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Democracy In Religion?
The Baha'i Faith is the only Democratic Religion on the planet. With no clergy, the entire administration is created with the primary privilege of the Bahais: the right to vote. Authority in this system resides in the life and mind of the individual, as we merge our will with that of our Creator. Other privileges include giving to the Bahai Funds, which only Bahais are allowed to do, seeing the events on the planet with new vision and attaining an Angelic Station, among many others.
Although Baha'is do not accept contributions from non members, Baha'u'llah states that giving even less than a penny is more important than all the wealth on the planet. In fact, He then says: No, it's even greater, as the Baha'is occupy a Divine Station.
Democracy itself is a very novel and new concept, one of the blessings brought by Baha'u'llah. Even in America and Britain, women and minorities were not allowed to vote for many years. Ancient Greece had a few sparkles of democracy, but in a heavily class laden and class conscious social matrix.
The Baha'i system, with no party politics, no campaigning, and voting on the basis of spiritual qualities, is unique in the world, and is creating the foundation for a new Democracy and basis of authority that the planet at this point can't even imagine. In fact, Abdu'l-Baha states that the primary purpose of all institutions and administration is human happiness!
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