The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion based on the teachings ofBahá’u’lláh. He explained that there is only one God and one humanfamily, and that all religions are spiritually united. Bahá’u’lláh’swritings offer spiritual guidance as well as directives for personaland social conduct. The more than five million Bahá’ís around the worldare engaged in the process of learning how to translate that guidanceinto realities of individual and community life. Though they come fromdiverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, they are united by theirbelief in Bahá’u’lláh and by their desire for a united, prosperous, andpeaceful future for all of humanity. "The Bahá’í Faith recognizes theunity of God and of His Prophets, upholds the principle of anunfettered search after truth, condemns all forms of superstition andprejudice, teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is topromote concord and harmony, that it must go hand-in-hand with science,and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, anordered and progressive society. "It inculcates the principle of equalopportunity, rights and privileges for both sexes, advocates compulsoryeducation, abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth, exalts workperformed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship, recommendsthe adoption of an auxiliary international language, and provides thenecessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of apermanent and universal peace."

Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith