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One Common Faith: The Podcast

One Common Faith: The Podcast

Written by: Siyamak Sasani
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"One Common Faith" is a document commissioned in 2005 by the governing body of the Baháʼí community, the Universal House of Justice. It follows an open letter sent three years earlier to the world's religious leaders, urging them to reflect on the oneness of God's religion and the dangers of sectarian hatred. By exploring passages from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh and other faiths' scriptures, "One Common Faith" provides insights on how religion affects societal advancement.

The foreword states the need for the religious spirit to be freed from constraints preventing its healing influence on societal breakdown. It emphasizes understanding the evolution of humanity's spiritual life, referencing the process of progressive revelation. The document describes the 20th century's characteristics through a spiritual lens, focusing on materialism's rise as the dominant world faith and the subsequent loss of certainty in this framework due to disillusionment and technological advancements.

A major theme is the contributions of major religions as civilizing forces and their response to humanity's search for meaning. It contrasts contemporary conceptions of religion, which often imprison the phenomenon within limits, with Baháʼu'lláh's view of all Prophets as united in proclaiming the same Faith. "One Common Faith" highlights religion's ability to awaken the soul to otherwise unimaginable potentialities, inviting reflection on passages from past religions about the oneness of God, divine revelations, and humanity's response to Revelation.

The document also addresses differences in religious social teachings, explaining that each religion's social teachings were suitable for the historical circumstances they addressed. Problems arise when followers impose outdated social rules on society. It explores the current state of the Baháʼí community, which represents diverse backgrounds and administers collective affairs without clergy through elected institutions. The Baháʼí community exemplifies that humanity can learn to live and work as a single race in a global homeland, with unity as the foundation to address humanity's challenges.


See also:

An Introduction to ‘One Common Faith’

February 7, 2017, in Articles > Books, by Iko Congo


https://www.bahaiblog.net/articles/books/introduction-one-common-faith/

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Siyamak Sasani Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • A Sea Change in Human Consciousness

    A Sea Change in Human Consciousness
    Nov 1 2024

    Part 1:

    "One Common Faith" suggests the 21st century is more open to Baháʼu'lláh's message than the last. It argues that 20th-century materialism, while promising progress, disconnected humanity from spiritual guidance. This led to disillusionment as material gains alone failed to bring happiness.

    Conversely, many in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific retained a deeply spiritual worldview. But Western materialism marginalized these perspectives, causing a crisis of identity and influence.

    However, the end of the century saw a resurgence of religion, driven by a sense of spiritual emptiness and sectarian conflicts. This revival manifests in growing interest in religious and spiritual matters, acknowledging religion's role in morality, and a widespread search for meaning. Movements like environmentalism and feminism also prompt re-evaluations of our place in society.

    For Baháʼís, this diverse spiritual seeking reflects humanity's quest for deeper meaning, echoing the tale of Majnún searching for Laylí. The document calls for recognizing religion's power to shape civilization and address current challenges.


    (Section 1: Rationalism and Materialism Have Failed to Replace Religious Belief:

    1. This period of history will be more receptive to the spread of the Faith.

    2. The twentieth century saw rationalism and a materialist conception of reality become the "dominant world faith" leading to individualism and a belief humanity could takes its fate into its own hands.

    3. It was assumed that values, ideals, and disciplines were now fixed and could be implemented by legislation and that human well being was attainable by scientific and secular means.

    4. In the undeveloped world religious worldviews continued to function but were marginalized, plunging their populations into a helpless condition and rendering faith apparently impotent.

    5. But there is no credible replacement for religious belief, so religion has resurged

    6. There is also a widespread revival of the spiritual search; all major religions see a growth of sects promoting it, the New Age movements is another response, and movements like environmentalism and feminism are also causing a reexamination of the sense of self.

    One Common Faith:

    A Summary of Its Contents

    by Robert H. Stockman

    https://www.bahaijp.org/library/uhj/ocf_e2.htm)


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