A friend and I decided to go to a Bahai service. We characterized this as anthropological research into "things humans do". Neither of us are interested in finding a church to belong to, but so many humans do join churches, so it seemed worthy of investigation.
The Bahai religion has its roots in Persia (Iran). I contacted the local Bahai group via their website and chatted with a woman, who shared details with me about various services we could attend.
Many religious groups find their numbers dwindling, as more of us identify as non-religious entirely, or perhaps 'spiritual but not religious'. This particular group met in a building that may have originally been a home. Perhaps 12 people joined via zoom, and we sat with 4 other people in what would have been the living room of the house.
We were warmly welcomed and assured that we could participate with comments, questions, or by sharing prayers if we wanted to. The opening video made clear that this is an inclusive faith that welcomes people of all races and religions. The video showed fields of tulips and lots of smiling faces, with a song playing over it all.
After that, we read the 8 readings provided in the pamphlet. Participants in person and on zoom spontaneously read the readings out loud, one at a time. Since this coming week is the spring equinox, the theme of the service was spring. One of the readings stated that everything that happens in nature is symbolic of the spiritual world. Spring represents a renewal in the spiritual world.
After the readings was a time for prayer. I was surprised that when participants prayed, they used old english, addressing God as "Thou". People prayed for the world, for friends who are sick, and for some who had recently died (that God would have mercy and turn shortcomings to good).
Prayer was followed by a discussion of the readings. One person shared that the Bahai faith illuminates her reading of the Bible. (She may have said that she is also a Christian.) Others quoted Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of their faith. Someone asked about a sentence that says that everything in the natural world has its counterpart in the spiritual world. She seemed to want to understand what this meant literally.
....
After I came home, I wrote in my notebook:
What is religion for?
-to bring peace to the world (I read this in a Bahai pamphlet)
-to form community (from a sign outside their building)
-to remind us of our shared values and ideals (this is what I sensed from the participants in the service)
....
Do I want a religion? Or, what type of religion do I want?
This seemed like a good thing to ponder after this experience.
For the three items I listed above:
-Peace seems like an important objective for all humans! I am saddened that there are forces that seem to be working towards increased hostility and agitation, but there are also many kind humans who are caring for other people. I know religious groups have also done practical caring for the poor and homeless as well. I feel like I can be a force for peace without being part of a religion.
-Community. I value my community at work and my community of friends. It's a little overwhelming to add a different circle of friends from a faith group. When I was new in town, I joined the Quaker community for a while. Once my relationships broadened, I didn't feel a need for that additional community any more. I think all relationships can be part of one's community. I can see the value in a larger group as opposed to many one-on-one relationships, though.
-Shared Values & Ideals. This area of my life is really personal. I read books and form my own guiding principles, and at times discuss them with friends, but a group discussion (like would happen in a church setting) just isn't part of my life. Sometimes I wish others would adhere to the principles I've chosen for myself, but I have to remind myself that they're free to live with their own philosophies.
...
Here are some of my values:
Undivided Life
-I don't like having to use a different type of language (Thee/Thou, old english) to discuss spiritual matters or address God.
-I've always disliked having to put on special clothes (for example skirts) when going to church.
The theme I sense here is that I value a consistency and undividedness in my life. Can I be the same person in the various parts of my life?
Messy/Real
-The videos were very beautiful but a little too perfect. I guess if someone wants to be uplifted they can focus on only the beautiful parts of life, but there's so much messiness to make sense of.
I want to be able to look at all the messy, confusing, hard bits of life. It's all part of the whole. I'm always looking for order in the chaos but I don't want order at the expense of honesty or realness.
Questions
-I sense that people want to have explanations or theories for things. For example, they want to know exactly what their religion teaches on a certain point.
I don't really find that useful. What is a particular group's dogma on what happens after death? Or what is the relationship one should have with God? Or is there a God? How does one access him/her? These are all unanswerable (if valuable) questions. I actually don't relate to the desire to have it all figured out/sewn up in a neat package of "these are my beliefs".
I prefer to hold the questions. I feel that not having the answers keeps me closer to sensing what is true and real. Questions are the tool for exploring and cracking things open.
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
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