Theocratic Assumptions in Bahá'í Literature

A survey of Bahá'í secondary literature in major European languages indicates that most commentators have supported the idea that Bahá'ís do not accept the separation of church and state. In contrast, this essay presents scriptural support that suggest that the institutional differentiation of the religious and political orders is a central Bahá'í doctrine. This essay examines one passage from the writings of Shoghi Effendi that might plausibly be interpreted in a theocratic sense, and one phrase interpolated into The Promulgation of Universal Peace, and then argues against the theocratic theory by criticizing one form of argument that has been used to support it. Beyond this, it points to three challenges facing the Bahá'í community: the need to provide explicit scriptural foundations to support ideas presented as Bahá'í teachings; the need to clarify certain attitudes toward politics; and the need for moral self-examination. If Bahá'ís are to present Bahá'u'lláh's remarkably modern teachings to the world, they will need to detach themselves from some inherited ideas and from their emotional associations.