Wilmette Institute

This powerpoint presentation starts from the Declaration of Baháu’lláh in the Garden of Ridvan. The Order issued by the Ottoman government for the banishment of Baháu’lláh from Baghdad to Constantinople, the Capital of The Ottoman Empire, was communicated to Baháu’lláh by Ali Pasha, the Prime Minister of the Ottoman Sultan. In courteous language, the letter invited Baháu’lláh to proceed to Constan...

This webinar situates the girl child (and her rights) within the global gender equality issue area and, more broadly, that of human rights. It treats the key factors that hem in girls’ progress across the world, limiting their life chances–among them, early marriage, domestic and sexual abuse, trafficking, and access to education. It weighs progress to address the tall challenges, even as it celeb...

Animals of all kinds co-exist with us, from pets to farm animals to wildlife and microscopic organisms. We know more than ever now about animal sentience and capabilities, even as we impact the animal kingdom more than ever before—from extinction and species decline due to climate change and habitat loss, farming practices, pet ownership, and more. What do the Bahá’í teachings say about animals? H...

This presentation will begin with a review of basic information about the nature of the Bahá’í Faith, its founders, and its scriptures. Three Wilmette Institute staff—Robert Stockman, Justin Scoggin, and Ymasumac Marañón Davis—will explore the principles and beliefs about individual and collective development, and conclude with an overview of what Bahá’ís are learning in their efforts to serve hum...

This webinar features a collaborative effort between the Wilmette Institute and NCCU (North Carolina Central University), a historically Black university in Durham, North Carolina. These two institutions utilized the power of combining theater and education to put on a thought-provoking play,  The Bus Stop , that features how the mass incarceration of Black men affects Black women, their families,...

This webinar first introduces Bahá’u’lláh’s mystical Writings and describes His approach to using mystical concepts and symbols. Next, it examines the Bahá’í view on conventional practices, doctrines, experiences, and institutions that are the traditional loci of mysticism. It then considers the object of the spiritual journey in the Bahá’í Faith and provides an overview of the Bahá’í doctrines, c...

This webinar will closely examine Bahá’u’lláh’s proclamatory addresses to Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-1878) of the Roman Catholic Church, Emperor Franz Joseph Hapsburg (r. 1848-1916) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Kaiser Wilhelm I (r. 1871-1888) of the German Empire. It is the first in a series of three webinars offered by the Wilmette Institute as part of a course scheduled to begin on Wednesday J...

“At each stage in human history, more complex levels of integration become not only possible, but necessary… The demands of the present moment are pushing existing structures for facilitating deliberations among nations, as well as systems of conflict resolution beyond their capacity…” – A Governance Befitting, BIC While significant progress has been made toward advancing global order, “…recent ev...

This second part of the  original presentation dedicated to the  Holy Maiden , who appeared before Bahá’u’lláh as detailed in Terry Culhane’s Bahá’í publication,  I Beheld a Maiden , will continue to focus on the Sacred Feminine or Feminine Divine at the heart of the Bahá’í Faith.  This multimedia presentation augmented with visual art images that previously focused on the Feminine Divine of Nativ...

The appointment of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came as a surprise to most Bahá’ís, including Shoghi Effendi himself. The general expectation was that after the ascension of `Abdu’l-Bahá, the Universal House of Justice, which `Abdu’l-Bahá had referred to in a number of tablets and talks, would be elected to lead the community. At the time...

Bahá’íyyih Khánum, known as the Greatest Holy Leaf, is a unique figure in the annals of the Bahá’í Faith. Her lifelong heroic services to Bahá’u’lláh’s Cause pinnacled after `Abdu’l-Bahá’s ascension. The vital role she played at that crucial juncture ensured the smooth running of the affairs of the worldwide Bahá’í community until Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Cause of God, appointed by the...

A unique and revolutionary spiritual principle stated in the Bahá’í Writings for the purpose of redistribution of income and wealth is the law of Huqúqu’lláh. The traditional way of redistribution of income and wealth which is practiced even today is the material means, mainly through all kinds of taxes and subsidies and different kinds of national insurances. The redistribution of income and weal...

