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31)0N ZEEB ROAD, ANN AR80R, MI 4elUCi
188EDFORD HOW, LONDON we:R4EJ, ENCiLAND
8022655
HAMPSON, ARTHUR
THE GROWTH AND SPREAD OF THE BAHA'I FAITH
UniversityofHawaii PH.D. 1980
University
Microfilms
International
300N.ZeebRoad,AnnArbor,MI48106 18BedfordRow,LondonWCIR4EJ.England
Copyright 1980
by
Hampson, Arthur
All Rights Reserved
THE GRGrJTH AND SPREAD OF THE BAHA I FAITH
I
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN PARTIAL FULFILIJ1ENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTUR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN GEOGRAPHY
MAY 1980
By
Arthur Hampson
Dissertation Committee:
Gary A. Fuller, Chairman
Roberc R. B:0bilin
David H. Kornhauser
James A. Palmore
Forrest R. Pitts
ABSTRACT
Since its beginning in 1844, the Baha'i Faith has spread to all
parts of the non-Communist world. At first, the religion was confined
to Persia and Iraq where Shi'ah Islam is daminant, but after Baha'u'llah
(Prophet-founder of the religion) was banished to distan"t parts of the
Ottoman Empire the movement was able to penetrate many areas of the
Sunni world as well. In 1893 the religion was transmitted to North
America from where, over a period of six decades, a vigorous campaign
of global dissemination was undertaken. By 1953, the religion was well
established on all continents; thereafter, global diffusion proceeded
from a number of widely distributed centers of the religion rather than
from just the t\vO older core areas (Persia and North America).
The Baha'i Faith has always pursued an expansionist policy con
sisting of thr~e main strategies: numerical increase, geographical
dispersion, and compositional diversity of the membership. In the early
years, growth was generally encouraged by the charismatic leaders of the
religion, but from 1919 on expansion was directed by definitive and
authoritative plans embodying the three main strategies for growth.
These plans have become broader and more detailed in the past few
decades so that today Baha'i expansion is guided by very precise objec
tives for increasing the numbers and kinds of believers and for insuring
that they are widely dispersed.
The objective of this research has been to describe and account for
the gro\Vth and spread of the Baha'i Faith. The religion has been
iv
considered as an innovation, and its dissemination has been viewed as a
consequence of its internal structure and decision-making patterns. It
was found that a strong and centralized leadership has facilitated
diffusion, that religious beliefs have favored dissemination efforts,
and that policy and planning have successfully directed Baha'i expansion.
At the same time, the staging and direction of Baha'i expansion
frequently has been influenced by attitudes, conditions, and events
lying outside the direct control of the Baha'i movement. For example,
in its early years the religion was geographically confined by its cul
tural context and religious roots while later on political conditions
frequently influenced where the movement could and could not become
established. In general, physical, social, and economic distance have
inhibited diffusion, but aggressive dissemination policies and ambitious
growth plans have greatly weakened the force of these traditional
resistors to diffusion.
Between 1893 and 1953 North America was the main geographic source
of Baha'i expansion. Within this area, growth was substantial but not
constant. In the first few decades there were alternating period~; of
growth and decline and only after the 1920s did the religion begin to
increase its membership at a steadily accelerating rate. The capacity
of the movement to enlarge appears to have depended on unanimous ac
ceptance of religious authority; growth proceeded regularly whenever the
leadership and the administrative order were recognized by all Baha'is,
but diffusion was curtailed whenever these repositories of religious
authority were questioned by a part of the religion's rne~nbership.
v
Throughout the twentieth century, Baha'i growth in North America
has been dependent on conversions; natural increase has always been a
minor source of expansion. Continent-wide dissemination of the religion
has relied heavily on migration of believers, usually from large urban
centers containing Baha'i concentrations to other locations where
believers have been few or absent. This pattern has been strongly
encouraged and has resulted in a highly dispersed Baha'i community, a
condition which also exists at the global level.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT • . • iii
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xv
PREFACE xviii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION • 1
The Topic of Study 1
Method of Study 5
Description 5
Justification 8
Traditional Biases in Diffusion Research . 8
Suppl~., Diffusion 11
Literature Review 14
CHAPTER II HISTORY AND BELIEFS 21
History••...•. 21
The Bah and Baha'u'11ah 21
'Abdu'l-Baha .•• 24
Shoghi Effendi . . 28
The Faith Today 35
Beliefs . . . . 40
CHAPTER III A GEOHISTORY OF EARLY BAHA'I DIFFUSION: 1844-1921. 48
The World in 1844 . . . . . . . . 48
Diffusion in the Time of the Bab: 1844-1853 50
Badasht and Tabriz .. .. . . . . . . 59
The Mazindaran Upheaval . . . . . . . . • . 61
Confrontations in Nayriz, Zanjan, and Tihran 75
The Bloodbath of 1852 . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Diffusion in the Time of Baha'u'llah: 1853-1892.. 81
