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Baha'i Principle of Religious Unity and the Challenge of Radical Pluralismby Dann J. May1993-12The Bahá'í principle of religious unity is unique among the world's religious traditions in that its primary basis is found within its own sacred texts and not in commentaries of those texts. The Bahá'í principle affirms the existence of a common transcendent source from which the religions of the world originate and receive their inspiration. The Bahá'í writings also emphasize the process of personal transformation brought about through faith as a unifying factor in all religious traditions. The apparent differences between the world's religious traditions are explained by appealing to a perspectivist approach grounded in a process metaphysics. For this reason, I have characterized the Bahá'í view as "process perspectivism". Radical pluralism is the greatest philosophical challenge to the Bahá'í principle of religious unity. The main criticisms made by the radical pluralists are briefly examined. University of North Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts By Dann J. May, B.S, M.S. Denton, Texas December, 1993 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSInvaluable discussions relating to this study were provided by Dr. Todd Lawson of the University of Toronto, Mr. Kambiz RafRaf, and my father, Mr. Thomas May. I would also like to thank my students as well as the members of the Bahá'í community, who over the years have had to put up with my speculations and ruminations about the whole question of religious pluralism and who offered ideas of their own. Thanks are also due to my wife, Phyllis Bernard, and my mother, Virginia May, for their support and encouragement throughout this endeavor. I would also like to thank Kathy Copeland of the Philosophy and Religion Studies Department at the University of North Texas for all her years of help related to my studies and to teaching classes at the University. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Historical Summary 1
The Bahá'í Faith's Relationship to Islám 4
Bahá'í Principles 6
Sacred Texts and Writings 8
II. THE BAHA'I CONCEPT OF RELIGIOUS UNITY 13
Transcendent Unity 16
The Twofold Nature of Every Religion 21
Faith: A Common Denominator 25
Exegesis of Important Terms and Phrases 34
III. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE BAHA'I VIEW 44
The Problem of Religious Pluralism 44
Typology of Responses to Religious Pluralism 45
The Bahá'í Repudiation of Religious Exclusivity 47
Bahá'í Inclusivism: An Oversimplification 50
The Bahá'í View and Historical Process 60
The Bahá'í View: Process Perspectivism 64
IV. THE CHALLENGE OF RADICAL PLURALISM:
A POST-MODERN DEVELOPMENT 65
The Charge of Misinterpretation 66
The Charge of Unnecessary Abstraction 74
The Problem of Initial Assumptions 77
V. CONCLUSION 83
APPENDIX A:
Similarities between Islám and the Bahá'í Faith 86
APPENDIX B:
Prophets Mentioned in the Bahá'í Writings 91
BIBLIOGRAPHY 93
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