dialogue: S U M M E R / F A L L 1 9 8 7
A Modest Proposal: Recommendations Toward the Revitalization of the
American Baha'i Community
Since the fourth epoch of the Age of Transition has
dawned, and momentous
events both within and without the Baha'i community have
ushered in our
rapid emergence from obscurity, a new sense of maturation and
openness has
begun to infuse the followers of Baha'u'llah. No longer a
minuscule band of
true believers braving the odds in a hostile world, the
worldwide Baha'i
community is now a dynamic, awakening force; its millions of
adherents
flexing new spiritual muscle, beginning to look outward
beyond their
confines and meeting the eyes of mankind as they begin to
look in. This
maturational process, though, is fraught with all the
difficulties,
transitions, and growing pains inherent in any
rapidly-changing organism.
Chief among any organism's growth adjustments is the major
shift from closed
system to open system; from dependence to independence. In
the growth and
maturation cycle of almost all higher life forms there is a
natural and even
beautiful process of a decreasing need for nurturance and a
consequent and
increasing need for self-realization and unprotected
development. The seed
becomes sprout becomes sapling becomes tree and bears fruit;
the bird
gradually learns flight; the child becomes a woman. As growth
and maturation
in the physical realm leads from attachment to detachment, so
the cycle of
spiritual maturity in a given community is a function of
increasing autonomy
and openness to discovery, awareness, and change.
No objective observer could fail to recognize the signal
growth and
maturation of the American Baha'i community since its
inception 91 years
ago. Moving from a tiny enclave of co-religionists to what
has now become a
well-known and dynamic community of faith, the Baha'is of the United States far
outweigh in activity and
influence our modest size of about 100,000 believers.
However, there is
clear and compelling evidence that the fortunes of the United
States Baha'i
community have stagnated, at least by some objective
measures, within the
past decade. Americans are loathe to face such stagnancy or
admit that any
decline is occurring, but even a cursory look at a few basic
facts and
indicators reveals the trends:
Declarations have slowed to a maintenance pace. In the 1960s
and early
'70s,10,000 declarations a year, many among young people,
were not unusual.
Since 1974, enrollments have hovered around the 3,000 per
year level, which
is approximately what it takes to replace attrition to
withdrawals,
pioneering, deaths, etc.
Youth declarations have dropped even more precipitously as we
have been
unable to sustain the influx of youth and young adults at
levels comparable
to the 1969-1973 period, when unprecedented numbers of youth
enrolled in the
Faith. Consequently the total of 19,000 Baha'i youth in the
American Baha'i
community in the peak year (1971) has declined to a total of
2,800 in 1987.
While the goals of the Nine, Five, and Seven Year Plans were,
for the most
part, won, the American Baha'i community has yet to achieve
anything close
to widespread enrollments and the beginning of the process of
"entry by
troops" expected here for over a decade.
Inactivity and alienation are difficult to measure
quantitatively. However,
the most commonly accepted gauge of inactivity-Baha'is who
are listed as
being "address unknown" status-now comprise a
staggering percentage of the
total community: 40-45,000 names of 100,000 believers. In the
1970s, this
figure generally stayed within the 30 percent range, while
now almost 50
percent of our community are "address unknown"-a
figure that likely
indicates increasing inactivity and alienation among the
believers.
The national Fund faces a greater deficit than ever before,
and
contributions, while up monetarily each year, continue to
represent stagnant
or even smaller numbers of participants, both in terms of
individual contributors and local Spiritual Assemblies. And
most seriously,
many conscientious Baha'is are convinced that a spiritual
malaise has
settled upon our small community, infecting us with a
lassitude that has
compromised our ability to grow and be healthy.
These are serious and troubling matters. But they are not
new, nor are they
insurmountable. The Baha'i community of the United States has
faced similar
tests and periods of dormancy before, and has redoubled its
efforts and
overcome its trials. Such effort was often painful, requiring
much personal
sacrifice as well as the sacrifice of sacred cows; but the
results were
great victories like those realized during the Ten Year
Crusade and Nine
Year Plan.
And not all, certainly, is bleak. There has been great
progress and a
veritable explosion of Baha'i culture in the past 20 years,
with signal
developments in the areas of Baha'i scholarship, development
of Baha'i
institutions, social and economic development, and the level
of maturity of
the community, to name just a few areas. No one discounts or
denies that
growth, but the problems remain large and seemingly
intractable, and could
seriously erode the aforementioned gains if not addressed.
