Social Action & Justice

“The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice.”¹ “Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth.”² “Let deeds, not words, be your adorning.”³ The establishment of justice in human affairs is a central Bahá’í preoccupation. The current disparity between rich and poor cannot be permitted to persist. All of the earth’s peoples should be able to enjoy the fruits of a materially and spiritually prosperous global society. To create such a society, it is essential that people everywhere be empowered to participate in the constructive processes that will give rise to such a society.

Effective social action aims to build capacity in individuals, communities and institutions to contribute effectively to those processes. It requires awareness of existing social conditions and a vision that animates and focuses our action. It calls for the development of individual capabilities, from the scientific, artistic, and technical to the social, moral and spiritual. It means fostering community development and paying attention to organizational structures and institutions that can act strategically as channels for individual and community action in service to justice, well-being and the overall enhancement of social life.

In order not to dissipate our resources, Bahá’ís actively pursue a few principal lines of action and focus on particular themes at this time. They invite others to join with them in collective efforts that include local study circles designed to discipline the lives of participants and aid them in applying spiritual principles to life’s practical challenges, devotional gatherings that augment our personal spiritual resources in order to motivate greater achievement, sounder relationships and greater reliance on God, children’s classes that lay the basis for the future well-being of humankind, and social and economic development projects. The themes of human rights, equality of women and men, global prosperity, moral development and social cohesion are among those that help define the priorities of Bahá’í collective social action.

* Adapted from For the Betterment of the World, a statement by the Bahá’í Office of Social and Economic Development, Bahá’í International Community.