PART III

D – A religious solution?

The challenges which we face clearly demand a profound and continued change in attitudes, a willingness to see life in a much wider frame of reference than the satisfaction of our own immediate needs; in short, a moral or spiritual rebirth. If politics cannot provide the answers to today’s needs than maybe religion can. After all, spiritual guidance is traditionally one of the main concerns of religion.

To many this approach may seem like a waste of time. The influence and support enjoyed by religion has declined drastically in recent decades, and that process shows no sign of ending.
Scepticism concerning the established churches is now so prevalent, especially among the educated and the young, that it is no longer accurate to describe many Western countries as Christian.
From the 5^th century after the fall of Rome, the Christian Church was a center of learning in a barbaric world.
However, it had already, for various and often very human reasons, added a great deal to the original teachings of Jesus, and as time passed these additions gradually solidified into dogma and ritual.
The history of the churches’ rearguard action against Galileo in the 16^th century and Darwin’s theories in the 19^th century is well known.
Over a period of time the churches squandered their intellectual prestige until the point came when the majority of the well-educated could not take them seriously.
Perhaps as important a reason for the alienation of the educated and certainly of the young, has been the general failure of the churches to provide that spiritual inspiration and moral leadership which is their ultimate justification.
In the glorious days of its early history the Christian Church, besides being a center of learning, was also undoubtedly responsible for the raising of standards of civilization at all levels of society.
The Church became a power in its own right, it became involved in politics and closely thereafter corruption followed.
Such activities as the Crusades, the sale of indulgences, the Inquisition, to say nothing of the low personal moral standards of many churchmen, caused doubt as to the Church’s loyalty to the teachings of Jesus, and its claim to be the spiritual guide for mankind.
Instead of being a means for raising up the human spirit, religious laws have frequently become instruments of oppression.
Another matter which undoubtedly turns many away from present-day Christianity is its division into a multitude of sects which have arisen since it became institutionalized and ritualistic.
The quarrels between these sects have caused some of the most bloody and un-Christian behaviour in the whole of recorded history, a fact which is indeed difficult to forget.
With regard to the challenges which we face today it is not unreasonable for anyone to ask how can the Christian churches provide the necessary moral leadership when they cannot even agree amongst themselves.
Laudable as the ecumenical movement is, it has to be recognized that, even if successful, the unity which it would bring about would only cover one third of the world’s population – that is, the part of the world which is nominally Christian.
As the Christian churches do not recognize the station of the Founders of the other great religions, it could not embrace Islám, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism.

The history of Islám has many parallels with that of Christianity. It too, in its early years, inspired a great spiritual advance in the society of the time. The inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsular, previously one of the most backward social groups in the world, for whom murder and theft were a way of life, achieved moral standards and a social integrity as high as any existing at that time, by following the person and teachings of Muhammad. Within a few decades of Muhammad’s ministry, a peace and prosperity was achieved in the Middle East and along the coast of North Africa far more complete and deeply implanted than perhaps even the Roman Empire enforced at the peak of its power. That civilization was tolerant of Christians and Jews, showed more concern for the poor than any other up to that time, not excluding the Greeks, the Romans and medieval Christian Europe, and raised up the position of women from that which previously had been lower than a domestic animal. Islamic civilization built up the greatest universities and libraries of the time and made very significant contributions to the development of many fields of science, for instance, chemistry, metallurgy, medicine, algebra, geometry, astronomy and agriculture. The balanced appreciation of that great civilization for nature and the material thins of life can be seen in the beauty of all its arts.

However, there can be little doubt that Islám has long since fallen from these great heights. Its spirit has been weighed down and weakened by dogmatism, superstition, division and the most fierce reactionary social attitudes.
Though the details vary, the story is similar with regard to Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. In its day each of these religions was a tremendous power for progress; now each is but a pale shadow of its former greatness.

What is significant about the history of the old established religions is that their decline has nor demonstrated that religion as such is a false guide to reality and the best welfare of mankind. On the contrary, there is much evidence that when religion has been pure and vigorous it has led man to his greatest moral, spiritual and intellectual achievements. Having experienced civilization essentially without religion, many leading thinkers are coming to realize that there is not a substitute, and that there will have to be a religious renaissance if man is to meet successfully the challenges of the day.

The faults which have developed in the old-established religions are clearly very serious and it is not realistic to expect a religious renaissance if the price is continued acceptance of these faults.
There can be little doubt that the most basic requirement is the reconciliation of science and religion.
A religion which is to help man deal with worldwide issues must have an appeal to men of all cultural and religious backgrounds, and it must provide specific guidance on social organization as well as on matters at the individual level.
Many of the most forward-looking have come to realize that a renewal of religion along these lines implies a new religion which will embrace all other religions within its fold.

It is the theme of this book that such a religion does exist. The religion is the Bahá’í Faith. Its principal tenets are intellectual integrity, the complementary roles of science and religion, the essential unity of all religions, and the brotherhood of all mankind. It provides for a new highly democratic system of participatory government crowned by a world assembly, and for the application of spiritual principles to social as well as individual conduct. Special attention is paid to the avoidance of the disunity and corruption of principles which have affected other religions. It is a religion which speaks specifically to the challenges of this age and one which is spreading rapidly amongst all peoples and all classes around the world. It has a special attraction to the idealistic young and the oppressed. Already its followers have established the embryo of a world government with supporting bodies in very nearly every country of the world. It holds the promise of a golden age. It was of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, that Leo Tolstoy wrote:

“We spend our lives trying to unlock the mystery of the universe, but there was a Turkish prisoner, (Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká, Palestine,) who had the key.”

Chapter 2: The Time for World Unity

A – The Unifier

The Earth Is One Country Part 3

PART III

D – A religious solution?

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