The purpose of this essay is to attempt a beginning at the
discussion of
potential remedies for our plight. `Abdul-Baha assures us
that the
solutions to tests and difficulties come from frank and
honest consultation.
Hopefully, this proposal will serve to launch earnest and
soul-searching
discussion within the community. By no means does this essay
pretend to be;
all-inclusive, nor does it portend to have all or even one of
the answers.
We have restricted our observations and proposals to a
limited range of
national policy issues that can be consulted on and
implemented or rejected
in a timely manner. It is our hope that the implementation of
new policies,
designed to open up the f1ow of information between the
believers and their
institutions, will bring about more honest communication and
consultation
and thereby assist us all to more effectively address such
issues as
deficiencies in Baha’i devotional life, or problems with
racism,
prejudice, cultural pluralism, and sexism in our
midst-problems which many
readers may view as more fundamental than the one's we raise
here. It is the
fondest hope of the authors that these observations and
recommendations will
be accepted in the spirit of loving and honest consultation,
and not taken
personally by any one or looked on as hostile, destructively
critical, or
dissembling in any way.
One caveat: We begin with a fundamental assumption: that the
members of the
American Baha' i community are essentially good and sincere
Baha'is. This is
a declaration of faith founded on the belief that renewal and
growth can
only come when it is assumed that there exists a potential
for change; that
the most successful endeavors come when high self-esteem
flourishes; that
high expectations assure outstanding results. We can repeat
the many ills
which test the members of the community; we know that our
pain is no
different from the pain of countless others who are not
Baha'is; we
recognize that violations of Baha'i law occur in communities
across our
land. Nevertheless, we believe that another litany of our
shortcomings will
not inspire us to the task before us. Too often we hear lack
of progress in
the Cause blamed on a parallel lack of spirituality or
commitment in the
body of the believers. While there may be some truth to such
assertions, a
fair observer must acknowledge that our leadership and our
ingrained
traditions and even some of our time-honored spiritual
shibboleths must also
bear at least partial responsibility for our community's slow
growth.
Again and again, Baha'u'llah and `Abdul-Baha, although
profoundly aware of
our limits, emphasize the good that we can do, as all great
teachers must.
Few have improved because they have been told that they are
worthless or,
once again, failing to attain their assigned goals; they
succeed to the
extent they see before them a vision of their own potential
for perfection.
This vision motivates our willingness to discuss openly
disappointments,
miscalculations, and mistakes, for beyond them is a love no
paralysis of
will, no crippling, time honored administrative tradition, no
amount o(f
apathy criticism can destroy. Love, therefor, emboldens us
and perhaps makes
us appear arrogant or (foolish; but we offer these proposals
believing, as
all lovers do, that anything is possible.
1. The Guardian's admonition to "drown your troubles in
a sea of new
believers" has oft been alluded to in communications
from the Universal
House of Justice, but never really realized in the United
States. Cultural
conditions here may prevent such entry by troops now, but
sufficient
resources have never been allocated, whether locally or
nationally, to find
out if that is the case. In fact, the large enrollments in
the South and
elsewhere during the last period of rapid expansion in our
community were a
source of much controversy, and led to an emphasis on
consolidation that the
effect of stifling further expansion by depriving it of
resources and
administrative support Today, less than 10 percent of the
national Fund
contributions are spent in the service of teaching. And while
more money
does not necessarily equate with more teaching, at least an
increased
commitment would demonstrate our priorities are in order.
ISSUE: If we want to spread our Faith, we need to put our
money where our
mouth is.
PROPOSAL: (A) Establish a National Teaching Fund, to be used
solely for
teaching activities by a rejuvenated National Teaching
Committee with full
power to encourage and create large-scale enrollments through
providing
grants to local spiritual assemblies for teaching projects;
(B) Utilize
these Funds for long range teaching projects with deputized
full-time Baha'i
teachers.
OBJECTIVE: That contributions to the national Fund will
increase once a new
emphasis is placed on support of teachings projects, and the
teaching work
that proceeds from such contributions will bring
unprecedented expansion of
the Cause to the United Stages.
2. The process of excessive centralization, so often
castigated in the
writings, has gone too far in the US, both at the local and
the national
levels.
Such centralization has inhibited the "grass roots"
growth of new ideas and
new energy. Moves such as the establishment of Town Meetings
and the
recasting of electoral districts into smaller units are
positive,
progressive actions the National Spiritual Assembly is to be
applauded for
taking. The Universal House of Justice has called for a
"devolution of
autonomy" in the affairs of the community, and more of
this vital new trend
should be pursued.
