The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's
independent religions. Its founder, Bahá'u'lláh
(1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line
of Messengers of
God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Christ,
Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster and Muhammad.
The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is
one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one
global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical
forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class,
creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal
civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth
is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of
unification.
One of the purposes of the Bahá'í Faith is to help make this
possible. A worldwide community of some five million Bahá'ís,
representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, is
working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings practical effect. Their
experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their
vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.
