Narratives of those who left the Faith due to apathy of Baha’i Administration

1. Inge Barthel

Reasons why I left the Faith, starting with thoughts on the political/religious future framework:

In the ideal Baha\'i context, after entry by troops and Baha\'i constituting the majority of the population, the UHJ would have to one by one make binding all those laws in the Kitab-iAqdas that presently are not enforceable. As far as I understand it any UHJ would have no choice but to do that, - no matter how long or short their terms of office or election modes -, since they cannot abrogate any of Baha\'u\'llah\'s explicit writings. Therefore members of the faith will be subject to the laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas and be under the jurisdiction of the LSA\'s. Essentially this will create a state within the state. Adding that Baha\'i are forbidden to participate in secular politics other than vote, I see a vision of introducing theocracy through the back-door. Of course I believe it won\'t work, but that\'s what I see as a logical consequence from the way it was designed by Baha\'u\'llah. So why hang in there?

I don\'t dispute the many wonderful spiritual writings, guidelines, explanations a.s.f. There is a lot of inspiring and soul stirring material in the writings of Baha\'u\'llah, Abd\'ul Baha and even SE and the UHJ sometimes.

Through my present health challenge the possibility of death suddenly shifted my perspective and I knew that I wouldn\'t want to die as a Baha\'i because then my legacy and my afterlife would be under Baha\'u\'llah\'s law, not as I want to understand it, bend it so that i only see the good bits but as he intended it. That\'s when I decided to leave the faith.

Web: http://bahaiblog1919.blogspot.com/2008/01/reasons-why-i-left-faith.html

2. Jonah 
I was an active, deepened Baha’i for eight years. Over time I lost my faith in Baha’u\'llah, and I have since become a Christian and joined the Catholic Church. I had put my Baha’i life behind me and didn’t think much about it until recently when I had some conversations with Baha’is about leaving the Faith.

These conversations made me realize two things, which motivate this blog:

(1) I never really had to explain before why I left the Faith, so now sometimes I’m at a loss how to articulate my reasons. This blog will be a forum where I can think through those reasons.

(2) The Baha’is that I have known were remarkably ill-informed about other religions, and what they did know (or think they knew) came either from pop culture or from fellow Baha’is. I’m particularly sensitive to this with regard to Christianity, because I am a Christian. So this blog will also be a forum for explaining Christianity to Baha’is. (And when I say “Christianity,” I mean the mainstream, Catholic-Orthodox tradition that encompasses most of the world’s Christians.)

Web: http://bahaicatholic.wordpress.com/about/

3. Steven Scholl says 
...I received a letter from a Baha’i Continental Counsellor indicating that I was under threat of being declared a Covenant-breaker, the impact on me personally was less than on my family. My wife is a Baha’i as are many of her family members, . . . The very real threat of being declared a Covenant breaker meant my wife had to face the decision of joining me as a heretic or divorcing me so that she could maintain her relationships with her family and other lifelong friends. Since [my wife] had no intention of divorcing me, the choices then extended out to her family. Her sister would not refuse to socialize with us so she would automatically be declared a covenant breaker along with her husband and children. Many of my close Baha’i friends would also be faced with the decision of maintaining friendships or joining me as a heretic. The whole thing is absurd and quite medieval. But it does raise the issue which you point out so well; how anyone would want to belong to a group which is willing to act this way and be so cruel is beyond me. That is why I voluntarily left the religion. Not in order to escape punishment but because the Baha’i community had become such an unhealthy place spiritually. I was terribly saddened that my spiritual home of 25 years had turned into a prison and nightmare..................

Web: http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Scholl3

4. Jenifer Tidwell 
This is the gist of article from Jenifer Tidwell who once served on LSA and its Committee, then renounced the faith and accepted Christianity.

Her reasons for leaving the faith extends to manifold; 1. Our Feasts are not spiritually nourishing. 2. There\'s no clergy. 3. Chronic community fatigue and \"burnout.\" 4. The pressure to teach. 5. An uncomfortable split between Baha\'is and non-Baha\'is. 6. An uncertain intellectual foundation. 7. A lack of open intellectual discussion. 8. An overemphasis on unity as an ultimate good. 9. Too many answers, not enough mystery.