ISSUE: The chief unit of the Faith is the local community,
and the
community's voice in the affairs of the Faith has too often
gone unheard or
unheeded. As a corollary, the grass roots efforts borne of
individual
initiative have too often been unsupported, ignored, or not
given adequate
consideration by a well-meaning but over-protective national
administration.
PROPOSAL: (A) That the National Spiritual Assembly adopt and
publish a new
policy emphasizing openness and decentralization in the
affairs of the
American Baha'i community; (B) That the National Spiritual
Assembly consider
a more Universal House of Justice-modeled administrative
approach by
establishing a national secretariat, with at least two or
three NSA members
based in Wilmette and responsible for the day-to-day
direction of the NSA
and its activities; (C) That American assemblies, both local
and national,
endeavor by policy to more actively seek out the views and
input of their
respective constituencies before undertaking any major
initiative or
program; (D) That the National Spiritual Assembly, its staff,
committees,
and agencies adopt a more open administrative style that will
encourage and
permit more individual initiative and the growth of
nontraditional or
unconventional approaches to Baha'i activity, with the aim of
fostering
unfettered and creative new approaches to teaching,
consolidation, and
administration.
OBJECTIVE: That activities undertaken with the prior
knowledge and
consultation of the community at large will be exponentially
more
successful, and that a new spirit of openness, tolerance, and
acceptance off
diversity on the part of the NSA will provide an example for
the community
and let a thousand flowers bloom.
The free flow of ideas and opinions is vital to the open
consultation
process and, more importantly, to the spirit of that cardinal
Baha'i
principle: the independent investigation of truth. Certainly,
signing a
declaration card does not strip the new believer of his or
her access to
said principle; yet we often act as if it were necessary to
protect the
Faith from its adherents. As a consequence, there are many
who feel that the
zeal with which our National Spiritual Assembly pursues the
mandated policy
of reviewing prospective publications and special materials
(once necessary
in the days of our community's infancy) has overstepped the
bounds of
moderation. Originally intended by Shoghi Effendi only to
insure accuracy
and dignity when presenting the Baha'i Faith to the public,
review of
publications has become a politicized process whereby
reviewing bodies may
impose their particular views of the Faith in unmitigated and
unchecked
censorship. This policy, now often utilized to silence
disparate opinion and
frank expression of non-mainstream views, has become a silent
censor, hidden
from the community at large and doubly dangerous because of
its cloistered
nature. As the recently "opened up" Letters column
in The American Baha'i
proves, Baha'is not only have a high level of interest in
unfettered
expression, but use such opportunities thoughtfully and
responsibly. The
Guardian himself declared that the review process was only a
"temporary"
measure and would "definitely be abolished" once
the Faith was better known.
ISSUE: In a community that has "emerged from
obscurity," review and its
accompanying censorship have no place. In fact, since all
non-Baha'is can
openly write and publish freely on the subject of the Faith,
Baha'is should
certainly be afforded the same freedom.
PROPOSAL: That the National Spiritual Assembly petition the
Universal House
of Justice for the abolishment of review in the United States
Baha’i
community.
ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL: Review be confined to introductory
literature aimed at
explaining the Baha’i Faith and teachings to the public
produced by the
Baha'i Publishing Trust (that is, material that would be
perceived by the
public as "official" literature of the American
Baha'i community and its
institutions). Evaluation of Baha'i scholarship, literature,
and special
materials produced by independent Baha' i publishers and
companies should be
made by those responsible for the material.
OBJECTIVE: If review is abolished, the flow of ideas,
scholarly debate, and
intellectual fervent will increase, becoming a boon to the
quality of Baha'i
life, individually and collectively. A climate in which
people feel
comfortable to speak out and share controversial or new ideas
will be
created. Also, non-Baha'is will begin to see a community that
values and
gives full expression to diversity.
The National Baha'i Convention is a wonderful institution,
brimming with the
spirit of the Baha’i electoral process and alive with
potential dialogue and
interchange between the believers' democratically elected
delegates and
their NSA. But for too long, the national convention has been
a hollow shell
of what it can be, with limited and even truncated time for
consultation,
with speechifying instead of meaningful exchange of views,
and with the
subsequent loss of the real opportunity to get to know one's
fellow
delegates. Even though the formal convention itself may be
time- or
agenda-limited by guidance from the World Centre, nothing
prohibits us from
extending it by holding a delegate conference beforehand.
