The best beloved of all things

Abstract

The Baha’i Faith presents a concept of justice closely linked to its core belief in the oneness and interconnectedness of all humanity. Baha’is are urged to think about all people as members of one human family. In the same way that the cells of a body work together to keep the body healthy and functioning, our responsibility is to work together to establish a just society. Oppression and violence against any one part causes damage to the whole. Justice, therefore, requires striving to safeguard the right of all to develop their capacities and contributions toward the advancement of civilization. The role of education is vital to this process. Through reflection on my personal history – from fleeing religious persecution in the land of my birth to becoming a social psychologist researching discrimination – I explore Baha’i perspectives on justice, unity, and the concept of collective trusteeship, with a particular emphasis on education.

Keywords:

• education
• unity
• collective trusteeship
• religious persecution
• Baha’i Faith

Notes

1. Body metaphors have been used in the past to justify hierarchical structures and disempower select groups of people, particularly in the presence of diversity. That is not at all the approach here. The key to ensuring that the call for unity is not used to justify oppression against one group, but instead values each member and the diversity present in the whole, is justice. See Karlberg (2012) for a more thorough exploration.