Web: http://www.mit.edu/~jtidwell/letter_lsa.html

5. François-Xavier MARTIN de LASSALLE
This Gentlemen concluded that bahai teachings are nothing but illusions, brain washing.

Allah\'u\'Aba !

When I meet Baha’i Faith, it was a great revelation for me. It was the first time I saw a religion who was tolerant, and in which I could feel perfectly well. Baha\'u\'lah was a prophet who continued the mission of Zoroastre, Moses, Christ, Muhammad and his teaching was in this continuity. And it was great. The new world order seems to me so magnificent, and the decisions of the House of Justice so clever.

But when I saw how was organized the learning, in way to bring in people, it looks like brain washing, like a sect... and so, I had to leave to keep my liberty of conscience.

I do regret this practice, and I hope that this way of teaching ( as the Ruhi\'s method) will be abandoned ... and maybe I will join Baha\'i Faith again.

Please, answer me to tell what do you think about my reaction.

Sincerly yours. 
Tiriel.

Web: \n \">

6. Dale Husband 
A decade ago, I was a member of a religion known as the Baha’i Faith. This religion teaches that God is called by various names but is still the same all over the world, that all religions teach the same basic message, and that humanity is one and is destined to unite under the banner of the Baha’i Faith in a new age of peace and unity.

For one who is eager, as I was, to see goodness in most things that claim to be good, this was a Godsend! I embraced the faith in 1995 and became an active teacher of it, even attempting to convert others to it. I had been a Christian in my teens, but had become disgusted with Christianity and left that faith in my early 20s because I saw the errors, contradictions, and failures of it. The Baha’i Faith explained that away by claiming that while Jesus was indeed a Messenger (or Manifestation) of God, His faith had become corrupted over time and thus most Christians were not truly following him, but the doctrines of men. In joining the Baha’i community, I was seeing what the early Christians in the Roman Empire were like, except that unlike them the Baha’is would not split into competing sects and engage in wars against each other. If only everyone in the world became Baha’i, I was told, we would be at peace and prosperity forever.

What a wonderful vision! But human nature will NEVER allow for it! The reason is that the leadership of the Baha’i Faith, from its founder, Baha’u’llah, to the Universal House of Justice today, claims to be infallible because it is guided by God. Yet we know that Baha’u’llah, his son Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha’s grandson Shoghi Effendi (the Guardian of the Faith), and the members of the Universal House of Justice were/are all HUMAN BEINGS. What evidence do we have that ANY of them are infallible? NONE! And if you cannot question the will of a leadership, what do you in fact have? Tyranny! And what does tyranny always lead to, according to history? Corruption and injustice! And that, in turn results in the system breaking down over time. It was my coming to understand this that finally led me to leave the Faith in 2004. Indeed, the very idea that any human being, human run institution, or human product is infallible is sheer nonsense. It is the most dangerous idea in the world!

Web: http://circleh.wordpress.com/2007/07/23/religious-fundamentalism-is-blasphemy/

7. Dennis James Rogers 
His experiences in the Baha’i Community was pathetic and is of grave cruelty being meted to him.

Since his story is of immense importance, we hereby suffice to reproduce the link itself.

Web: http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Ex16.htm

8. David W. Lehning 
I am a former Baha\'i who was more or less driven out of the Faith by an increasingly authoritarian, manipulative, and controlling administration. I am also gay, which makes the matter even worse! It seems to me that these conditions have become worse since I have left. I found my way to this news group after visiting a gay Baha\'i\'s Web site and then from a post in his message board. I am interested in spiritual mysticism and the mystical aspects of sacred writings, but there was a time quite a few years ago when I was even accused of being a Covenant Breaker because of my \"unauthorized interpretation\" of the Sacred Baha\'i Writings. I finally said enough, left the Faith, and really have no interest in returning, but I had become curious about the status of gays in the Faith, and, as I said, that led me here. It does seem that people in the Faith wear many faces. They can turn their friendly \"Nice loving Baha\'i\" face, then later, turn a very angry, judgmental, authoritarian face. To me, the Baha\'i faith is no better than any of the other organized religions. They are just as controlling, and prejudiced as everyone else. If you are still active in the faith, you are a very brave soul. I desire to remain a free spirit, seeker and mystic, unfettered by doctrines and religious authorities. But for you, keep up the fight.

