Bahá'í Family Life : Beyond the Traditional

Families have faced increasing challenges since the 1960s. This article explores the notion of "tradition" and defines the patriarchal and nuclear family systems. Judaeo-Christian-Islamic texts enshrined both patriarchal and egalitarian family principles, but the patriarchal aspect came to the fore. The Bahá’í approach is non-traditional insofar as it is logically independent of the rigid and inequitable systems of the past. Following review of selected Bahá’í secondary literature on family life to highlight the general discourse on Bahá’í family systems, this essay examines principles and prospects of the Bahá’í family. Bahá’í texts regard the family as a building block for virtues and qualities to be exemplified in the wider world. Bahá’í ideas of family are shaped by several broad principles: unity and gender equality; elimination of domination based on gender, physical strength or earning power; application of the Bahá’í legal notion of mutatis mutandis as an equalizing principle; rights and responsibilities of family members; non-traditional uses of parental consent and dowry; and commendation of the marital state without making it obligatory. Each Bahá’í family finds its modus vivendi through consultation, cooperation and loving respect. While the Bahá’í writings redefine the family as a place of equal rights, they do not legitimize various marriage alternatives that are now advocated.