The Journal of Bahá’í Studies

Collaborative Exploration of the Harmony of Science and Religion (Part 2)

Michael Sabet — 2024-09-10

Amina Speaks: Night

Janet Ruhe-Schoen — 2024-09-10

Gratitude

Tahereh Pourshafie — 2024-09-10

“Justly and Without Bias”

Andres Elvira Espinosa — 2024-09-10

This paper investigates the possibility that one purpose of consultation is the mitigation of cognitive biases in individual participants
and in the group as a whole. After exploring the nature of cognitive biases through the lens of evolutionary psychology, the paper surveys existing research on effective methods of “debiasing” individuals. This research suggests that the most effective environment for mitigating bias is a deliberative group, in which individual participants may be asked to justify their reasoning in a social environment of diverse perspectives. Bias mitigation diminishes over time, requiring repeated exposure to the debiasing environment. This model for debiasing strongly resonates with Bahá’í consultation, a conclusion that can enrich Assemblies’ and other consulting
groups’ perspectives on, and expectations of, consultation.

Transformative Dialogue

Roger Neyman — 2024-09-10

The Bahá’í writings prescribe consultation “on all matters,” and specify not only the broad shape of the consultative process, but the prerequisite attitudes of those seeking to consult. But what is to be done when these prerequisites are lacking—when, for instance, people seem unable or unwilling to even understand each other? A similar challenge confronts public discourses, many of which appear fundamentally dysfunctional. In this paper, we canvass current research to identify elements of a process that can facilitate understanding among dialogue partners. The resulting “Transformative Dialogue,” which aims primarily at transforming relationships, can potentially lay the groundwork for true consultation. We argue that TD is a distinct mode of dialogue, embodying a recognizable set of precepts and processes, and can therefore be studied, systematically developed within local communities, and applied to specific problems within those communities.

What Does Spirituality Look Like?

Robert Sarracino — 2024-09-10

The concept of spirituality defies a rigorous definition, much like some fundamental concepts in mathematics and physics. However, we may gain an understanding of this vital religious concept by asking what spirituality “looks like.” In this paper, following a brief overview of the concepts of spirit and spirituality in the Bahá’í writings, we examine a letter of the Universal House of Justice that gives us a picture of what spirituality should look like today, as the Bahá’í community pursues its work of creating vibrant communities. We then explore the question of whether, and to what degree, the social sciences can investigate the phenomenon of spirituality as central to human nature, arguing that they can productively adopt spiritual reality as a background assumption, whose validity can then be evaluated.