The question of politics has arisen elsewhere in other threads, with the suggestion that Baha'is are not supposed to involve themselves in "partisan politics". So I'd like to ask - are Baha'is allowed to join political parties?
Baha'i and political parties
- Thread starter iBrian
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BruceDLimber
Baha'i
I said:
No, Brian.
The primary goal of the Baha'i Faith is to establish unity, and the nvery nature of political parties and partisan politics is to operate via a "divide and conquer" process that is entirely antithetical to our purpose--hence, this prohibition! Joining political parties would simply undermine our own goals.
Regards,
Bruce
Pathless
Fiercely Interdependent
I'm wondering if you vote, or if participation in politics as they are currently practiced (hey, that's almost a toungue-twister 
) is discouraged.
) is discouraged.
So it would be impossible for the Baha'i movement to ever have political control of a country? And that politicians would not be able to be Baha'is and remain as politicians?BruceDLimber said:
Dear Pathless,Pathless said:I'm wondering if you vote, or if participation in politics as they are currently practiced (hey, that's almost a toungue-twister
We are encouraged to become familiar with the issues and vote for the candidates which most closely align with the principals of our Faith. We are encouraged to participate, but we must not affiliate ourselves with either party.
Loving Greetings, Harmony
BruceDLimber
Baha'i
I said:
We envision more a system when someday the overwhelming majority of folks are Baha'i and the Baha'i administrative system is adopted by popular consensus. . . .
And of course even then, there will be no compulsion on anyone to be Baha'i or to follow laws for Baha'is. . . .
Best,
Bruce
smkolins
Bahá'í
voting
Indeed taking advantage of what civic rights we can, without compromising our non-partison stance, is elemental to living a life that strives to make a difference.
However in detail, for example, in the US, Baha'is aught not join any political party and for example the rules vary state by state. In some states political primaries are by party affiliation only. Also there are various names for the non-partison approach. In most places one must "join" the unaffiliated classification. In other places you register as Independent - but in some places "Independent" mean libertarian, itself a very political party.
I don't know the situation in Britain in terms of the rules and regulations but for example in the US since we cannot be of either major party at least in my state Baha'is cannot be pole workers - as they are studiously run "non-partison" only in that there must be partisans present to oversee eachother. Silly but true.
However in a Baha'i context Baha'is do a great deal of voting. We vote for out Spiritual Assemblies, we vote for delegates to National Conventions which then vote for National Assembly Members and members of Local Assemblies vote for Regional Councils and members of National Assemblies vote for members of the Universal House of Justice. Secret ballots all and no one ever "runs" for office. All who can vote can can vote for any Baha'i in good standing (which is to say your average every day Baha'i not convicted of any felony for example), no electioneering, free to vote for the person whose skills and actions best suit the need. Tie's go to recognized minorities. Voting ussually takes place in a prayerful atmosphere... I think that's about it...
9Harmony said:
Indeed taking advantage of what civic rights we can, without compromising our non-partison stance, is elemental to living a life that strives to make a difference.
However in detail, for example, in the US, Baha'is aught not join any political party and for example the rules vary state by state. In some states political primaries are by party affiliation only. Also there are various names for the non-partison approach. In most places one must "join" the unaffiliated classification. In other places you register as Independent - but in some places "Independent" mean libertarian, itself a very political party.
I don't know the situation in Britain in terms of the rules and regulations but for example in the US since we cannot be of either major party at least in my state Baha'is cannot be pole workers - as they are studiously run "non-partison" only in that there must be partisans present to oversee eachother. Silly but true.
However in a Baha'i context Baha'is do a great deal of voting. We vote for out Spiritual Assemblies, we vote for delegates to National Conventions which then vote for National Assembly Members and members of Local Assemblies vote for Regional Councils and members of National Assemblies vote for members of the Universal House of Justice. Secret ballots all and no one ever "runs" for office. All who can vote can can vote for any Baha'i in good standing (which is to say your average every day Baha'i not convicted of any felony for example), no electioneering, free to vote for the person whose skills and actions best suit the need. Tie's go to recognized minorities. Voting ussually takes place in a prayerful atmosphere... I think that's about it...
smkolins
Bahá'í
positions in government
I agree with Bruce's comments but there is more to say....
I know of cases where it was possible to be elected or appointed without being a member of a political party. Sometimes city or county government can have such positions and I've heard of the occasional Baha'i in such a position. There are also judges who are Baha'is. I also know of one ambasador.
