Is Bahai a universalizing or ethnic religion?

Answer 1

The Baha'i Faith is a universalizing religion. What began in Persia (Iran) less than two centuries ago is now second only to Christianity in the number of countries, islands, and territories where the Faith is found. It's scriptures have been translated into more than 700 languages.

The Bab, forerunner of the Baha'i Faith, writes that all religions were potentially universal at birth, but lack of communications and the failure of their believers have restricted their universal nature. He goes on to say that this will not be the case with His Faith that will become universal.

All religions have a universal and eternal spiritual foundation on which for practical reasons, social laws, traditions and dogmas are added. These social aspects are not universal and are subject to change, in the course of time and from one society to another, in the same way as a tree trunk and branches remain in place, whereas the leaves and twigs are renewed every year. Baha'is believe that in the course of history, other religions will arise every thousand years or so, and reformulate the spiritual teachings that are common amongst all religions and and provide new social laws for the needs of that future day and age.

Christianity was restricted to a few believers for 300 years before Constantine adopted it as a state religion. The fact that the Baha'i Faith has had a swift planetary success is linked with the fact that the Baha'i Faith is inclusive of the spiritual teachings of all religious systems, but abandons the outdated dogmas and traditions that are no longer applicable to modern life and which produce division and conflict instead of fostering love and unity, which to Baha'is is the true purpose of religion.

In this way, for the past 160 years, the Baha'is have brought together contending societies in the Middle East and around the world by promoting inter-religious harmony. They firmly believe that if religious strife is not urgently quenched, humanity will not survive.