| The
second most "global" religion
In just over 100 years, the Bahá'í Faith has grown from an obscure movement
in the Middle East to the second-most widespread of the independent world
religions. Embracing people from more than 2,100 ethnic, racial and tribal
groups, it is likely the most diverse organized body of people on the
planet. Its unity challenges prevailing theories about human nature and
the prospects for our common future.
The Bahá'ís have established "significant" communities in more countries
and territories than any other independent religion with the exception
of Christianity. According to the 1992 Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of
the Year, the Bahá'í Faith is established in 205 sovereign countries and
dependent territories. This point was first made in 1982, in the World
Christian Encyclopedia. That volume reported on the work of some 500 scholars,
demographers and statisticians who conducted the first comprehensive survey
of religious believers worldwide.
Geographic Spread
of the World's Independent Religions
- Number of countries with significant communities:
Christianity - 254
Bahá'í Faith - 205
Islam - 172
Judaism - 125
Hinduism - 88
Buddhism - 86
A Statistical
Snapshot of the Bahá'í Community As of 1996
Total number of Bahá'ís worldwide: more than 6,000,000
Dependent territories or overseas departments where the Faith is established:
46 *
Number of regional governing councils (National Spiritual Assemblies):
174
Number of local governing bodies (Local Spiritual Assemblies): 17,780
*
Number of localities worldwide where Bahá'ís reside: more than 120,000
Tribes, races and ethnic groups represented in the Bahá'í world community:
more than 2,100
Languages into which Bahá'u'lláh's writings have been translated: more
than 800
Publishing Trusts: 30 * ............ Radio stations: 7 **
Schools: 741 ** .............. Literacy programs: 203 **
Other development projects: 670 **
*As of 1994 **As of 1992
This
site brought to you by the Baha'is of Hamilton Twp., New Jersey
[(609) 888-1554]
Links for More
Information:
Additional Frequently Asked Questions
Bahai Faith in the United States
How to obtain books on the Baha'i Faith
The Lawrenceville, New Jersey
local community of Baha'is
A selection of links to
Bahá'í websites
- General information
and access to online Bahá'í resources
- The
Bahá'í World - official presence of the Bahá'í
Faith on the Web
- The Bahá'í
Faith Index (bahaindex.com)
- up-to-date news, plus a search engine and directory with over
3300 Bahá'í links, and information
in over 40 languages
- www.bahai.com - features information in
Persian, Arabic, Spanish, and English
- The Bahá'ís, an HTML
format magazine on the Faith (also in Italian, Bulgarian, French, Spanish, and Chinese)
- The
Bahá'í Study Center
(bahaistudy.org) - contains a handy glossary, audio/video materials
such as mp3 versions of books on tape, and online courses using
Blackboard CourseInfo.
- Uplifting
Words - Daily inspiring quotes from the Baha'i Faith
- Bahá'í by Subject - extensive and
also searchable information on theological, historical, and spiritual
issues.
- A Bahá'í Faith Page - Bahá'í
Vision - many Bahá'í links, and especially nice
are the daily prayer and quote.
- Planet
Bahá'í - a broad-based resource on the Bahá'í
Faith including feature articles, a large link library, weekly
newsletter, discussion forum, and chat room.
- The
Bahá'í Ring - a community of over 200 Bahá'í
websites, allowing you to browse from one to another in a very
unique and refreshing way. Membership is open to anyone with a
Bahá'í-oriented website.
- Bahá'í
World News Service
- news headlines from the Bahá'í International Community
- Bahá'í
Writings resources (search engines, study programs, compilations,
etc.)
- The
Bahá'í Library
- massive searchable collection of Bahá'í texts, articles,
bibliographies, translations, etc.
- The
Bahá'í
Writings page at bahaindex.com, containing links to versions
of texts (such as other languages, or downloadable versions)
- The
Bahá'í
Sacred Writings - a selection from the
Bahá'í World, the official site of the Bahá'í
Faith
- Search for words in the Bahá'í
Writings using the TrueSeeker search engine; a very effective
search.
- The
International Bahá'í Library's official
website, from the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israél
- Bahá'í
Writings index at bahai.com. User-friendly interface with
most widely sought-after texts available in either html or unformatted
text.
- Download
Bahá'í Devotions
for Feasts, Firesides, Meetings. Over 175 documents (in Microsoft
Word .doc, Adobe Acrobat PDF, and regular web page format) on
numerous topics are available.
- Administrative
bodies and communities
- Full listing
of Bahá'í
communities' websites worldwide
- Bahá'í
International Community - United Nations Office: Statement Library
- One
Country - the online newsletter of the Bahá'í International
Community
- The BCCA
(Bahá'í Computer and Communication Association) - responsible
for many mailing lists and websites. Its website includes introductory
Bahá'í information
as well as utilities for calculating your direction to the Qiblih,
as well as for determining sunrise and sunset times for the Fast.
- The Bahá'ís
of the United Kingdom
- The Bahá'ís
of the United States
- The Bahá'ís
of Brazil
- The Bahá'ís
of India
- The Bahá'ís
of Australia
- The Bahá'ís
of South Africa
- The Bahá'ís
of Malaysia
- The Bahá'ís
of Russia
- The Bahá'ís
of Italy
- The Bahá'ís
of France
- The Bahá'ís
of Canada
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1) The Promised Day
