The Bahá'í: The Religious Construction of a Global IdentityRutgers University Press, 2000 - 246 pages The Bahá'í Faith is one of the fastest growing, but least studied, of the world's religions. Adherents view themselves as united by a universal belief that transcends national boundaries. Michael McMullen examines how the Bahá'í develop and maintain this global identity. Taking the Bahá'í community in Atlanta, Georgia, as a case in point, his book is the first to comprehensively examine the tenets of this little-understood faith. McMullen notes that, to the Bahá'í, Buddha, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed are all divinely sent teachers of 'the Truth', whose messages conform to the needs of their individual cultures and historical periods. But religion--which draws from the teaching of Bahá'u'lláh, a nineteenth-century Persian--encourages its members to think of themselves as global citizens. It also seeks to establish unity among its members through adherence to a Bahá'í worldview. By examining the Atlanta Bahá'í community, McMullen shows how this global identity is interpreted locally. He discusses such topics as: the organizational structure and authority relations in the Bahá'í "Administrative Order"; Bahá'í evangelicalism; and the social boundaries between Bahá'ís and the wider culture. |
From inside the book
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... Bahá'í World Congress discussed in chapter 1. Participant observa- tion events included as many Feasts , Holy Day celebrations , deepenings ( includ- ing weekly attendance at the Sunday morning Study Class held at the Atlanta Bahá'í ...
The Religious Construction of a Global Identity Michael McMullen. Chapter 1 [ The Bahá'í Faith ] implies an organic change in the structure of present - day society , a change such as the world has not yet experienced . . . . It ...
... humanity's future and explains its past ; and it provides a foundation for a Bahá'í's moral and personal conduct . Unlike some who believe that the upcoming millennium signals the " end of the world ” and requires a search for signs of ...
... World Congress as Global Bahá'í Dramaturgy During Thanksgiving week 1992 more than 27,000 Bahá'ís from 180 countries gathered in New York City to celebrate the Second Bahá'í World Congress . " It marked the one hundredth anniversary of ...
... Bahá'í World Center in Haifa , Israel , the Universal House of Justice ( the elected authoritative body that governs the world's Bahá'ís ) legiti- mated and fortified the Bahá'í vision of future global religious , ethnic , racial , and ...
Contents
Carriers and Converts | 15 |
The Bahaf Administrative Order | 34 |
Authority in the Administrative Order | 56 |
Personal Devotion and Organizational Participation | 76 |
Boundaries and Identity | 109 |
Teaching the Bahaf Faith | 126 |
Thinking Globally Acting Locally | 152 |
Conclusion | 175 |
Atlanta Bahaf Questionnaire | 185 |
Historical Overview | 193 |
The Bahai Calendar | 197 |
Notes | 199 |
229 | |
243 | |
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The Bahá'í: The Religious Construction of a Global Identity Michael McMullen No preview available - 2000 |