Comments on: Declining Internet Interest for “Baha’i”

By: Frequency of the Word “Bahai” in Published Books | Baha'i Rants

Frequency of the Word “Bahai” in Published Books | Baha'i Rants — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:14:26 +0000

[...] you probably know, I’m a sucker for data-mining: Declining Internet Interest for “Baha’i”. That was keeping track of the relative popularity of search incidents for the keyword [...]

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 01:56:00 +0000

Interestingly if you search the names of other religions, and even the term “religion” itself – you’ll notice that the proportion of searches drop every summer (Northern Hemisphere Summer). For some reason that is not the same with the Baha’i Faith.

By: sonjavank

sonjavank — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:44:00 +0000

I agree these two issues are difficult ones but not all Bahais think that gays can't be at home in a Bahai community. My hope is that one day it will be easier as more Bahais work towards equality for gays. My blog is an attempt: justabahai.wordpress.com in the sense that it discusses ways gays need not be discriminated against, and attempts to show a distinction between what is in the writings and what is just plain prejudice. Barb's website is a forum and place where gays can have some sense of home. gaybahai.netI realise that some Bahai communities might be very homophobic. My hope is that Bahais will speak up so that their communities are more welcoming of diversity.It is not hypocritic to state Bahais believe in gender equality bar one, large anomaly, the absence of female membership on the House of Justice. I don't try to explain this anomaly, but that doesn't mean that the Bahai teachings of equality are invalid. In the end what matters is are the fruits of a religion. If you see a religious community doing work towards equality, towards diversity, that's what counts.

By: Guest

Guest — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 06:59:00 +0000

It doesn’t help that many in Western nation-states favor more social liberty and freedom when it comes to application of law to such things as rights and religion.

It doesn’t help that the Baha’i Faith, although tolerant of homosexual rights, has no “home” for them to express themselves freely within this faith. Celibacy isn’t for the majority of people, you know. That doesn’t attract anyone except those who either feel guilty about their supposed “burden” or actually are into that kind of thing, like smothering the truest forms of love.

It also doesn’t help that, while the Baha’i Faith promotes equality between genders, the Faith is still built upon patriarchy in the Universal House of Justice. People don’t like hypocrisy.

It always seems that Baha’is seem to neglect these issues within the Faith and expect people to not have a problem with them? This Faith isn’t for everyone and Baha’is need to get used to the fact that a Baha’i World Order will never be established in the truest sense until these issues are administered to.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:09:00 +0000

Bird, you don’t need a password here. Just write your comment. I’m not sure what you’re referring to exactly so if you’d give me a bit more to go on, perhaps I’d be able to help you.

By: Bird

Bird — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:31:00 +0000

Baquia- I am trying to get my password reset. I’ve tried every way I know how to sum a number (lol) so that I may reengage in this forum. Please help… Bird

By: AndrewRT

AndrewRT — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:37:00 +0000

The other relevant factor here is the radical change in the nature both of the internet generally and the Baha’i internet in particular.

In the 1990s, when I was at university, the internet was the playground of amateur websites. This was particularly true of the Baha’i Faith – I remember the “miracles” site being a godo example. Search “Bahai” and most of the pages that came up were pages from individual Baha’is showing particular aspects – readings, teachings etc – they liked about the Faith.

In around 2000 (in memory) we had in the UK a project called the “web of faith”. This involved setting up “official” webpages for each national and local community, and beefing up the offical bahai.org website of the UHJ. Baha’is were explicitly asked not to just search the internet for Baha’i but to use the official bahai sites as portals to other “safe” sites. This was sold as a way of avoiding contact with convenant breakers, among others.

Probably worth mentioning that about the same time you had the controversies with Talisman and the increasing moderation of soc.religion.bahai.

That said, I’m sure most people if they want to know what Bahai is about will turn to Google first of all.

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:28:00 +0000

Step 2 – Signing of Bahá’í Registration Card
From the NSA, Developing distinctive Bahai Communities.
You have asked if the mere declaration of faith by a newcomer suffices to recognize him as a Bahá’í, and whether
living the Bahá’í life should not be regarded as the basis of admission into the Faith. You should bear in mind that
the signature on a card, in the sense that it represents a record of the date of the declaration and data about the
declarant, is to satisfy administrative requirements enabling the enrollment of the new believer in the community.
The deeper implications of the act of declaration of faith are between the individual and God.
Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated June 7, 1974, to an individual believer: Bahá’í News of India, p. 2,
July/August, 1974, in Lights of Guidance, no. 264
Once a person residing in the U.S. has made a declaration of belief in Bahá’u’lláh, a Bahá’í Registration card should
be completed. On the card, the person is asked to provide his or her name, physical/mailing address, gender, birth
date, and country of birth; so that the individual can be added to the membership rolls and receive mailings.
Additional information collected on an optional basis includes the person’s race/ethnicity, language preference,
phone numbers and email address.
Exceptions to Need for Signature
There may be occasions when the candidate for enrollment does not wish to complete or sign the registration card.
If the Local Spiritual Assembly or other authorized representative is satisfied that the person sincerely believes in
Bahá’u’lláh, it should send the unsigned Bahá’í Registration card to the National Spiritual Assembly, explaining the
circumstances and providing the necessary information—as stated above.

By: Kgram

Kgram — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:00:00 +0000

No such requirement according to the Canadian NSA.