One is entirely free to accept or reject the system of
belief Baha'u'llah teaches. The Baha'i Faith is a religion which believes
ardently in freedom of spiritual choice. No one is -- or can ever be --
compelled to be a Baha'i, nor does any discredit attach to one who, having
decided, for whatever reason, that he or she cannot continue to accept the
Teachings, may decide to renounce them. What one cannot properly do is to
behave in a way that undermines the unity of the Baha'i community, by
challenging the institutional authority that is an integral part of the Faith
one professes to have accepted.
(From a letter dated July 25, 1997 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
