development, The (1989). On the challenge to develop creative, satisfying ways to live within a mass production/mass consumption 'materialistic' society; seen properly, material things can assist individuals in their personal growth rather than being a source of alientation.
Kerry Hart. Role of Music in the Advancement of Civilization, The (1989). Music is interrelated with feeling, value, and the very sense of self-identity. Nurturing an individual's sense of self-knowledge leads to mental and spiritual growth. Music, and its affect on the human soul, can be a foundation for philosophical inquiry.
Ross Woodman. Role of the Feminine in the Bahá'í Faith, The (1995). On the terms 'Masculine' and 'Feminine' as referring to 2 interdependent energies at work within the Manifestation of God and throughout creation, including the human individual; the important role of the 'Feminine' principle in the Bahá’í Faith.
Marion Woodman. Role of the Feminine in the New Era, The (1989). The unveiled feminine, symbolized by the unveiling of the Persian poet Táhirih at the conference of Badasht in 1848, announces a long-awaited coming of age or psychic integration.
Michael McMullen. Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time, by John Walbridge: Review (1999).
William P. Collins. Sacred Mythology and the Bahá'í Faith (1990). The mythological universe created by Bahá’u’lláh employs three significant spiritual verities: the unknowable nature of the Ultimate Mystery, the relativity of religious/mythological truth, and the necessity of science and investigation of reality.
Phyllis Sternberg Perrakis. Saddlebag: A Fable for Doubters and Seekers, by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani: Review (2002).
William S. Hatcher. Scholarship: A Bahá'í Perspective (1988). Bahá’í scholarship seeks to understand and/or apply truths contained in the writings of the Bahá’í Faith, but it may also involve historical/critical studies of the Bahá’í Faith as a social phenomenon. It is broad in scope.
Moojan Momen. Scholarship and the Bahá'í Community (1988). The place of scholarship in the Bahá’í community and the value of Bahá’í studies to that community; the problems that may arise for Bahá’í scholars in relation to their own spiritual life and also in relation to the Bahá’í community.
John S. Hatcher. Scholarship and the Bahá'í Vision of Reality (2018). "From the Editor's Desk": Understanding the various aspects of reality in contemporary fields of study can be enhanced when approached from a Bahá'í perspective.
Ervin Laszlo. Science and Prophecy: Humankind's Path to Peace in Global Society (1989). The path to peace can be trod through science — rational, scientific understanding — as well as religion — insight and intuition. The the two paths lead to the same destination: to the next, global stage in humanity's complex evolution.
Todd Smith. Science and Religion in Dynamic Interplay (2019). An approach to conceptualizing and contributing to the harmony of science and religion; some legitimate concerns many thinkers have with religion; three ways in which science and religion can complement each other.
Gilbert Bartholomew (published as G. A. Bartholomew). Science and Religion: Towards the Restoration of an Ancient Harmony, by Anjam Khursheed: Review (1988).
William S. Hatcher. Scientific Proof of the Existence of God, A (1993). Whenever scientists encounter a phenomenon that exhibits an evolution towards order, but without any observable reason for such movement, they suspect the cause to be an unseen force. Evolution presents a persistent movement from disorder towards order.
Arash Abizadeh, Ross Woodman, William S. Hatcher. "Scientific Proof of the Existence of God," by William S. Hatcher: Commentaries and Responses (1997).
Gordon Dicks, Philip Belove, William S. Hatcher. "Scientific Proof of the Existence of God," by William S. Hatcher: Commentaries and Responses (1994).
Richard G. R. Schickele. Search for a Just Society, by John Huddleston: Review (1990).
Jamar M. Wheeler. Seeking Light in the Darkness of "Race" (2017). A historical sketch of how race concepts evolved, with analysis at macro and micro levels of society. Oneness of mankind is an enlightening force that, through individual agency and collective social action, can transform society.
John Danesh. Selections from the Writings of E. G. Browne on the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions, ed. Moojan Momen: Review (1989).
Rhett Diessner. Selflessness: Congruences between the Cognitive-Developmental Research Program and the Bahá'í Writings (1990). On four major concepts shared by the cognitive-developmentalist theorists (Piaget, Kohlberg, Kegan) and the Bahá’í writings, including a developmental teleology, the stage-like nature of development, the importance of an epistemic focus, and selflessness.
Bradford W. Miller. Seneca Falls First Woman's Rights Convention of 1848: The Sacred Rites of the Nation (1998). Explores parallels between the Seneca Fails First Woman’s Rights Convention in the USA and the Badasht Conference in Iran, both in July 1848, in terms of the emancipation of women.
Michael Fitzgerald. Sense of History, by John S. Hatcher: Review (1990).
Wendi Momen. Seven Candles of Unity: The Story of `Abdu'l-Bahá in Edinburgh, by Anjam Khursheed: Review (1993).
Benjamin Schewel. Seven Narratives of Religion: A Framework for Engaging Contemporary Research (2015). Academic discourse on religion is beginning to resonate with the broader Bahá'í vision. Seven narrative frameworks are examined and contrasted: subtraction, renewal, transsecular, post-naturalist, construct, perennial, and developmental.
Julio Savi. Shedding Light in the Hearts: Reflections on Poetry (2001). Limitations and merits of poetry as an emotional stimulus, as truth, and as a privileged form of linguistic expression, and its purpose as a spiritual conception of the nature of reality.
Anne Furlong. Shoghi Effendi in Oxford and Earlier, by Riaz Khadem: Review (2000).
June Manning Thomas. Shoghi Effendi's Plans for Progress Practical Lessons (1997). The nature of "planning" and the role plans play in the Bahá'í concept of governance and human progress; four broad categories of guidance that Shoghi Effendi used when overseeing global plans; 'functional components' of his planning efforts.
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani. Silences of God, The: A Meditation (2014). While the Word of God dominated the history of religion, contemporaries question the orthodoxy of language. God's Silence is also essential in shaping our individual choices and collective histories, and understanding Bahá'u'lláh's words.
Christopher G. Gourdine, Justin R. Edgren, Thomas L. Trice, Joseph N. Zlatic. Social Affinity Flow Theory: A New Understanding of Both Human Interaction and the Power of the Baha'i Training Institute Process (2019). On a new explanation of social rifts prevalent in many societies today as well as constructive efforts of social change, including community-building work of the Bahá'í Faith, in both its teachings and its training institute process.
Glen A. Eyford. Social and Economic Development: A Bahá'í Approach, by Holly Hanson Vick: Review (1990).
Will C. van den Hoonaard. Social Organization of Mentorship in Bahá'í Studies, The (1998). Mentorship in contemporary Bahá’í Studies is influenced by gender inequality, generational differences, and a perceived hierarchical order of disciplines. How can these limitations be overcome?
Bret Breneman. Socrates'/Plato's Use of Rhetoric: A Bahá'í Perspective (1991). Classical rhetoric continues to increase our understanding of human utterance and expression; the figure of Socrates in Plato’s dialogues models a rhetorical mutuality, a 'pedagogical' rhetoric which demonstrates how refined speech is morally nurturing.
Amelia Danesh. Some Reflections on the Different Meanings of the Word Báb (1990). While Bahá'ís associate the Arabic word báb with Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, to Muslims it has several other meanings, resulting in different interpretations of events and figures in Bahá'í history by scholars approaching it from an Islamic perspective.
Anne Gordon Perry. Songs for the Phoenix, by Michael Fitzgerald: Review (1997).
