Louis Gregory embraced the Bahá’í Faith in 1909 and promoted its teachings throughout the rest of his life. 

     The Bahá’í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions and now the second most widely spread religion in the world. It is practiced by over five million people in 235 countries and independent territories who come from more than 2,100 ethnic, racial, and tribal groups.

     The Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh (The Glory of God), was a Persian nobleman who lived between 1817-1892 and who was a prisoner and exile for the last forty years of His life because of His teachings. He is regarded by Bahá’ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad. 

     The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

     One of the purposes of the Bahá’í Faith is to help make this possible. The worldwide community of Bahá’ís is working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland.

Basic Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh

Humanity is now coming of age. It is this that makes possible the unification of the human family and the building of a peaceful, global society. Among the principles which the Bahá’í Faith promotes as vital to the achievement of this goal are

• recognition of the essential unity and progressive nature of religious truth
• the responsibility of each person to independently search for truth
• recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge
• the abandonment of all forms of prejudice
• assurance to women of full equality of opportunity with men
• the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth
• the realization of universal education
• the establishment of a global commonwealth of nations

The oneness of religion

"There is no distinction whatsoever among the Bearers of My Message. They all have but one purpose; their secret is the same secret. To prefer one in honor to another, to exalt certain ones above the rest, is in no wise to be permitted. Every true Prophet hath regarded His Message as fundamentally the same as the Revelation of every other Prophet gone before Him... The measure of the revelation of the Prophets of God in this world, however, must differ. Each and every one of them hath been the Bearer of a distinct Message, and hath been commissioned to reveal Himself through specific acts. It is for this reason that they appear to vary in their greatness... It is clear and evident, therefore, that any apparent variation in the intensity of their light is not inherent in the light itself, but should rather be attributed to the varying receptivity of an ever-changing world. Every Prophet Whom the Almighty and Peerless Creator hath purposed to send to the peoples of the earth hath been entrusted with a Message, and charged to act in a manner that would best meet the requirements of the age in which He appeared." --Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, pp.78-9.

"All these divisions we see on all sides, all these disputes and opposition, are caused because men cling to ritual and outward observances, and forget the simple, underlying truth. It is the outward practices of religion that are so different, and it is they that cause disputes and enmity -- while the reality is always the same, and one. The Reality is the Truth, and truth has no division. Truth is God's guidance, it is the light of the world, it is love, it is mercy. These attributes of truth are also human virtues inspired by the Holy Spirit." --`Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, pp. 120-1.

Religion as a source of unity

"He (Bahá'u'lláh) sets forth a new principle for this day in the announcement that religion must be the cause of unity, harmony and agreement among mankind. If it be the cause of discord and hostility, if it leads to separation and creates conflict, the absence of religion would be preferable in the world." --`Abdu'l-Baha, Bahá'í World Faith, p. 247.

Independent investigation of truth

"Furthermore, know ye that God has created in man the power of reason, whereby man is enabled to investigate reality. God has not intended man to imitate blindly his fathers and ancestors. He has endowed him with mind, or the faculty of reasoning, by the exercise of which he is to investigate and discover the truth, and that which he finds real and true he must accept." --`Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 291.

Harmony between religion, science, and reason

"Religion and science are the two wings upon which man's intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress. It is not possible to fly with one wing alone! Should a man try to fly with the wing of religion alone he would quickly fall into the quagmire of superstition, whilst on the other hand, with the wing of science alone he would also make no progress, but fall into the despairing slough of materialism." --`Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p.143.

The oneness of humanity

"It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens." --Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 250.

The elimination of all forms of prejudice

"...again, as to religious, racial, national and political bias: all these prejudices strike at the very root of human life; one and all they beget bloodshed, and the ruination of the world. So long as these prejudices survive, there will be continuous and fearsome wars." --Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Baha, p.249.

Equality of men and women

"To accept and observe a distinction which God has not intended in creation is ignorance and superstition. The fact which is to be considered, however, is that woman, having formerly been deprived, must now be allowed equal opportunities with man for education and training. There must be no difference in their education. Until the reality of equality between man and woman is fully established and attained, the highest social development of mankind is not possible." --`Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p.76.

The abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty

"O Ye Rich Ones on Earth!

The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease." --The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, p.41.

"We see amongst us men who are overburdened with riches on the one hand, and on the other those unfortunate ones who starve with nothing; those who possess several stately palaces, and those who have not where to lay their head. Some we find with numerous courses of costly and dainty food; whilst others can scarce find sufficient crusts to keep them alive. Whilst some are clothed in velvets, furs and fine linen, others have insufficient, poor and thin garments with which to protect them from the cold.

This condition of affairs is wrong and must be remedied. Now the remedy must be carefully undertaken. It cannot be done by bringing to pass absolute equality between men." -`Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p.151.

Universal peace

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