Kind Regards, 
David W. Lehning Web : \n \">

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9. Karen Bacquet 
Karen Bacquet has a dedicated website of theme stream articles on issues and conflicts in the Baha’i faith. He is a trendsetter in the reform and thought process about the Baha’i administration & culture.

His string of articles has raised many soul searching and false theology of the Baha’i practices. It concludes that Baha’is are high on overtones and very low in practices.

His articles are worth their weight in Gold and spiritually awakening.

Rebels within the cause , The Talisman Crackdown, Exit by Troops, A Religion out of balance, Baha’i Fundamentalism, Everybody wants to rule the world, But Some are more Equal than Others, The Maid of Heaven and so on.

Web: http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/bigquestions/themestream.html

10. Kate Mccolloch Bodi 
She left the faith that the whole assembly supported her husband who was stalking her and instead of supporting her emotionally, they left her. Since leaving the Baha\'i Faith almost five years ago, I have long wanted to have the opportunity to talk to people familiar with the Baha\'i community. I want to ask them whether my experiences with the community were some uncommon phenomena or representative of the faith in general. After reading Tim Mulligan\'s posting and all of the responses, I sigh, and remember clearly why I left without word or explanation, perhaps a heretic but probably still signed up on someone\'s card count. I don\'t know exactly how or why my ex-husband became Baha\'i, but I suspect it was for the favors that were offered him. I myself recall a Baha\'i agreeing to sell us a vehicle on-time at a steal of a price, but only if I signed my card. When my (now)-ex-husband told me to sign, I did. I don\'t know exactly how or why I became a teacher for the faith during my first community meeting. Perhaps it was because no-one else would watch all the children as the adults had their meetings. I remember that I had no idea what the faith was about. They said \"that\'s okay, here\'s a book and invite non-member children also.\" When my children\'s classes drew dozens of non-member children, the Baha\'is wanted to teach them and took my classes away.

I don\'t know exactly how or why the spiritual assembly decided that they should support my ex-husband after he was jailed for assault and stalking me. Perhaps it was because I would not tell them about the incident myself. remember feeling embarrassed about the whole thing and then getting very, very angry as the \"Community\" went to court to testify about how I was setting my ex-husband up. Even now, at the university I attend, I see these young faces at their booth on the commons, with pamphlets talking about unity and the equality of men and women. I want to walk up to them and ask if my experience was some surreal fluke. But the closer I look, the younger their faces appear to me and I know they probably could never understand what I was asking. Questions like, Is a faith a reflection of its members, or the reverse? What is the purpose of a community meeting if half of your community is alienated? What can a spiritual assembly really know about a marriage? How can a man and woman be treated equally, if a man takes on a \"year of patience\" for his errant wife to come to her senses and do what she is told once again? Do you really think some words in book by Abdul Baha can sooth pain like this?

Sincerely, 
Kathleen R. Mccolloch-Bodi 
Formerly of Juneau, Alaska

Web: http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Ex3.htm

11.Arthur Danks
The reasons I resigned from the Baha’i Faith are:

(1) The Baha’is on the one hand preach removal of prejudice of all kind, but on the other hand believe in certain types of prejudice against certain people. For example the Baha’is believe that people who do not believe in God are untrustworthy and untruthful individuals. This view is mentioned in the Gleanings (passage CXIV, paragraph 3). In my opinion this is a prejudice against the atheists and agnostics. Since I myself am an agnostic I find such a view very offensive. What would happen to an atheist whose case is being decided by a Baha’i judge? Can we have a society where Baha’is are allowed to serve as judges? In my opinion the answer is no. We must have zero tolerance for people with prejudiced mind occupying positions of authority. Secondly the Baha’is believe that women are inferior to men in certain intellectual endeavors viz. legislation on matters not expressly recorded in the holy text. This is precisely the reason women are banned from serving in the UHJ. In my opinion this is a prejudice against women. Thirdly in the Aqdas it is mentioned that in the event a Baha’i dies without leaving a Will, then his non-Baha’i relatives cannot inherit his wealth because in the sight of God non-Baha’is do not exists. In my opinion this is a prejudice against non-Baha’is. Also it is illogical that the Faith allows a Baha’i to marry a non-Baha’i but does not respect the rights that come along with relationships. Besides being illogical, not respecting the rights that come along with relationships is immoral, unjust and unethical behavior.

