The Guardian described the emerging consciousness of the oneness of humankind that has been unfolding for the past hundred years as being driven by the two parallel and interrelated processes of integration and disintegration. It is by working in the context of the imperatives created by the two processes identified by Shoghi Effendi that we, as individuals, can respond effectively to the promptings of our conscience.
The most obvious parameter of this context is, of course, the moral obligation to demonstrate in our lives the sense of justice that the Faith teaches. Yet another is the concern you mention to avoid involvement in any form of partisan political action. This principle should not, however be misunderstood. The programme of the Bahá’í Cause itself operates in the political realm to the extent that it is concerned with inducing changes in public policy and behavior at local, national and international levels. To this end, the community collaborates with other likeminded organizations and works closely with sympathetic governments and United Nations agencies. In doing so, its efforts are scrupulous to avoid entanglement in agendas that serve the interests of particular parties, factions, or similarly biased political forces. This standard must likewise govern the behavior of individual believers….
An example of what can be achieved through intelligent and principled action of this nature was the struggle that took place in the second half of the twentieth century for the achievement of racial equality in such countries as the United States and South Africa. Decades before the issue had attracted any significant measure of public or governmental support, Bahá’ís were demonstrating in the conduct of their daily lives and the life of their communities—often at great personal risk—their unreserved commitment to the Bahá’í principle of the oneness of humankind. As opportunities expanded, the range of their efforts took advantage of such openings, and as political changes began to respond to changes in popular opinion, Bahá’ís were found in the forefront of the integrating forces that emerged. The Bahá’í community in the United States today may well represent the most fully integrated body of people in that country, a distinction widely hailed by leaders of the civil rights movement. The achievement is, in large measure, the victory of many hundreds of individual believers whose actions testified, in whatever circumstances presented themselves, to an unshakeable commitment to ideals that, for them as Bahá’ís, were matters of deep spiritual conviction.
It is significant that this achievement came without in any way compromising the Bahá’í principle of non-involvement in partisan politics or otherwise detracting from the image of the Cause in the minds of the general public. In doing what they could in the situation as they found it, American and South African believers ensured that their commitment kept them on the leading edge of a major process of social change. These efforts simultaneously deepened their understanding of the spiritual issues at stake and thus strengthened the effectiveness of their community as a force for the advancement of society.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual, dated November 27, 2001; compilation: ‘Bahá’í Approach to Non-Involvement in Partisan Political Activity’, prepared by US Bahá’í National Center, October 2022)
