Practical aspects of life as a Baha'i

[Sirona]

Dear forum,

I am trying to educate myself about the practical aspects of Bahai life. Therefore, I compiled some statements which I believe to have learned. They are mostly yes/no statements, but of course, I would appreciate some clarification. If anyone wonders, my cultural frame of reference is mainstream Christianity. Initially I intended to put it in the Bahai DIR, but I decided to put it under Religion Q&A so that knowledgeable non-Bahais can answer, too.

1. The Bahai faith, like Islam, allows only the single human voice without instrumental accompaniment in communal worship.

1a) Is this correct?
1b) If so, what are Bahai choirs for?

2. In Bahaism, a religious tax called Huqúqu'lláh must be paid, which is 19% of one’s income.

3. In Bahaism, there are no priests and no sermons in the worship service.

3a) Is this correct?
3b) if so, who has the authority to determine how scripture is to be interpreted?

4. Why are non-Baha'is not allowed to attend a Nineteenth Day Festival?

5. What is the difference between a devotional and a Nineteenth Day Festival?

6. If Bahais are as tolerant as is often claimed, why are Bahai not allowed to celebrate religious festivals of other religions (problem with interfaith marriages)?

7. Bahais, like Muslims, are not allowed to drink alcohol.

8. In Bahaism, as in Islam, there is a ban on images (to prevent "idolatry").

9. In Bahaism, there are 3 obligatory prayers. Do believers choose only one of them or do all 3 have to be recited every day?

10. Bahais must obey the orders of the Universal House of Justice, which is infallible.

11. Bahais are not allowed to engage in politics.

Maybe I’ll ask some more questions, but I think there are already quite a few questions to be answered.
Thanks for your replies.

 

[Starlight]

Dear forum,

I am trying to educate myself about the practical aspects of Bahai life. Therefore, I compiled some statements which I believe to have learned. They are mostly yes/no statements, but of course, I would appreciate some clarification. If anyone wonders, my cultural frame of reference is mainstream Christianity. Initially I intended to put it in the Bahai DIR, but I decided to put it under Religion Q&A so that knowledgeable non-Bahais can answer, too.

1. The Bahai faith, like Islam, allows only the single human voice without instrumental accompaniment in communal worship.

1a) Is this correct?
1b) If so, what are Bahai choirs for?

2. In Bahaism, a religious tax called Huqúqu'lláh must be paid, which is 19% of one’s income.

3. In Bahaism, there are no priests and no sermons in the worship service.

3a) Is this correct?
3b) if so, who has the authority to determine how scripture is to be interpreted?

4. Why are non-Baha'is not allowed to attend a Nineteenth Day Festival?

5. What is the difference between a devotional and a Nineteenth Day Festival?

6. If Bahais are as tolerant as is often claimed, why are Bahai not allowed to celebrate religious festivals of other religions (problem with interfaith marriages)?

7. Bahais, like Muslims, are not allowed to drink alcohol.

8. In Bahaism, as in Islam, there is a ban on images (to prevent "idolatry").

9. In Bahaism, there are 3 obligatory prayers. Do believers choose only one of them or do all 3 have to be recited every day?

10. Bahais must obey the orders of the Universal House of Justice, which is infallible.

11. Bahais are not allowed to engage in politics.

Maybe I’ll ask some more questions, but I think there are already quite a few questions to be answered.
Thanks for your replies.

I hope some Bahais will answer you. I think the Bahai faith is really interesting

 

[Truthseeker]

1. The Bahai faith, like Islam, allows only the single human voice without instrumental accompaniment in communal worship.

1a) Is this correct?
1b) If so, what are Bahai choirs for?

No, not really. In Houses of Worship there can be no instruments, but there can be choirs of people. I'm not sure what you mean by communal worship. This restriction only applies to Houses of Worship. In homes, which is where most devotional services are done as part of what we call the Feast, certainly instruments could be used, in some Feasts in my community a man has sung accompanied by a guitar sometimes.

2. In Bahaism, a religious tax called Huqúqu'lláh must be paid, which is 19% of one’s income.

Not 19% of our income, but 19% of the wealth we've accumulated over time.

4. Why are non-Baha'is not allowed to attend a Nineteenth Day Festival?

That has changed in recent years. Now a family member of someone who is a Baha'i can attend all of Feast, or what you call the Nineteenth day Festival. Before that change a person could be in the devotional part of Feast, but should leave by what we call the business part of Feast, where we discuss the affairs of our local community. This not a debate section, so I won't discuss the reason for this.

3. In Bahaism, there are no priests and no sermons in the worship service.

3a) Is this correct?
3b) if so, who has the authority to determine how scripture is to be interpreted?

Sorry, got this out of order. Yes, this correct. There were people designated in the past to interpret scripture, Baha'u'llah appointed Abdu'l-Baha to do so, and Abdu'l-Baha in turn appointed Shoghi Effendi to be the authorized interpreter of scripture, or what we usually call the Writings. There is no one now living authorized to interpret scripture. We consider the interpretations by these two men to be sufficient.

5. What is the difference between a devotional and a Nineteenth Day Festival?

A devotional can happen anytime, and has no discussion of community affairs.

6. If Bahais are as tolerant as is often claimed, why are Bahai not allowed to celebrate religious festivals of other religions (problem with interfaith marriages)?

We can celebrate these with family members who are of a different Faith. As to not being allowed, no one is enforcing this.

7. Bahais, like Muslims, are not allowed to drink alcohol.

That's true.

8. In Bahaism, as in Islam, there is a ban on images (to prevent "idolatry").

Images of Prophets are not to be shown in a public space. You might say it is to prevent idolatry. We shouldn't be so attached to the physical form of the Prophet, that could lead to worshipping the lamp through which the light shines, so to speak.

9. In Bahaism, there are 3 obligatory prayers. Do believers choose only one of them or do all 3 have to be recited every day?

We pick one.

10. Bahais must obey the orders of the Universal House of Justice, which is infallible.

They are not infallible in interpreting the scriptures, but they are infallible in filling in the laws needed in the times to come. It appears to me from the scriptures and interpretations that they are infallible in guiding what plans are to be set in motion. This can vary among Baha'is. However, in the end that doesn't make any difference as we would apply the same principle that guides us the lower Administrative bodies, the National Spiritual Assemblies, and Local Spiritual assemblies. We should obey the decision even though we might disagree with it, and if that decision turns out to wrong, that will become evident over time, and the decision can be corrected then.

Also, the UHJ generally gives the overall outlines of the current plan, the NSA's fill this in to some extent depending on the conditions of their country, and the LSA's make decisions based on the local conditions in their locality. In other words, what the UHJ provides are not "orders" but guidelines.

11. Bahais are not allowed to engage in politics.

Yes, we are not to engage in partisan politics. Politics defined on the basis of taking collective action to solve problems with others is okay as long as there is no partisan taking one party over others involved.

Maybe I’ll ask some more questions, but I think there are already quite a few questions to be answered.
Thanks for your replies.

Any more questions are welcome.