The Baha'i Faith is the youngest of the world’s independent monotheistic religions. Founded in 1844, it now has more than five million adherents in 236 countries and territories. Baha'is come from nearly every national, ethnic and religious background, making the Baha'i Faith the second-most-widespread religion in the world. Among the principles which the Bahá'í Faith promotes as vital to the achievement of this goal are:

• The abandonment of all forms of prejudice
• Assurance to women of full equality of opportunity with men
• Recognition of the unity and relativity of religious truth
• The elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth
• The realization of universal education
• The responsibility of each person to independently search for truth
• The establishment of a global commonwealth of nations
• Recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge

Baha'is view the world's major religions as a part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will to humanity. Baha'u'llah (1817-1892), the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, is recognized as the most recent in a line of Divine Messengers that stretches back beyond recorded time and includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. The central theme of Baha'u'llah's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for humanity’s unification into one global society. While reaffirming the core ethical principles common to all religions, Baha'u'llah also revealed new laws and teachings to lay the foundations of a global civilization. “A new life,” Baha'u'llah declared, “is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth.”

The worldwide Baha'i community, composed of people from virtually every racial, ethnic and religious background, is working to give practical expression to Baha'u'llah’s vision of world unity. We invite you to learn more about the Baha'i Faith and benefit from the spiritual and practical insights found in the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, God's message for humanity in this day.

To learn more about the teachings of the Baha'i Faith, we invite you to the official US website to explore further: Baha'i Faith in the United States

Visit the website for our new Baha'i Center in Sterling, VA. Opening in Fall 2007: NOVA Baha'i Center.For more pictures you may visit: Photo Library

To order books and videos, please visit: Baha'i Publishing

For more Baha'i reference you may visit the Sacred Text site