With regard to the harmony of science and religion, the
Writings of the Central Figures and the commentaries of the Guardian make
abundantly clear that the task of humanity, including the Bahá’í community that
serves as the “leaven” within it, is to create a global civilization which
embodies both the spiritual and material dimensions of existence. The nature
and scope of such a civilization are still beyond anything the present
generation can conceive. The prosecution
of this vast enterprise will depend on a progressive interaction between the
truths and principles of religion and the discoveries and insights of
scientific inquiry. This entails living with ambiguities as a natural and
inescapable feature of the process of exploring reality. It also requires us
not to limit science to any particular school of thought or methodological
approach postulated in the course of its development. The challenge facing
Bahá’í thinkers is to provide responsible leadership in this endeavour, since
it is they who have both the priceless insights of the Revelation and the
advantages conferred by scientific investigation. - The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 19 May
1995 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual
believer; compilation: ‘Social Action’, prepared by the Research Department of
the Universal House of Justice, August 2020, online Baha’i Reference Library of
the Baha’i World Center)
