Baha’i Holidays or Holy Days:
May 23: Bab’s declaration of his mission
May 29: Passing of Baha’u'llah
July 9: Martyrdom of the Bab
October 20: Birth of Bab
November 12: Birth of Baha’u'llah
Daily Prayers - Bahai have no clergy, sacraments or rituals except for daily prayers, Bahá’ís are encouraged to recite the phrase “Alláh-u-Abhá” 95 times in a form of meditation.
Bahá’í beliefs promoted major social changes - when they were first circulated in the 19th century: they supported gender and race equality; world government; freedom of expression and assembly; world peace; religious tolerance, and religious cooperation. In many ways, they were a century or more ahead of many other faiths. Their followers are heavily involved in promoting these concepts today. Also, unlike many other religions, Bahá’ís view scientific inquiry as essential to expand human knowledge and to deepen their members’ faith. They feel that science needs to be guided by spiritual principles so that its applications are beneficial to all humanity. One exception to their acceptance of scientific findings is their teaching about homosexuality. Baha’u'llah rejected homosexuality. This puts the Bahá’í faith in opposition to mental health and human sexuality researchers who have reached a near consensus that a homosexual orientation is unchosen, fixed, and is normal and natural for a minority of adults.
The Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel, is the global governing body; its functions were set out by Baha’u'llah. It is an all-male body. National Spiritual Assemblies (NSA) supervise affairs in each country. The American NSA is located in Wilmette IL at the site of a Bahá’í House of Worship. In each locality where there are more than nine adult believers, affairs are administered by local spiritual assemblies. Each of these institutions has nine members and is elected, not appointed. Their functions have been defined by Baha’u'llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Bahá’í scripture.