Layli Maria Miron. Spiritual Cosmopolitanism, Transnational Migration, and the Bahá'í Faith (2020). Spiritual cosmopolitanism — how people can be persuaded to extend feelings of kinship beyond their own ethnic or national groups — and its principles of universal love and harmony is a key to borderless solidarity.
Robert A. White. Spiritual Foundations for an Ecologically Sustainable Society (1988/1995). The basic attitudes to Nature contained within the Bahá’í writings; the emergence of an ecologically sustainable social order is linked to basic principles of the Bahá’í Faith, with the balance and cohesion of material and spiritual realities.
John S. Hatcher. Spiritual Nature of Reality, The: Has the Future Already Been Written? (2000). Meditations on "Who is Writing the Future": why is spiritual development a social as well as personal matter; what is epistemological methodology for this development; how is it distinct from materialism; and how does it relate to the Covenants?
Phyllis Sternberg Perrakis. Spiritual Oppression in Frankenstein (1999). Comparing Shelley’s depiction of a spiritual malaise in Frankenstein with Bahá’u’lláh’s definition in the Kitáb-i-Íqán of the oppression experienced at the end of a reigning spiritual dispensation by the soul who seeks God but does not know where to look.
Ludwig Tuman. Spiritual Role of Art, The (1991). The Bahá’í writings indicate that art can render services of a mystical, moral, and social nature. This is the spiritual role of art, whose highest purpose is to ennoble the individual soul and the collective life of humanity.
Sharon Nur Hatcher. Spirituality in Medicine: Reflections of a Bahá'í Physician (2015). A self-reflective piece by a family physician and educator; personal experiences and challenges with patients, students, and colleagues related to the integration of spirituality into medicine.
Charles O. Lerche. Statecraft, Globalization, and Ethics (1999). The impact of cosmopolitan morality on international statecraft in an era of globalization; globalization is a process of world economic, political, and social change; globalism is a positive, and potentially corrective, dimension of globalization.
John S. Hatcher. Still the Most Challenging Issue (2019). "From the Editor's Desk": On race, racism, and the American Bahá'í community.
Sandra S. Fotos. Strategies for Spiritualization (1999). If the spiritualization process in adults is similar to other learning tasks, then active use of learning strategies may facilitate the development of spiritual virtues; a possible cognitive, language-based pathway for spiritualization.
Nazila Ghanea-Hercock (published as Nazila Ghanea). Striving for Human Rights in an Age of Religious Extremism (2016). Bahá'í perspectives on global human rights law, community duties, religion as a pillar of justice, and the oneness of humanity.
Jack McLean. Study of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to the Christians, by Michael Sours, A: Review (1990).
Kavian Sadeghzade Milani, Nafeh Fananapazir. Study of the Pen Motif in the Bahá'í Writings, A (1999). Theology and background of the "pen" metaphor — the creative force presented by the Manifestation of God — and the "tablet" — the recipient of the creative force. Also the five realms of existence: Háhút, Láhút, Jabarút, Malakút, and Násút.
Melanie Smith. Studying the Writings of Shoghi Effendi, by Morten Bergsmo: Review (1992).
Jonah Winters. Symbol and Secret: Qur'an Commentary in Baha'u'llah's Kitab-i-Iqan, by Christopher Buck: Review (1999).
Ross Woodman. "Symbols of Individuation in E. S. Stevens's The Mountain of God," by Cal E. Rollins: Review (1989-1990).
Cal E. Rollins. Symbols of Individuation in E. S. Stevens's The Mountain of God (1989). Stevens’s novel records impressions of the Bahá'í community in ‘Akká and Haifa in 1911. The two main characters are moving through an "individuation process" which could lead them to the Bahá'í Faith. Jungian literary criticism explains the symbolism.
Enoch Tanyi. Syrian Prophet(s), The (1991). The Qur'án says there were previous Messengers of God whose names have not been mentioned. Where do they fit into the chronology and timeline of the known Prophets? What could their nationalities have been?
