In the years since its founding in 1844, the Bahá’í Faith has emerged as a global religion with a membership that may well be the most ethnically and culturally diverse association of people in the world. Looking at the present-day activities of the Bahá’ís as they work to translate the principles of their Faith into social reality, author John S. Hatcher examines their community-building efforts and gleans insight from a process that has taken shape on a global scale.
The institute process, as part of the overarching framework for action that now lies at the heart of Bahá’í community life, ushered in immense change at the grassroots level of the Faith when it was first introduced in the late 1990s. Focused on both personal and societal transformation, this new approach to learning and community life was at first misunderstood or misapplied by some; however, it soon became apparent that it provided an innovative and vital approach to reconstructing society from the ground up.
Hatcher, a longtime adherent of the Faith, traces the progress of the Bahá’í community, exploring some of the challenges faced, as well as the rapidly emerging victories won, as this evolving method of learning continues to gain momentum. Under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Faith, the Bahá’ís of the world are now engaged in this unique and dynamic process that is playing out at the neighborhood level in every corner of the globe. In God’s Plan for Planet Earth Hatcher examines the historical context for the current stage of the community’s development, and, most important, he provides insight into the significance of the results being achieved.