To allow Baha'is to "control" a country there would have to be extremely significant re-writes of large parts of public law (partisanship is really quite woven into the system in the US at least.)
In other parts of the world different rules do indeed apply. For example the King of American Samoa is a Baha'i and has been for many years. There are, I believe, whole villages in India that are Baha'i. I don't know how they manage the details of their local government though. I've also seen reference to some villages in African countries in the same situation.
I said:
I agree with Bruce's comments but there is more to say....
I know of cases where it was possible to be elected or appointed without being a member of a political party. Sometimes city or county government can have such positions and I've heard of the occasional Baha'i in such a position. There are also judges who are Baha'is. I also know of one ambasador.
To allow Baha'is to "control" a country there would have to be extremely significant re-writes of large parts of public law (partisanship is really quite woven into the system in the US at least.)
In other parts of the world different rules do indeed apply. For example the King of American Samoa is a Baha'i and has been for many years. There are, I believe, whole villages in India that are Baha'i. I don't know how they manage the details of their local government though. I've also seen reference to some villages in African countries in the same situation.
smkolins
Bahá'í
involvement in government
Baha'is do petition the government on various laws or regulations and again this varies by country.
The US Congress has passed several memoranda (that's not the right word....) condemning the treatment of Baha'is in Iran. Baha'is have also taken a leadership role in trying to get a UN convention passed - Convention on Children's rights perhaps? It was a couple years back.... I also know the German National Assembly had to petition the government as they had laws severely limiting the functionality of religious organizations if they didn't meet some criteria (ie basically Christian) some years ago.
Baha'is have also taken significant responsibilities with the UN World Conferences at Rio (Environment and Development) and in China (on the Status of Women.)
There are also a variety of local civic-minded programs - from a school in India to teach girls skills for work to a voice mail system for the homeless (for example so that employers can contact a prospective worker without having to call a homeless shelter contact number) to a food kitchen.... Baha'is have also advocated for harmony among the races and have a long history in the US of this - reaching back into the 1920's with Race Amity Conventions. The world has gone far down the road of Baha'is stances on such subjects over the last century but more remains to be done.
But in addition to any advocacy Baha'is may partake in we are forbidden to disobey the law of the land. So in Iran, for example, where various Baha'i institutions are illegal Baha'is do not form them (though much of the difficulty is that sometimes it isn't illegal perse but the allowance is ussually simply bait so that members who are elected can be rounded up and disappeared.) But we obey in peculiar ways sometimes. I understand under Aparthied in South Africa it was illegal to be members of an institution with interacial membership which was headed by a white leadership. So if a white person was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly he would spontaneously resign. Alas - I have no documentation of most of this and I could well have some detail wrong - but this is the kind of information that we envision is what we do at least.
Baha'is do petition the government on various laws or regulations and again this varies by country.
The US Congress has passed several memoranda (that's not the right word....) condemning the treatment of Baha'is in Iran. Baha'is have also taken a leadership role in trying to get a UN convention passed - Convention on Children's rights perhaps? It was a couple years back.... I also know the German National Assembly had to petition the government as they had laws severely limiting the functionality of religious organizations if they didn't meet some criteria (ie basically Christian) some years ago.
Baha'is have also taken significant responsibilities with the UN World Conferences at Rio (Environment and Development) and in China (on the Status of Women.)
There are also a variety of local civic-minded programs - from a school in India to teach girls skills for work to a voice mail system for the homeless (for example so that employers can contact a prospective worker without having to call a homeless shelter contact number) to a food kitchen.... Baha'is have also advocated for harmony among the races and have a long history in the US of this - reaching back into the 1920's with Race Amity Conventions. The world has gone far down the road of Baha'is stances on such subjects over the last century but more remains to be done.
But in addition to any advocacy Baha'is may partake in we are forbidden to disobey the law of the land. So in Iran, for example, where various Baha'i institutions are illegal Baha'is do not form them (though much of the difficulty is that sometimes it isn't illegal perse but the allowance is ussually simply bait so that members who are elected can be rounded up and disappeared.) But we obey in peculiar ways sometimes. I understand under Aparthied in South Africa it was illegal to be members of an institution with interacial membership which was headed by a white leadership. So if a white person was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly he would spontaneously resign. Alas - I have no documentation of most of this and I could well have some detail wrong - but this is the kind of information that we envision is what we do at least.