Susan Maneck (published as Susan Stiles Maneck). Táhirih: A Religious Paradigm of Womanhood (1989). Táhirih, the Bahá'í archetypal paradigm of womanhood, is remembered by Bahá’ís as the courageous, eloquent, and assertive religious innovator whose actions severed the early Bábís from Islam completely.
Amin Banani. Táhirih: A Portrait in Poetry (2000). An account of Tahirih allowing her own voice, through her poems, to speak for herself, her time, and her motivations; it is her poetry that both reveals the layers of her complex motivations and makes her accessible.
Janet Cundall. "Tahirih: A Religious Paradigm of Womanhood,: Commentary (1992).
Lynn Echevarria-Howe (published as Lynn Echevarria). Take My Love to the Friends: The Story of Laura R. Davis, by Marlene Macke: Review (2008). Key figures in the development of the Bahá'í community in Canada.
Ali Nakhjavani. Ten Year Crusade, The (2004). How Shoghi Effendi prepared Bahá’ís for the 10-Year Crusade; 27 objectives he formulated; impediments to the implementation of some of those objectives; and the place of the Crusade in history as well as future developments destined to flow from it.
Executive Committee of the Association for Bahá'í Studies North America. Ten Year Retrospective, 24 July 2023 (2023-10). Retrospective outlining some of the ABS' key developments over the last ten years in response to the invitation of the Universal House of Justice to help build “the capacity of the friends to contribute to the prevalent discourses of society”.
Lindsay-Rose Dykema. Thankful in Adversity: Using Bahá'í Writings and Benefit Finding to Enhance Understanding and Application of Mental Health Recovery Principles (2018). Both the Bahá’í Writings and the literature on "benefit finding" can enhance the understanding and applications of mental health recovery principles; the spiritual dimension of recovery.
John Danesh, Seena Fazel. The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and The Ministry of the Custodians: Reviews (1993). Review of works by Adib Taherzadeh and the Bahá’í World Centre.
Jack McLean. The Life of Laura Barney, by Mona Khademi: Review (2023-07).
Kathryn Jewett Hogenson. The Maxwells of Montreal, volumes 1-2, by Violette Nakhjavani: Review (2013).
Christopher Buck. The Prophecies of Jesus, by Michael Sours: Review (1992).
Rhett Diessner. The Psychology of Spirituality, by Hossein B. Danesh: Review (1995).
Jack McLean. "The Purpose of Poetry," by Shirin Sabri: Commentary (1989).
Vahid Houston Ranjbar (published as Vahid Ranjbar). The Quantum State Function, Platonic Forms, and the Ethereal Substance: Reflections on the Potential of Philosophy to Contribute to the Harmony of Science and Religion (2023-01). Science and philosophy correlate to concepts from the knowledge system of religion; the ethereal substance described by Abdu’l-Bahá belongs to Plato’s idealized realm and resonates with the modern understanding of a quantum field.
Shahbaz Fatheazam. The Quickening: Unknown Poetry of Tahirih, by John S. Hatcher and Amrollah Hemmat: Review (2015).
Will C. van den Hoonaard. "The Role of Material Goods in Spiritual Development," by Lin Poyer: Commentary (1989).
Arthur Lyon Dahl. The Spirit of Agriculture, ed. Paul Hanley: Review (2005).
Kim Naqvi. The Wellbeing of Nations: A Country-by-Country Index of Quality of Life and the Environment, by Robert Prescott-Allen: Review (2003).
Michael Sabet. The World of the Bahá'í Faith, ed. Robert H. Stockman: Review (2023-07).
Roshan Danesh. Themes in the Study of Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb-i-Aqdas: Emerging Approaches to Scholarship on Bahá'í Law (2017). Review of what emergent scholarship has thus far accomplished relating to the study of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and Bahá'í law; suggested core themes and approaches; directions which future study of this topic might encompass.
Rose van Es. Thoughts on the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and the Rise of Globalism, Some (1995). Global thinking is replacing traditional nationalist ideologies; changes necessary for a shift to an ecologically centered ideology; merits of the Bahá’í Faith’s teachings in light of a global transformation to a world-centered mindset.