(2) The current UHJ functioning without a Guardian in my opinion violates the Will of Abdul-Baha who has clearly mentioned the composition of the UHJ in his Will. The current UHJ composition is different from the one Abdul-Baha has mentioned in his Will viz. the Guardian is absent in the current UHJ whereas Abdul-Baha\'s Will clearly mentions the Guardian as a member of the UHJ. Therefore the current UHJ is not the same UHJ mentioned in the Baha’i Writings.

According to the Baha’i Writings the power of the UHJ is to legislate on matters not given in the Writings. Its job is not to change what is clearly given in the Writings in the name of legislation. The composition of UHJ is clearly given in Abdul Baha\'s Will and it includes a Guardian. No Baha’i institution can change that composition. The fact that the current UHJ changed what is clearly given in the Writings (viz. the composition of the UHJ given by Abdul Baha in his Will) clearly shows that it is not the same UHJ mentioned in the Baha’i Writings.

Web: http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/andorra/514/twenty-seven.html

12. Eric Stetson 
This gentlemen was Baha’i but could not get convinced about infallibility of UHJ, Proselytizing etc. I was a Baha\'i from 1998 to 2002 and was an active member of the Baha\'i Faith organization based in Haifa, Israel, to which the vast majority of Baha\'is belong. I left that organization, renounced my faith in the Baha\'i religion, and became a Christian. My Christian beliefs gradually became more liberal and in 2007 I began attending a Unitarian Universalist church. In 2009, I reevaluated my view of the Baha\'i faith and decided that I believe it\'s worth supporting – but not in the conservative way that most Baha\'is understand it, and not their Haifa-based Baha\'i Faith organization. Blessings to you in your spiritual journey, and may God be with you always!

Love, Light, and Peace, 
Eric Stetson

His article is worth reading from intellectual point of view. He is the moderator of former Baha’is website.

Web: http://www.bahai-faith.com/

13. Vince Millum

This gentlemen was Baha’i but now started his own organization to avoid dogmas and rituals of Baha’i faith.

Web: http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/andorra/514/forty-two.html

14. Kkailimoku (Hawaii)

My connection to the Baha’i Faith goes back to the mid 1970\'s when I was in the Army and stationed in Hawaii. I had found and read a book about the Faith and left it for my wife to read while I was away on maneuvers. Imagine my surprise when I returned and found that my wife had JOINED them. Well, I thought that the best way to find out just what sort of craziness she had gotten into was to join myself and find out first-hand. It didn\'t take long for us to become well integrated into the local community and took part in all the activities. I was very active in the \"teaching\" campaigns, even getting my best friend to join the Faith. Strangely enough, I managed to retain my \"free-thinker\" self in the midst of all this somehow and, encouraged by the principle of freedom to \"investigate truth,\" continued to read as much as possible about the faith... even those books which the Faith deemed \"dangerous.\" I had some real problems with the whole idea of \"infallibility\" for the Universal House of Justice among other things and ended up being called in to meet with the Local Assembly about my actions and things I had said to other Baha’is about things I had learned. To make a long story short, I had to sever my connection with them in order to maintain any semblance of spiritual integrity.

My wife remained faithful to the Faith and as our relationship became more strained, were divorced after a \"year of patience.\" Nearly twenty years later, she is still a Baha’i and I am a Unitarian Universalist which is MUCH more amenable to my quest for truth.

Web: http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/andorra/514/thirty-three.html
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15. Greg Southworth

I ,too, was a Baha’i for about 4 years and became disillusioned in the late 1980s early 90s with the inconsistencies between the progressive, open society taught and the \"new authoritarianism\" practiced. It started with concerns over conflict with teachings and practice: such as the equality of men and women, but women cannot serve on the UHJ. Also, the anti-gay mindset of the Faith seemed contrary to the whole idea of inclusion. I am not talking about irresponsible behavior, but I knew, and still know, gay people in committed, loving relationships.

