• Baha'i elections

    Baha’i Elections

    As explored in the article on religious institutions, Baha’i decision making bodies are elected bodies. So what do Baha’i elections look like? Perhaps our experience of elections isn’t very “spiritual” – their focus on exaltation of the individual – the tendency for the electoral contest to polarize a community – and a process with often draws out the worst in the “combatants”. Such patterns aren’t of course coherent with the Baha’i teachings – and aren’t present in Baha’i elections. What does a democratic process look like when carried out in a spiritual environment? A short description of the experience helps. We are in a hall. Delegates and Baha’is who wish to attend have gathered for the…