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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... important to their iden- tity . I also have participated in the administrative structure that serves as the basis for local Bahá'í community life . I therefore had a firsthand understanding of how those institutions functioned . But ...
... important initial questions and provided helpful critiques . I am also indebted to Bahá'í researchers and scholars for their assistance in framing issues at the outset of the project . Special thanks go to Robert Stock- man and Theresa ...
... important for two reasons . One is to expose the reader to what Bahá'ís consider holy scrip- ture . Bahá'ís frequently remark among themselves and to non - Bahá'ís that un- like other religions whose scriptures were compiled after the ...
... importance of race unity efforts in the Atlanta context and its relationship to a global Bahá'í identity ( chapter 8 ) . Throughout the text , I have used the term " Atlanta Bahá'í community " sometimes to refer to the whole ...
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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 | |
Other editions - View all
The Bahá'í: The Religious Construction of a Global Identity Michael McMullen No preview available - 2000 |