The final part for me was two-fold. One was some of the writings of Abdul- Baha and his attempted foray into the world of science. Some of his stuff could be interpreted \"metaphorically\", but much was just flat wrong. I suppose I was also put off by the self-righteous tone to much of it. I guess I could excuse his lack of knowledge in that he was writing from an essentially 19th century perspective, but the arrogance annoyed me. The second area was more personal. I was having a hard time in my life and career, and could have used some emotional support. What I got was pressure to give money for a special project (one of many)and pressure to recruit more members. I was in a small community and overt pressure to proselytize would be most unseemly, if not downright threatening to an already shaky job situation. It all left a bad taste in my mouth.

Web: \n \">

16. Sochi Tomoe 
He found Baha’i faith truly boring and without any solutions for the human problems and sufferings. Then he decided to leave the faith and become Muslim.

Web: \n \">

17. Anonymous 
Hello! I was a Baha’i in the 70s. I became a Baha’i in college and was extremely active. I became disillusioned with the administrative end of the Faith. I agree with what many have said who have left the Faith. It seems so much effort went into teaching and administration and there was little time for deepening one\'s faith. I find the Feast very unsatisfying and joyless. They were boring. It wasn\'t uplifting to listen to someone read Scripture. I missed music and flowers and beautiful windows. I think the absence of paid clergy makes the demands on the average believer too much. I am now a Christian and feel content. I like the fact that Christians are actually trying to help people with problems. They have soup kitchens, homeless shelters, etc. What do the Baha’is do for the needy?

Web: http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/andorra/514/twenty-one.html

18. Doug Nit (on Email) 
According to him, Baha’ism works better as Philosophy rather than religion During my years as a Baha\'i, I thoroughly enjoyed the diverse fellowship, inclusive spirit, and teachings of unity and peace, all the while trying to avoid contemplating the more dogmatic, authoritarian aspects of the Faith. However, as I grew older, I found it increasingly difficult to reconcile the truths I was learning through intuition and life experience with absolutist, seemingly inconsistent doctrines that discouraged genuine self-expression, individuality, and the independent investigation of truth; rather than promote ideas I didn\'t fully agree with, and maintain an image that wasn\'t really me, my only real choice was to leave. The root of the problem, as I see it, is that divine knowledge is not limited to nine enlightened Manifestations and their successors; it is inexorably intertwined into the very essence of cause and effect itself, its lessons readily and directly available to each of us through art, reflection, sensuality, and the everyday business of living. To deny its evidence in these areas is to deny God Himself. Baha’ism works better as a philosophy than as a religion or theocratic political system, as a world-embracing attitude rather than as an absolutist, infallible institution. Ironically, the very rigidity with which it seeks to sustain itself will ultimately be the cause of its downfall.

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19. (YU ZIR) 
This gentlemen came to conclude that the self contradictions in Baha’i sacred writings being unconvincing, withdrew himself from the faith and became Christian. Please read his story on web.

Web: \n \">

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20. Samuel Hart 
My story is too long for me to go into in any great detail now. Basically, I was a Baha\'i for over 20 years, having joined the faith in Washington, D. C. in 1974, during the height of the influx of hippy/baby-boomer/counterculture converts to the faith.

Like many of the other contributors to this site, I became completely disgusted with the administrative mire that passes for \'Baha\'i work\' in most communities. The witch-hunt mentality of the authorities and the lack of a healthy climate that allows one to talk openly about concerns and genuine worries are 2 things that influenced my decision to leave. I had been having many and various doubts and concerns. My voicing these doubts and concerns would almost always be greeted with silence or the standard Baha\'i response that I had to pray and deepen and become more spiritual. Actual discussion, respectful and intelligent, was very, very rare.

Anyway, I\'ll write more later one. Peace.

I to have been shunned by the Baha\'is since I left the faith (not as a cb but of my own accord). It hurts and is totally at variance with the spirit and letter of the faith.

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21. Muhammad Yusuf \'Abd al-Latif (formerly George Hatke) 
This man had a serious objection to Baha’i theory of unity of all religions when there are so many inherent contradictions between them and secondly the Zionist support of Baha’ism as two important cause of leaving the faith and no proper explanation could be provided by the administration sans clergy.

www.bahaiawareness.com