Mona Khademi will discuss Laura Clifford Dreyfus-Barney’s accounts of Shoghi Effendi. Laura Barney first encountered Shoghi Effendi in the early 1900s when he was five or six years of age and then throughout his teenage years and early adulthood, including in Paris in 1920. Laura Barney also met and corresponded with Shoghi Effendi after the passing of his beloved grandfather, Abdu’l-Baha, when he...

Three Bahá’ís who do research on psychology will explore the nature of human identity and the development of the individual, especially early in life. MICHAEL PENN “What Might it Mean for a Human Life to Matter? Some Reflections on the Psychological Lives of Young People” This contribution to the discourse on identity and development seeks to engage emerging bodies of research in philosophy and ps...

Can we talk about an incipient field of Bahá’í education? This webinar will expand on the chapter on Education from the collective volume “The World of the Bahá’í Faith” (2022) edited by Robert Stockman. The first part will highlight different current expectations about what should fall under the topic of “Bahá’í education”. The second part will explore the three types of curricula mentioned in th...

This webinar will help advance our understanding of the harmony between science and religion. Four panel members from the Wilmette Institute course on Science, Religion, and the Bahá’í Faith will speak on how insights from the Bahá’í Writings together with insights from the sciences–physics, cosmology, evolutionary theory and the social sciences–relate to the need for spiritual development and hel...

“Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.” -Bahá’u’lláh This webinar covers how to concretely apply spiritual principles of social and environmental justice to personal banking and investing (asset management) choices. Attendees will be introduced to the concepts of ‘ESG’ (environmental, social and governance met...

The oneness of humanity is a biological fact, affirmed by more than a century of study in the natural sciences; it is an existential truth upon which all claims to human rights ultimately rest, and it is a feature of social reality that the integrative forces of history will no longer permit us to avoid. As an ontological truth, the oneness of humanity is embodied in those universal moral and inte...

This webinar, based largely on the recently published book Struggling to Learn: An Intimate History of School Desegregation in South Carolina (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2022) and on related research, will explore the classic civil rights era and its legacy. That era was a heroic period of social resistance that accomplished much but nonetheless left much work still not done. Th...

Symposium on Local Bahá’í History This symposium about local Bahá’í history will highlight the study of the Nashville and Lansing Bahá’í communities and will explore ways to collect oral history. Dr. Robert Stockman, Wilmette Institute Director, will serve as host and moderator. Each 20-minute presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. The Nashville Bahá’í Community: A Legacy...

The Sacred Feminine at the Heart of the Bahá’í Faith: An Indigenous Feminine Perspective This presentation is dedicated to the Holy Maiden, who appeared before Bahá’u’lláh as detailed in the Bahá’í publication entitled, I Beheld a Maiden by Terry Culhane. The premise of this publication is that the Sacred Feminine or Feminine Divine is at the heart of the Bahá’í Faith. This multimedia presentation...

Ptehíŋčala Ska Wiŋ (White Buffalo Calf Woman) Divine Messenger to the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (People of the Seven Council Fires) Kevin Locke will explore the life of Ptehíŋčala Ska Wiŋ, a Divine Messenger to the heart of North America, and Her relationship to the people to whom She appeared. Kevin Locke, MEd Storyteller, Cultural Ambassador, Performing Artist I have had a lifelong drive to explore and cr...

Navigating the Urgent Transition Toward Sustainability The Wilmette Institute, in collaboration with the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) Sustainability 360 Program, is pleased to present this free Spring 2022 lecture for students of GTU and, UC Berkeley, as well as the Wilmette Institute. The science says that the affluent are the most responsible for the existential challenges of climate change,...

Responding to Injustice with Constructive Agency The Wilmette Institute, in collaboration with the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to present two free Spring 2022 lectures for students of GTU and UC Berkley, as well as the Wilmette Institute. Intro to book chapter: “The past century has given rise to a searching global conversation regarding nonviolent approaches to social change. Bahá...

Symposium: Studies in Bahá’í Epistemology Contributors: Jean-Marc Lepain Jack McLean Peter Terry In Modern times and, more specifically, since the appearance in 1781 of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, epistemological issues acquired a special significance in philosophical studies. With the rise of Biblical criticism, Christian scriptural philosophy had lost its momentum, and nineteenth an...