The Baha'i faith was founded in Iran in 1844 when a Shiite Muslim named Siyyid ‘Ali Mohammad claimed that he was The Bab or The Gate. Meaning that he was a special prophet and interpreter of the Quran. His teachings and prophecies spread around Iran which angered the Shiite leaders at the time so they arrested and executed him. After his execution one of Bab's followers named Baha'u'llah continued preaching his message and these teachings eventually turned into the Baha'i religion. Baha'is believe God to be above everyone and is omnipotent. God also speaks through all prophets like Moses, Abraham, and Muhammad. The Baha'i religious text includes all the oral and written teachings of The Bab and Baha'u'llah. The Baha'i faith does not have a clergy or religious leaders instead they elect nine council members to lead each local community. Then each community elects a representative to go to the higher Baha'i councils of the world. Baha'is use a calendar that has nineteen months and nineteen days per month. At the end of each calendar year, the Baha'is fast for a whole month and then celebrate the New Year with a feast called Naw Ruz.

• Baha'is believe that every person belongs to one human family, an idea that was fully explored and taught by Bahá'u'lláh. According to Baha'i beliefs, Bahá'u'lláh is the divine teacher and revealer of religious truth. He also helped to facilitate some of the other core beliefs for the Baha'i faith, including:

  • a person's soul has no race, gender, ethnicity, or class- the separations that typically allow people to harbor prejudices

  • the root cause of prejudice is ignorance, which can be remedied by making knowledge accessible to all

  • science and religion are complementary systems of knowledge and practice

  • true prosperity is the balance between the spiritual and material requirements of life

  • justice enables an individual to distinguish truth from falsehood, as it is the most important tool in the establishment of unity

  • work performed in the spirit of service is a form of prayer

• Baha'is worship and services can look very different depending on where the service is taking place. Each Baha'i center has the opportunity to format its services, and worship, however they see fit. As Mary K. Radpour explained, some centers take part in group chants, choirs, recitation of prayers as a community, or the singing of gospel music. Each center is different because each is made up of its own governing body. For example, at the Chattanooga Baha'i Center, they do not partake in chanting because they do not have someone who is skilled in leading it, instead, they worship in different ways.

• The first two Baha'is in Chattanooga were Albert and Ruth James in the early 1940s.

• In 1981, the first Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Hamilton County was formed, containing 11 people.

• At this time the Baha'i Center for Chattanooga was in the home of Edith Osborn, one of the members. It remained as the worship center for Baha'is in Chattanooga from 1979-1996

• From 2000-2003 the Baha'is met in a building on East Brainerd Rd

• Then in 2003, The Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of Chattanooga purchased a building that was formerly the Gospel Chapel Church. That building, located at 2405 Hamill Road in Hixson, remains as the current Baha'i Center of Chattanooga