Europe has suffered so appallingly in past centuries from
persecutions and conflicts inspired by religious differences and fanaticism
that there has been a revulsion against religion. Many Europeans have become
sceptical, scornful of religious practices, and reluctant either to discuss
religious subjects or to give credence to the power of faith. This turning away
from religion has been powerfully reinforced by the growth of materialism, and
has produced a combination of physical well-being and spiritual aridity that is
having catastrophic results, socially and psychologically, on the population.
This intellectual and emotional atmosphere creates problems for the Bahá'í
community in two ways. Its effect upon a large portion of the non-Bahá'í
population makes it difficult for Bahá'ís to convey the Message to others. Its
effect upon the Bahá'ís is more subtle, but not less harmful: if not
consciously combatted, it can lead the believers to neglect those spiritual
exercises which are the very fountainhead of their spiritual strength and the
nourishment of their souls. (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal
House of Justice to the NSA of Norway, September 1, 1983; ‘Messages from the
Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)
