The Baha'i - The Religious Construction of a Global Identity (Hardcover)

The Baha'i 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 Baha'i develop and maintain this global identity. Taking the Baha'i 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 Baha'i, 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 Baha'u'llah, 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 Baha'i worldview. By examining the Atlanta Baha'i community, McMullen shows how this global identity is interpreted locally. He discusses such topics as: the organizational structure and authority relations in the Baha'i ""Administrative Order"; Baha'i evangelicalism; and the social boundaries between Baha'is and the wider culture.