The Bahá’í Faith and Covenantal Pluralism: Promoting Oneness, Respecting Difference

Abstract

The core teachings of the Bahá’í Faith are often summarized as the “Oneness of God, the Oneness of Religion, and the Oneness of Humanity.” Can such principles resonate with a pluralism based on the recognition of difference? Covenantal pluralism outlines a set of principles of co-existence based on deep respect for difference that acknowledges the exclusive truth claims of different actors. In this article, we examine how the teachings and practices of the Bahá’í Faith relate to this framework of covenantal pluralism. The “covenantal” vision of human solidarity resonates strongly with the Bahá’í Faith’s own conception of “Covenant” as the foundation of its community, internal constitutional order, and ultimate aims, as well as with the Bahá’í understanding and practice of consultative deliberation. However, the test of pluralism is how Bahá’ís engage with those who reject their religion’s truth claims and aspirations to oneness. In this regard, the Bahá’í teachings affirm the legitimacy of other religions, as well as the choice not to be religious. Bahá’í social engagement emphasizes collaboration with people of different religious and ideological backgrounds in community building, social action, and public discourse. A foundational principle of such engagement is the freedom not to accept the Bahá’í Faith or its teachings. Overall, the Bahá’í approach to pluralism is rooted in an affirmation of ontological oneness that is the foundation for honoring, respecting, and engaging with the social reality of diversity.

Keywords:

• Bahá’í Faith
• covenantal pluralism
• religious pluralism
• consultation
• deliberation

Acknowledgements

This article is part of this journal’s Covenantal Pluralism Series, a project generously supported via a grant to the Institute for Global Engagement from the Templeton Religion Trust. Conceptualization of this article has benefited from inter-religious and academic exchanges funded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, under the project “Rethinking Religious Pluralism in Asia: India–China-Indonesia” coordinated by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David A. Palmer

David A. Palmer is a Professor of anthropology jointly appointed by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Sociology of the University of Hong Kong. He has published several award-winning books on religion and society in modern and global China, including The Religious Question in Modern China. His current research projects focus on the Bahá'í Faith, Daoism, and trans-Asian religious connections.

Temily Tavangar

Temily Tavangar recently completed her Ph.D in anthropology at the University of Hong Kong and is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity. Her doctoral dissertation entitled “Tribal Cosmopolitans: Malaysia's Semai tribe and the Baha'i Faith” engages with debates spanning collaborative methodologies, cosmopolitanism, identity, social change, religion, and development. She has been a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford, National University of Singapore, and New York University.