ABSTRACT
The Bahá’í community’s efforts to contribute to society’s material, social, and spiritual well-being date back to the inception of the Bahá’í Faith in the mid-19th century and are carried out in the context of a much larger enterprise—namely the continuous material and spiritual advancement of human civilisation as a whole. This chapter examines the theological and conceptual foundations that have guided and animated these efforts—the principle of the oneness of humanity, conceptions of history and the nature of progress, coherence between spiritual and material dimensions of human life, conceptions of power, and knowledge. The chapter examines the ways in which the Bahá’í community has striven to embody its convictions in its development goals, methods, and approaches. The insights shed light on the manner in which religious teachings are translated into action in the arena of development, and how organisations strive to be faithful to their mission while remaining relevant across changing social and cultural contexts.
