A Bahá’í concept of peace as a resource for peace education: Case study of ‘The Problem of Prejudice’

ABSTRACT

This article describes a Bahá’í concept of peace in the context of discussions about the nature and focus of peace education, in particular the role of moral education as an element of peace education. It introduces the notions of human nobility and the oneness of humanity as the moral basis for holistic peace within a framework of the collective social evolution of humanity, and explores the idea of identifying, understanding, and removing barriers to unity, specifically in the form of inequalities and prejudices, as the foundation of an approach to peace education. The application of such an approach to a university level course is shared through a case study of ‘The Problem of Prejudice’, offered by the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland, College Park. Key strands of content and pedagogy are described, and qualitative data from students participating in the course in 2021 (n = 20), collected in the form of self-perceptions of changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes and commitment, are presented. The article concludes with a discussion of the learning gained from this study and how a Bahá’í concept of peace may serve as a resource for university peace educators and students.

KEYWORDS:

• Bahá’í
• moral education
• peace education
• higher education
• prejudice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The works of Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, great-grandson of Bahá’u’lláh, are authoritative Bahá’í texts.

2. These themes are elaborated by the Bahá’í Faith’s two founders, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, who Bahá’ís regard as universal spiritual (divine) educators equal to the founders of other religions. Religion is viewed as progressive, meaning that while all religions share an immutable spiritual core, religious laws and practices necessarily change over time and are contextualized to guide humanity in its social evolution. The Bahá’í Faith emerged in mid-nineteenth century Iran and its adherents have faced severe human rights violations ever since. Yet, its central teaching of the unity of humanity as the basis for a peaceful future society has attracted adherents from across the globe. It is the only religion to have grown faster than the general population in every United Nations region over the past 100 years (Johnson and Crossing 2020).

3. The works of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of Bahá’u’lláh, are authoritative Bahá’í texts.

4. The Universal House of Justice is the world governing body of the Bahá’í Faith.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tiffani Betts Razavi

Dr. Tiffani Betts Razavi is a Visiting Research Professor at the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace, University of Maryland, College Park, and a senior staff writer for The International Educator. Her research and writing explore human values in work and education, the equality of women and men, peace and integrative approaches to social change

Hoda Mahmoudi

Dr. Hoda Mahmoudi is Research Professor and Chair at The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace, University of Maryland, College Park. She studies an integrative approach to peace with particular focus on systemic racism and the root causes of prejudice, equality of women as a prerequisite to peace, global governance, and climate change.