At age 19, Chris White chose to become a Baha’i. In doing so, he followed the religious faith of his mother who has belonged to that tradition all of her life. Now, some ten years later, Chris feels that he made the right choice because “things fell into place for me.”

Now ten years later, Chris is a candidate for a Ph.D. at Harvard in the field of religion. He also serves as a tutor to some of the sixty undergraduates choosing to major in this field.

Last week in my continuing effort to understand spiritual traditions not my own, I interviewed Chris at length. In discussion he explained to me the basic outlines of the Baha’i faith and answered my questions about his personal experience of it.

In some ways this faith makes demands that go directly counter to American culture. For example, members of this community strictly forego sexual intercourse before marriage, an ideal that Chris himself kept to. Also, they refuse to touch any alcoholic drinks. The reason for the latter prohibition is the belief that liquor is neither physically nor spiritually good for people.

The cardinal principle in Baha’ism is unity. Starting with the unity of God, these religionists extend oneness to the whole earth. Thus they stand adamantly opposed to prejudice and everything else that divides people from one another. More positively, “your life is supposed to be spent serving people,” Chris says.

Baha’ism is a recent religion, having begun less than 150 years ago. In 1863, an Iranian known as Baha’u’llah (“The Splendor of God”) was recognized as inspired and, a few years later, wrote the book accepted by Baha’is as their fundamental scripture. Baha’s oldest son, Abbas Effendi, would receive the mantle of his father and by the time of his own death in 1921,  emerge as the new faith’s greatest apostle.

One reason for Chris’ satisfaction with his faith is prayer. About this he says, “it’s a prayer-sodden religion.” Baha’is are required to pray at least once a day, but more frequent prayer is recommended. Chris himself prays several times each day beginning  when he wakes up each morning. The emphasis is on  prayer by oneself rather than in community.

The focus of prayer is not getting to heaven or escaping hell but rather to express love for God. And its purpose is to remake oneself to be more in harmony with God.

Baha’is do come together for a “feast” every nineteen days. Then they offer prayers and share snacks. Usually this takes place in the house of a member because temples are few. Members of the Baha’i community in Greater Boston number about 270.

God is radically transcendent, above human understanding. Still, as Chris says in traditional Baha’i imagery, God is “closer than our own jugular vein.” Despite his transcendence, the creator is a personal force, merciful and protecting.

Though the Baha’i emphasis on the oneness of God seems to exclude the notion of trinity, the tradition does speak of a Holy Spirit. Maybe, as Chris explains it, there is a kind of trinity but not “a language of it.”

Baha’is have suffered much persecution for their faith. In Iran especially, many have been martyred because they have been considered subversive of Islam.  They also were executed by Nazi Germany and enjoy only an uneasy status in many other countries. All of this happens despite the Baha’i commitment to the service of other people. Members are not supposed to proselytize; only teaching other people is approved.

Like Islam, Baha’ism accepts the leaders of the other religious traditions as prophets. Thus the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, and others are not regarded as alien but rather as contributing to religious development.

“We join where we can join,” explains Chris in commenting on Baha’i attitudes. That’s also the spirit of his marriage: his wife is Presbyterian but has accepted many of the religious practices of her husband.

So the Baha’is are clearly a spiritual force in many parts of the world. They share much with other traditions while bringing many of their own emphases and practices to contemporary society. In Chris White, one sees the harmony that religion can establish in the life of a highly knowledgeable and dedicated individual.

Richard Griffin