"The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God's holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissention and strife."

-Baha'u'llah

Baha'is all over the world work together in service to humanity by furthering the principles of their Faith, which include the unity of the human race, the equality of the sexes, universal education, harmonization of science and religion, the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty, protection of the environment, eradication of all forms of prejudice, and the establishment of a just and peaceful order in which the rights of all peoples are fully recognized and protected.

• The Baha'i Faith is an independent religion and not a sect of any other religion.
  
  It began in 1844 when a young descendant of the Prophet Muhammad declared that he was a messenger of God sent to prepare the way for another messenger - Baha'u'llah. He called himself the Bab, which means Gate in Arabic.

• Baha'u'llah, which means the Glory of God in Arabic and pronounced "Ba-ha-o-llah", was born in Persia in 1817 and died as a prisoner and an exile in Akka, Palestine, now Israel, in 1892.

• The Baha'i Faith accepts all the major religions as deriving from the same Divine Source.
  
  The concept of progressive revelation is of central significance for the Baha'i Faith. Baha'u'llah taught that God intervenes throughout human history at different times to reveal more of himself through his messengers (called Divine Messengers, or Manifestations of God). Baha'u'llah himself stated that he is not God's final messenger.

• Baha'u'llah appointed his son, Abdu'l-Baha, which means Servant of the Glory in Arabic, as his successor. We look upon him as our role model, the perfect example of how we are to live and behave.

• In his Will and Testament, Abdu'l-Baha appointed his grandson as the Guardian of the Cause of God. He was the head of the Baha'i Faith from 1921 until his passing in 1957.

• The Bab, Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardian are referred to as the Central Figures of the Baha'i Faith.
  
  There is now no single person in a position of authority. At the local and national level the affairs of the Faith are administered by elected institutions called Spiritual Assemblies.
  
  The head of the Baha'i Faith is the Universal House of Justice, elected every five years by all the National Spiritual Assemblies at an International Convention at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel.

• All elections are by secret ballot. There are no candidates, no nominations, no canvassing and no electioneering.

• There are no clergy in the Baha'i Faith. It is not a church and there are no rituals.

• The central aim of the Baha'i Faith is to establish unity, which is necessary before we can have universal and lasting peace. We believe that people should work together for the common benefit of humanity.

• The Baha'i Faith is open to all. The only requirement is that one should believe in Baha'u'llah as the messenger of God for this age and obey His laws and teachings.

• There is no baptism. Children of a Baha'i family have to decide for themselves whether they want to be Baha'is after they turn 16.

• There are 6 million Baha'is in the world, in 235 countries, and around 6,000 live in Britain. There are small communities and isolated families in Corby, Kettering, Broughton, Wellingborough, Irthlingborough, Earls Barton, Brixworth, West Haddon, Daventry, Hackleton and Northampton.

• We sincerely believe that we are bearing God's message to humanity for this age and must share it with whoever wants to listen.

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