The Banishments of Baha'u'11ah . . . . . . . 81
Diffusion under Baha'u'11ah . . . . . . . . .. 85
Manpower and Leadership: A Study of their
Sources . . ., .•..•......... 92
The Global Proclamation . . . . . . . . . . .• 96
Diffusion in the Time of 'Abdu'l-Baha: 1892-1921.. 101
The Diffusion Strategy of 'Abdu'l-Baha 101
Diffusion under 'Abdu'l-Baha 102
The Travels of 'Abdu'l-Baha . . . . . . . III
vii
CHAPTER IV ISOLATION, PERSECUTION, AND FAITH: THEIR
EFFECT ON DIFFUSION . • 118
Religio-Cultural Isolation 118
Persecution 121
Articles of Faith . • . 126
CHAPTER V THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF LEADERSHIP CRISES ON
BAHA'I GROWTH . . • . . . . . . 129
CHAPTER VI POLICY AND PLANNING: THE KEY TO BAHA'I DIFFUSION 143
Policy • . • • . • . 143
Numerical Increase 147
Effecting Conversions 147
The Demography of Conversion 150
Discouraging Disaffection: Consolidation 152
Dispersion . . . . • . . • . . . . • . . . 157
The Origins of the Dispersion Strategy 157
The Dispersion Strategy Today . 162
Diversity . . • • . • . . • 165
Diversity as an Ideal • 165
Diversity as an Objective • . 168
Planning . . . . . 173
The Importance of the Individual 173
'Abdu'l-Baha and the Tablets of the Divine Plan 174
Implementing the Plan • 174
Regional Structures . . • 176
Alaska vs. Greenland 180
Diffusion at the Global Scale 182
The Tablets as a Plan for Action 185
Weaknesses .. . . . . 185
Long Term Influences •. . . 189
The Consequences of the Tablets . 191
Slow Diffusion: 1919-1937 .. 191
The Leadership Crisis in 1921 . 193
The Guardian Postponed the Diffusion Process. 194
Temple Construction Delayed Diffusion . . 196
Awareness vs. Adoption as an Indication
of Diffusion .. • • 199
Baha'i Growth Plans Since 1937 202
Shoghi Effendi's Plan ..... 206
Plans Designed by The Universal House of
Justice . • . . . . • . • . 212
A Final Note Regarding Planning 216
CHAPTER VII DIFFUSION IN THE J~ITED STATES: POPULATION GROWTH 218
General Co~nents.. 218
Growth . • . . . . 218
viii
The First Seeds • • . . 218
Long Term Growth Trends • . 221
The Overall Pattern • 221
Declining Growth Between 1926 and 1964 224
Accelerating Growth After 1964 225
Recent Growth • • . . . 227
Description • • . • . 227
Mail-Return Baha'is. 228
Baha'i Youth 231
Growth of the Total Population 237
The Dynamics of Growth . • • . 239
CHAPTER VIII DIFFUSION IN THE UNITED STATES:
POPULA~ION DISTRIBUTION • 247
Diffusion Before 1900 . 247
The Changing Pattern of Baha'i Distribution:
1900-1976 . . • . . . . . . 255
Date> Sources 255
Data Manipulation • . 257
Analysis 259
Description of Change . 259
Explanation of Change: 1900-1936 262
Explanation of Change: 1936-1964 267
Explanation of Change: 1964-1976 271
Summary . • • . . . . . . . . 273
Evidence of Contagious Diffusion 274
The Baha'i Ecumene in 1976 280
Identifying Explanatory Variables . 280
A Procedure for Statistical Comparison 283
Results . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Baha'i Ecumene vs. Population Size 288
Baha'i Ecumene vs. Socio-Economic Dynamism. 290
Baha'i Ecumene vs. Accessibility .... 292
A Cartographic Analysis of the Correlates
of Baha'i Diffusion . 292
Combining Independent Variables . . . • . 300
How Urban Is the Baha'i Faith? 305
CHAPTER IX DIFFUSION IN THE UNITED STATES: POPULATION
COfWOSI'I'.10N . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . 316
Population Composition: Its Meaning and
Relevance for the Study of Diffusion 316
A 1936 Survey: Data from the Past. • . . . 318
The Significance of the Survey . . . . 318
The 1936 Survey: Representativeness, Reliability,
and Accuracy . . • . . . . . . . . . . 320
Characteristics of the Baha'i Population in 1936. 323
Sex Ratio . • • . . 323
Age/Sex Structure . . . . . . . • • • . . 324
ix
Baha'i Affiliation. 331
Race . . . •. ... . 333
Religion •.. 338
The 1968 Survey 344
CHAPTER X PLANNED GLOBAL DIFFUSION: 1937-1964 351
The Baha'i Ecumene in 1937 . . • . . 351
The First Seven Year Plan: 1937-1944 . 358
The Second Seven Year Plan: 1946-1953 367
Conditions for Diffusion in the Post-War World 367
Problems of Analysis . . 369
Plans and Achievements . . . . . . . 370
Types of Territories . . . . . . . 370
National Spiritual Assembly Areas 372
International Goal Areas . . . 375
Planned vs. Unplanned Growth . 377
Europe and Africa . . . . 378
1953 . . • • • . . . . . . . 385
The Ten Year Plan: 1953-1963 388
Objectives of the Plan 388
The Virgin Territories 389
New National Spiritual Assemblies 399
Opening New Localit~.es in the Old National
Assembly Areas . . . . . . . 406
The Status of the Faith at the End of the
Ten Year Plan . . . . . . 416
CHAPTER XI THE NINE YEAR PLAN: 1964-1973 421
A Crisis in Leadership . . . . 421
Origins and Directions of the Nine Year Plan 424
Territorial Organization of the Baha'i World
in 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . 428
0
Planning Goals and Actual Achievements 429
The Nature of Plan Objectives 438
Variations in Plan Ambitiousness:
The Effect on Achievement Levels 444
The Numbers and Distribution of Baha'is in 1973.. 447
The Data Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Estimating the Size of the Baha'i Population
in National Spiritual Assembly Areas . 448
The Estimating Technique . . . . . . . 448
Population Estimates . . . . . . . . 455
The Geographic Distr.ibution of Baha'is
in 1973. . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . .. 458