Dear Bahá'í Friend:
The National Spiritual Assembly received your email of June 9 about
membership by Bahá'ís in the National Organization for Women.
The National Spiritual Assembly does not keep a list of "approved
organizations" but has provided a number of criteria that individual
Bahá'ís may use to decide whether and in what manner to support a
given organization. The local Assembly handbook, Developing
Distinctive Bahá'í Communities, p. 12.15 states:
"The National Assembly encourages the friends to associate with
like-minded organizations. Individual Bahá'ís are free to decide
whether or how much they should participate in the activities of other
groups. But in the process they need to ensure that their
participation does not compromise the teachings of the Faith.
"The following questions must be asked: Are the aims of the
organization compatible with Bahá'í laws and principles? Is
membership open to persons of all racial and religious backgrounds?
Is it free from partisan politics and political controversies? To
answer these questions it would be necessary to review carefully an
organization's activities and charter."
Individual Bahá'ís may consult with their local Assemblies if they
have questions about applying these criteria to a particular
organization.
With regard specifically to the National Organization for Women, one
of its primary mandates is to oppose the Christian Right in the
political arena. It organizes support for candidates running for
political office at the state and national level. These activities
are forbidden to Bahá'ís, and therefore Bahá'ís should not join the
organization. However, some of its aims are consonant with Bahá'í
teachings, and Bahá'ís may be able to support some of its initiatives
or collaborate with it on certain projects.
An example of this sort of collaboration is the relationship with
Amnesty International. The Universal House of Justice has stated that
Bahá'ís should not join Amnesty International because of the political
nature of some of its activities and because it categorically opposes
the death penalty. However, Bahá'í institutions have worked closely
with Amnesty International on projects of common concern. For example,
the National Assembly and Amnesty International, USA, are the
co-chairs of the national campaign for US ratification of the UN
Convention on Women.
With warmest Bahá'í regards,
The Office of the Secretary for External Affairs
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