Since 1950, the month of January has been dedicated to the commemoration of the World Day of Religion. This date was proposed in 1950 by a National Spiritual Assembly of the United States of Bahá'í faith, a religion that emerged in the 19th century through the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, Persian religious leader born in 1817 and died in 1892.
World Religion Day, according to its original proposal, is celebrated on the third sunday of january. Therefore, it is a moving date that, in the year 2020, will be celebrated on January 19th, and in the year 2021, on January 17th. In Brazil, eventually, the celebration may coincide with the National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance, which takes place on January 21st.
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Who are the Bahá’í?
The Bahá’í are the followers of the Bahá'í faith, which arose from the teachings of
Bahá'u'lláh. The prophet of the Bahá'í faith was a follower of Bab, another spiritual leader from the region of Persia (current Iran) in the XIX century. As mentioned, Bahá'u'lláh began to propagate the idea that he was the fulfiller of the promises of Bab and all the great world religions. His name even means “glory of God”.Bahá'u'lláh considered himself a successor from the lineage of the great prophets of world religions, such as Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Zarathustra, Buddha, Jesus Christ and Mohammed. He would be a kind of "promised" for the fulfillment of prophecies made by world religions. The Bahá'í faith, after the death of Bahá'u'lláh, was structured on this premise.
The main form of organization of the Bahá'í community is the local and national assemblies, which are spread all over the world, including Brazil. Among us, the Bahá'ís began to organize in 1921 with the arrival of Leonora Stirling Holsapple, better known as Leonoraarmstrong, member of the American Bahá'í community.
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At the age of 25, she came to Brazil to spread the Bahá'í faith and chose the city of Salvador, Bahia, as your residence. She has done important work in spreading the Bahá'í faith not only in Bahia but in different parts of the country. O IBGE does not produce statistics as to how many Bahá'ís there are here, but it is believed that there are about 400 of them in Bahia|1|.
It is also said that there are approximately seven million Bahá'ís spread across different countries around the world, and the seat of this religion is located in Haifa, Israel. Some Islamic-oriented countries, such as Iran, Egypt and Yemen, persecute and imprison members who profess the Bahá'í faith, as it is considered a heresy of the Islam, once emerged from reinterpretations of theIslam Shiite.
What does World Religion Day mean?
Bahá'ís believe that with a World Religion Day dedicated to thinking about harmony among world religions, the world can reflect on a future free from prejudice, discrimination and religious intolerance. This type of ecumenism is based on the idea that there are elements in common, among all religions, that point to pacifism and the search for harmonious coexistence.
It turns out that this type of universalization of religious particularities, in large part, hurts the salvationist assumptions of each religion. Christianity, for example, preaches the conversion of everyone to its faith, Islam demands submission from the faithful, and so on. Thus, the yearning for a religious universalism can compromise the cultural and traditional specificities of each religion.
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There are criticisms of this type of project, but World Religion Day can be a great opportunity to meditate and discuss the situation of religious traditions in the world globalized. It can be a tool to fight religious intolerance, both in Brazil and in other parts of the world.
The importance of this type of debate is crucial when we realize that the religious intolerance in Brazil it has grown in recent years, especially in 2019, when numerous attacks against groups that practice African-based religions were carried out. It is extremely important to reinforce the importance of peaceful and harmonious coexistence among people, regardless of their religion.
Note
|1| Born in Persia 175 years ago, the Bahá'í faith has more than 400 followers in Bahia. To learn more, click on here.
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/dia-mundial-religiao.htm