Community Building
The main thrust of Baha'i efforts toward social change is to build vibrant communities characterized by unity in diversity, mutual support and collective well-being. Children, youth and adults engage in their own moral development as they explore spiritual concepts and apply them in their own lives. People from the complete spectrum of racial and ethnic populations have full partnership in a grassroots process of learning and capacity building.
Devotional gatherings, informal yet respectful, bring people of all backgrounds and beliefs together in worship, and serve as the foundation for discussion and action in personal and collective growth.
Baha’is partner with their friends and neighbors to create classes for the spiritual education of all the community’s children.
The aim is for children to increasingly grow up free from all forms of prejudice, recognizing the oneness of humanity and appreciating the innate dignity and nobility of every human being.
Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program
Through the study of materials based on moral and spiritual concepts, young people ages 12 to 15 are encouraged to develop their spiritual qualities, intellectual capabilities and actively participate in the development of a better society.
Study circles are a groups that meet regularly to study course materials which include passages from the Bahá’í writings on specific themes. These themes when considered in the proper light, address the core of the worlds problems by strengthening the inner character of the participants and empowering them to carry out acts of service.
Addressing Race, Class, and Culture: Reflections on Baha'i Institutional Efforts in Washington, DC
“Solidarity in Solitude” LSA of LA County Southwest Baha’i community Reflection
"There are already significant efforts underway to learn how to create models of unity in neighborhoods and communities throughout the nation. Baha’is have been persistently engaged in such efforts for many years. The aim is not unity in sameness—it is unity in diversity. It is the recognition that everyone in this land has a part to play in contributing to the betterment of society, and that true prosperity, material and spiritual, will be available to us all to the degree that we live up to this standard. We should earnestly discover what is being done, what truly helps to make a difference, and why. We should share this knowledge throughout the country as a means of inspiring and assisting the work of others. If we do this, we could soon find ourselves in the midst of a mass transition toward racial justice." (read full text)