Faith Freedom International

[bread]

Dear Forum members,

this is my first post in this section.
I would like to ask fellow members who are of the Bahai faith to fill me in with the basics of this religion.

1) founder and date of foundation
2) can someone convert that was not born Bahai, also are there any punishments mandated by this religion if a Bahai leaves this religion?
3) how many Bahais are there on Earth?
4) are there castes or poligamy alowed in Bahai religion?
5) are there missionary activities undertaken by Bahais?
6) is there a priestly class/clerical class in Bahai?

Please fill me in. Dont go deep, just the basics, as I am not knowledgeable about Bahai.

Thanks,

Bread

[Unknown 465]

1.The Bahá'í Faith began 2 hours and 11 minutes after sunset on
the eve of May 22, 1844, in the city of Shíráz, Persia

2. Yes you can convert even if u have any religion or ideology.. there is no punishment for leaving bahaism.. IN FACT.. its stated in bahai text that bahai is not the last religion and that others will fallow and you are INCOURAGED to convert once a new religion for a new time comes that as the prophet put it.. "To be a Bahá'í simply means...to love all humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood." - 'Abdu'l-Bahá

3. The bahai population as with any religion varries.. for example registered bahais totoall about 7 million but those only include grown ups who have officially proclaimed to be bahais.. it doesnt not include children.. BUT if you included chidlren the number can be as high as 18 million.. infact by 2100 there will be an estimated 100 million bahais..

4. there is no caste or pologmy in the bahia religion.. infact the bahia religion in some ways favors women.. for example its most important for women to have an education since they spend the most time with children..although education is very important for both man and women.. since women spend the most time nurturing the young its important they are educated because they can have a posotive influence on the children..

5. Protelising is forbidden in the bahia religion.. so theres no missions per say.. as the prophet of the religin put it.. if you create a garden soo beautiful others will come to it..

6. No there is no priests or clerical leadership in the bahai religion.which is one of hte things i love most about the religion... once a community has a certian number of bahais.. a community is formed where they gather to pray and collect money for the poor and dicuss how to furthre race relations and to work within the community to advance the community..

to give you some ideas ill quote some things from the prophet..
---
O thou who hast an illumined heart! Thou art even as the pupil
of the eye, the very wellspring of the light, for God's love hath
cast its rays upon thine inmost being and thou hast turned thy
face toward the Kingdom of thy Lord.
Intense is the hatred, in America, between black and white,
but my hope is that the power of the Kingdom will bind these
two in friendship, and serve them as a healing balm.
Let them look not upon a man's colour but upon his heart.
If the heart be filled with light, that man is nigh unto the
threshold of his Lord; but if not, that man is careless of his
Lord, be he white or be he black.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, Page: 113)

[Ibn Rushd]

Can Bahai scriptures be found in one book in English?