ISSUE: That the Baha'i National Convention is a vital
opportunity to
translate community concerns and perceptions into national
action.
PROPOSAL: That each national convention be supplemented by
holding a
delegates’' conference just prior to convention with: (A)
Sufficient time
for delegates to prepare by mailing of NSA and committee
reports at least
one month beforehand; (B) the formation of small-group
working sections and
study groups on particular issues; and (C) publication of
position papers
produced by working groups of delegates around particular
issues; (D) there
be a pre--convention announcement the delegates of upcoming
NSA
issues/agenda items; and (E) increased levels of input and
responsibility
from the delegates concerning major capital expenditures the
NSA expects in
the coming year.
OBJECTIVE: That a growing sense in the community that the
process of opening
up our administration to new input and influence is
important; and
ultimately a much better and more responsive administration.
Many National Spiritual Assembly members, beginning with
Horace Holley, have
complained of the difficulty in serving administratively for
long periods of
time. Extended incumbencies, especially at the national
level, tend in any
governing body to produce stasis and inertia that can become
hidebound and
inflexible, thus turning such servants of the Cause from
progressive forces
to entrenched defenders of the status quo. For a Faith
without a clergy,
some would argue that we have created, by continuing to elect
the same
people to our National Spiritual Assembly, a professional
class of
administrators in the US Baha'i community. These leaders,
then, tend to
remain on administrative bodies because of their high level
of visibility
and name recognition, and thus generate extended incumbencies
that insulate
and draw them away from the concerns and activities of the
rank-and-file
believers. Dynamic leadership, important in any newly
emerging group, cannot
afford to lose contact with the experience of their
constituency, and almost
invariably does so in an extended incumbency.
ISSUE: That the Continental Board of Counselors has taken a
significant and
insightful step forward
in appointing Auxiliary Board members to renewable five year
terms.
PROPOSAL: That we extend such insight to our Rulers; and that
the terms of
National Spiritual Assembly members (and local, where
possible) be limited
to five years of service, with re-election permissible after
a one or
two-year hiatus.
OBJECTIVE: That the coursing of new blood and new leadership
through the
Cause effected by such a move, and the parallel and
consequent benefits of
having recent NSA members return to active non-administrative
involvement,
would spawn an exciting, fresh new level of creativity and
strength in our
administrative affairs and in the community-at-large.
Our financial base as a community is, as we know, the
"lifeblood of the
Cause." Many observers have noted, however, that our
accountability of how
we spend our funds in lacking.
ISSUE: That we should do a better job of last-dollar
financial accounting in
terms of telling the believers exactly where their
contributions have gone.
PROPOSAL: That we publish a clear, comprehensible,
last-dollar annual
report, detailing the expenditure of Baha'i funds, every year
prior to
national convention.
OBJECTIVE: If we publish a detailed annual report, the
believers will see
the myriad and important uses of their contributions more
clearly, and will
subsequently increase their giving.
No small amount of progress has been made over the past
decade in the US
Baha'i community in terms of uniting and bringing together
the institutions
of the Rulers and the Learned in consultation and in action.
This is a trend
that bodes well for the Baha'i future, and should be expanded
and enhanced.
In fact, the need for an advisory group, to provide
fact-finding assistance,
expert guidance, a wide spectrum of opinion, and consultative
input on
crucial questions facing the community, is an obvious use for
the expansion
and greater application of this trend. Most decision-making
bodies use such
think tanks to so advise them.
ISSUE: There is too large a gap between the local believer
and the NSA in a
large complex community like the United States, and that gap
can be
partially bridged by forming a think tank designed to advise
the
administrative order on crucial matters.
PROPOSAL: That the NSA and the Continental Board appoint,
from among elected
delegates and other qualified believers recommended by Local
Spiritual
Assemblies, four regional advisory boards (in `Abdu'1-Baha's.
designated
regions). Special attention should be given to placing
persons from
minorities and lower-class backgrounds on the Advisory Boards
and other
national committees. All too often, these are Baha'is
alienated from the
Baha'i administration, which operates on a white corporate
America model as
much as any ideal Baha'i model. At present, national
committees do not
reflect the ethnic or class background of these groups. That
is to say, even
though national committees often have members from different
ethnic
backgrounds, they are usually drawn from middle and
upper-middle class
Baha'is who share a similar perspective on the Faith and its
implications
for humanity. Beyond participation by minorities, the
Advisory Boards should
also be comprised of active teachers, Baha'i scholars, and
especially the
elected delegates; and the consultation of these boards be
open to the
community at large. The NSA would then meet with each of the
four boards
once a year in the respective region, and consult on matters
of concern and
significance there.