Guy Sinclair. Three Stages of Divine Revelation, The (2002). Shoghi Effendi states that the Kitáb-i-Iqán "adumbrates and distinguishes between the three stages of Divine Revelation"; some Sufi doctrines help understand the significance of Bahá'u'lláh’s three stages.
Roger M. Dahl. Three Teaching Methods Used During North America's First Seven-Year Plan (1993). Teaching methods used by American Bahá’ís to spread the Faith; firesides and teaching campaigns evolved during the 1930s; pioneer settlements were not used systematically until the Seven-Year Plan; difficulties caused by the race question in the South.
Paul Lample. Toward a Framework for Action (2018). On defining and encouraging scholarship, especially as it relates to the major objectives of the Bahá'í Faith, and the role of the scholar in the Bahá'í community.
Ian C. Semple. Towards a Spiritual Civilization (2001). Three methods to achieve the spiritualization of humankind: perpetual striving to draw closer to God in mind, action and spirit; the fundamental work of teaching the Message and building the Administrative Order; and participation in humanitarian service.
Joan Barstow Hernandez. Transformative Leadership: Its Evolution and Impact (2018). The ideas behind the conceptual framework and capabilities of Núr University’s "Transformative Leadership Program," developed as a Bahá’í-inspired approach to leadership in academic settings or in projects of social action.
Craig L. Volker. Translating the Bahá'í Writings (1990). In translating the Bahá’í writings, faithfulness to the original text is paramount, reflecting both the beauty of the original and accurately conveying its concepts; consultation is an integral part of the process; practical problems faced by translators.
Catherine Nash. Two Books on the Life of Tahirih: Review (2019). Reviews of Rejoice in My Gladness: The Life of Táhirih and The Calling: Táhirih of Persia and Her American Contemporaries.
Pierre-Yves Mocquais. Unité dans la diversité — les religions au service de la verité, by O. P. Ghai: Review (1989).
Roxanne Lalonde. Unity in Diversity: A Conceptual Framework for a Global Ethic of Environmental Sustainability (1994). This article contributes to environmental ethics by highlighting the common ground among several perspectives and discussing six principles that unite them; "unity in diversity" as a conceptual framework for devising a global ethic of sustainability.
Susan Lamb. Unity: The Creative Foundation of Peace, by H. B. Danesh: Review (1988).
William Gregg. Unless and Until: A Bahá'í Focus on the Environment, by Arthur Lyon Dahl: Review (1991).
Duane Troxel. Unlocking the Gate of the Heart, by Lasse Thoresen: Review (2000).
John S. Hatcher. Unsealing the Choice Wine at the Family Reunion (1994). Bahá’í scripture portrays human progress as propelled by two inextricably related capacities: independently acquired knowledge coupled with social action; in revelation this dynamic relationship is symbolized by the Kitáb-i-Íqán and and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Ann Boyles. Unveiling the Hidden Words, by Diana Malouf: Review (1999).
Charles O. Lerche. Us and Them: A Study of Alienation and World Order (1994). The division of the world into mutually exclusive identity groups and its implications for international affairs; alienation and estrangement as useful tools; the Bahá'í model of world unity and world civilization; the phenomenon of European integration.
Barbara K. V. Johnson. Valleys, Mountains, and Teacher Preparation (2015). The metaphor of the soul's journey through the Four Valleys illustrates the practical work of building a team of college and school-based practitioners in the Rocky Mountains to design a new program to prepare teachers for service in the public schools.
Elizabeth de Souza. Views from a Black Artist in the Century of Light (2020). On the experiences of Black artists; biographical notes on McCleary “Bunch” Washington; African-American spiritual songs.
Holly Hanson. Vision and the Pursuit of Constructive Social Change (2020). Observations about the elements of building new social structures; examples from moments in African American history in the United States to explore how constructive social change involves a systematic cultivation of vision; social transformation.
