The Journal of Bahá’í Studies

A New Perspective on Human Evolution

Douglas Perry — 2025-12-16

This paper reviews past Bahá’í scholarship on evolution, identifies a gap in this scholarship in light of current evolutionary biology, and uses cladistics—a modern approach to biological classification—to reconsider certain perceived tensions between current concepts in evolutionary biology and certain statements of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. A summary of taxonomy and phylogenetic tree construction is given, with special emphasis placed on cladistics, a methodology not available in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s day, and heretofore not mentioned in Bahá’í-authored publications related to evolution. This paper concludes with examples of how cladograms may aid in conceptualizing some of the evolution-related statements of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, (for example, His statement that “man is not an animal”). In using this approach, the intention of the author is not to re-interpret ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s statements, nor to “prove” any particular interpretation thereof, but rather to bring modern concepts of evolutionary biology into Bahá’í discourse on evolution.

Fostering Wisdom in Youth through Moral Education in a Bahá’í-inspired School

Tahereh Khollas Pourshafie — 2025-12-16

This article reports a focused ethnographical study that examined the practices of an independent Bahá’í-inspired school that aspires to deliberately foster students’ acquisition of wisdom as well as their capacity to be moral citizens who will contribute to the common good. The school’s starting point is a Bahá’í belief that all humans have an innate potential for developing wise thinking and noble dispositions. Its key strategy is the deliberate use of an ethos-driven moral curriculum framed by nineteen moral capabilities designed to promote a deep understanding amongst staff and students of moral and prosocial thought and action. The aim is twofold: to enable students to develop wise thinking and noble behavior, and to equip them to contribute to the positive transformation of society. Drawing on the first author’s sustained dialogue with the school leadership and immersive observation of the school’s life world, this study explores the means used to advance these aims, and draws some preliminary conclusions about their effect. It finds that the day-to-day practices through which the nineteen moral capabilities framework is operationalized do incrementally transform students by fostering their wise thinking and moral action.

From the Editor's Desk

Michael Sabet — 2025-12-16

End of the Line

John S. Hatcher — 2025-12-16

Toward a Paradigm Shift in International Relations: (Re)Claiming World Peace

Alex Douglas — 2025-12-16

Review of Toward a Paradigm Shift in International Relations: (Re)Claiming World Peace by Navid Pourmokhtari. Palgrave Macmillan, 2024, xii + 125 pages, including index.

The Bahá’í House of Worship

Ann Boyles — 2025-12-16

Review of The Bahá’í House of Worship: Design, Construction and Community by Joe Carter and Nooshfar Afnan. Oxford: George Ronald Publisher, 2022.

viii + 310 including bibliography, notes and references, brief note about the origin of the book, and author bios