OBJECTIVE: The affairs of the Faith, when seriously, and
reflectively
consulted on by a divers group of minds, can only be
beneficially affected
with additional input to our governing bodies.
8. One of the most sacred, important, and crucial
responsibilities incumbent
on the Administrative Order is its role in the establishment
of world peace.
Called on to be a herald of the Lesser Peace by Shoghi
Effendi, the
Universal House of Justice has certainly set in motion a
mighty process by
the release of The Promise of World Peace. National Spiritual
Assemblies the
world over have promulgated the peace message, but few have
gone beyond
simple proclamation. The principles enshrined in the peace
message need to
be studied, applied, and acted on at the national and local
level in the
United States, not only so that the Baha' is can put their
principles into
practice, but so the world can see we revere deeds more than
words.
ISSUE: That world peace is a major goal of the Baha'i Faith,
and that the
American Baha'i community has a great bounty and
responsibility toward
urging its establishment.
PROPOSAL: That the National Spiritual Assembly appoint an
executive-level
National Peace Committee, empowered to make significant steps
in the
application of Baha'i ideals as they represent peace and word
unity.
OBJECTIVE: That a National Peace Committee could have a real
galvanizing
impact, not only on the believers, but on the United States,
its people, and
its leaders.
Five years ago, the Universal House of Justice alluded to
future glory for
Baha'i institutions when it referred to "great
humanitarian projects which
will be launched" under the aegis of the administrative
order. As a rule,
though, Baha'i institutions have avoided involvement in
humanitarian
projects like famine relief, the resettlement of refugees
(other than our
own), or the provision of general assistance to victims of
violence, natural
disasters, or oppression. Many Baha'is argue, in fact, that
our resources
and energy must be used solely to build up the Baha'i
pattern, because they
are so limited, and should not be expended in the cause of
"outside"
concerns. This view has crippled our ability to show the
world that our
concern for humanity goes beyond a set of high-toned
principles. The
beginnings of a remedy for this perception have taken root in
various social
and economic development activities, but most have been
limited and
primarily local in their scope. The national coordination of
annual social
and economic development priorities, and the development of
one goal area
during each Plan for the general assistance of humanity,
would much more
closely parallel the Master's life and example.
ISSUE: If the Baha'i community could consult and agree on a
more unified and
specific approach to social and economic development at the
national level,
our effectiveness in demonstrating our concern for our fellow
human beings
and thus our teaching efforts would bear more fruit.
PROPOSAL: That the NSA establish in each successive Plan a
specific area for
the Baha'is to focus on-although not to the exclusion of
other areas in the
matter of social issues (for example, civil rights, human
rights, drug
abuse, minority employment, etc.). Further, that the national
assembly
itself take on the task of conceptualizing, planning, and
carrying out the
centerpiece activity of such a campaign.
OBJECTIVE: That the resultant campaigns would bring Baha'i
solutions to bear
on difficult community problems; cause a vital intermingling
of Baha'is and
non-Baha'is who are interested in solving society's problems:
and provide
every Baha' i with the assurance that his or her religion is
interested in
reaching out to others with a selfless and pure hearted
concern.
The nine foregoing suggestions, as far as the authors know,
violate no
statutory provision in the Baha' i lexicon, nor do they go
counter to any
vital Baha'i spiritual principle. Their implementation would
be a matter of
simple legislation by the National Spiritual Assembly, and
would only in a
few cases involve further consultation with the Universal
House of Justice.
None, with the possible exception of numbers 1 and 9, would
require any
significant expenditure of funds. Most, if not all, would win
wholehearted
support by the majority of believers. And, perhaps most
important, none of
them are irreversible once adopted. All could be tried, and
if found
wanting, be easily jettisoned. Given the current state of our
community,
might it not be worthwhile to give at least some of them a
chance?
Note: This article never appeared in print. The editors
submitted it for
"review" (in-house official Baha'i
prepublication censorship) to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, and
actually met with two
members of that body in the spring of 1988. At National
Convention in April
1988, the authors and editors were condemned for even
thinking about
publishing such a document. The editors, heart-broken,
ceased publication of
Dialogue. - Ed.
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