In mid-nineteenth-century Persia a young merchant named Mirza Husayn-Ali declared himself the bearer of a new revelation. He took the title Baha’u’llah, “Glory of God,” and taught that the world’s great religions were successive chapters in a single divine curriculum. The Baha’i Faith grew from that claim.

Its central convictions are the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of humanity. Prophets such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and the Buddha are all regarded as manifestations of the same divine will, each suited to the age in which he appeared. Baha’u’llah’s own writings call for the elimination of prejudice, the equality of women and men, universal education, and a world federal system capable of securing peace. The faith has no clergy; local and national spiritual assemblies elected by the community handle administration, and a Universal House of Justice in Haifa guides the global community.

Persecution has marked its history from the beginning. Early believers in Iran faced imprisonment and execution; the pattern continues in milder or sharper forms in several countries. Despite that pressure the community has spread to most nations and counts several million adherents. Daily prayer, an annual fast, and a calendar of nineteen months shape the private and communal life of Baha’is.

The faith presents itself not as a rupture with the past but as the latest stage in an unfolding conversation between the divine and the human.