A Bahá'í Perspective on Superstition and Idol Worship:
Some of its Implications in Some Selected Beliefs and Concepts
First presented at the Irfan Colloquia Session #54
Institute of Commonwealth Studies: London, England
July 2–4, 2004
(see list of papers from #54)
In this article, a number of Bahá'í texts would be discussed and a (some) Bahá'í definition (definitions) (or understanding) of the concepts "superstition" and "idol worship" would be derived. With these shades of understanding as the yardstick, some selected beliefs and concepts would be measured.
Among the beliefs or concepts discussed in this paper are:
The frequent exclusion of African Traditional Religion from the list of monotheistic religions; the assertion that adherents of all the major religions are prone to superstition and idol worship; the assertion that the spiritual station of an individual varies directly with his or her field of Bahá'í service or to the hierarchy of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh, the assertion that the value of an individual's service in the Bahá'í Faith varies directly with the level in the hierarchy of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh at which he or she is serving; the current political systems hold the key to true progress; and, social and economic development projects are not aimed at improving the quality of life of either the target group or the employers in these projects.
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