John S. Hatcher. Vision of the Future, A (2016). "From the Editor's Desk": Introductory notes to JBS volume 26:4, announcing that JBS is now free for sharing, with new articles posted freely online.
Joyce Baldwin. Walking the Spiritual Path with Both Feet Planted Firmly on the Ground (2016). Overview of the life of a Bahá'í native from indigenous-Tsimshian ancestry, who pioneered to Alaska and a reserve in Washington, and member of the LSA of Arcata, California. Includes reflections on teaching to Natives.
Dawn K. Smith. Way to Inner Freedom: A Practical Guide to Personal Development, by Erik Blumenthal: Review (1989).
Robert Sarracino. What Does Spirituality Look Like? (2024-09). Overview of the concepts of spirit and spirituality in the Bahá’í writings; discussion of a letter from the House on what spirituality should look like today; can the social sciences investigate the phenomenon of spirituality as central to human nature.
Sahar D. Sattarzadeh. When We In/visibilize Our Nobility... (2020). On the Violence Against Women Act; domestic violence and resilience; reimagining resistance and visibilizing justice; visualizing nobility as a meditation; our spiritual afterlives.
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew. Whither the International Auxiliary Language? (1989). The Bahá'í Faith has promised that a day will come when there will be a universal auxiliary language taught in schools around the world. This promise is vital for peace and harmony. English and Esperanto have both strengths and flaws.
Susan Gilman. "Whither the International Auxiliary Language?" by Phyllis Ghim Lian Chew: Commentary (1990).
Michael L. Penn. Why Constructive Resilience? An Autobiographical Essay (2020). Reflections on growing up African-American; guidance from and a meeting with William Hatcher; the relationship between stress and anxiety, depression, and powerlessness; the practice of constructive resilience.
Sohrab Abizadeh. Will Globalization Lead to a World Commonwealth? (2005). How emerging international crises, such as global epidemics, when combined with the fundamental principles of unity and social justice prescribed in the writings of the Bahá’í Faith, are impelling the world toward the formation of a world commonwealth.
Julio Savi. Will, Knowledge, and Love as Explained in Baha'u'llah's Four Valleys (1994). Exploration of some of the "seemingly abstruse" concepts of the Four Valleys.
Anne Gordon Atkinson. Women in Art (1991). Historically there have been many impediments to women achieving success in art: household duties, the rearing of children, poverty, and lack of education or encouragement. Bahá'í writings call for equal opportunity, and men have a responsibility too.
Stephen Lambden. Word Bahá', The: Quintessence of the Greatest Name of God (1998). The Arabic word bahá' — meaning beauty, excellence, goodliness, majesty, glory, splendor, brilliancy, and many others — was a term of considerable import in Islamic and Bábi literature, and was occasionally seen in prophetic or messianic contexts.

Academic journals
(mostly peer reviewed)

Australian Bahá'í Studies
Bahá'í Studies
Bahá'í Studies Bulletin
Bahá'í Studies Review
Journal of Bahá'í Studies
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
Occasional Papers in Bábí and Bahá'í Studies
Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies
Religion / Religions
Singapore Bahá'í Studies Review
Solas
Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy
World Order (and see complete issues)

Books

Khúshih-Há'í Az Kharman-i-Adab
Lights of Irfán
Studies in Babi and Baha'i Religions

Historical

The Open Court (1904-1931)
Journal de Constantinople (1848-1849)

Other Bahá'í journals

American Bahá'í, The (offsite)
Arts Dialogue (offsite)
Associate
Bahá'í Journal UK
Bahá'í News
Bahá'í World
Deepen
dialogue
elixir-journal.org
One Country
Reality magazine
Scriptum
Star of the West

Encyclopedias

Bahá'í Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Iranica
Encyclopaedia of Islam
Religious Celebrations
World Religions

Non-Baha'i

Iranian Studies
The Moslem World


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