Dear Baha'i friends,
The Universal House of Justice has received your letter of 3 June 1982 mentioning some of the misunderstandings which still exist concerning the registration of Baha'i children and youth, and it has instructed us to send you the following clarifications.
The beloved Guardian's secretary wrote on his behalf to your National Spiritual Assembly on 17 June 1954:
“Although the children of Baha'i parents are considered to be Baha'is, there is no objection at the present time, for purposes of keeping a correct census, and also ascertaining whether the young people are, sincerely, believers, and willing to do their share in service to the Faith, to asking them to make a declaration of their intention, at the age of fifteen or so. Originally the Guardian understands this was adopted in America to enable young Baha'i men to make certain arrangements in connection with their application for non-combatant status, upon their attaining the age of military service. There is really nothing about it in the Teachings or in the Administration. Your Assembly is free to do as it pleases in this matter.”
He has also written that in deciding who is to be regarded as a believer, Assemblies must refrain as far as possible from drawing rigidly the line of demarcation.
At the present time, with so many more young people entering the Faith, and with such a great increase in mobility from country to country, the House of Justice feels that it is necessary to establish certain guidelines which will apply to all National Spiritual Assemblies in this delicate issue, while matters of procedure are left to each National Assembly to decide according to the conditions in its own area of jurisdiction. In the current phase of the Seven Year Plan, for example, the House of Justice has called on Assemblies to keep registers of the birth of Baha'i children, and great stress is being laid on the Baha'i education of children and on the activities of Baha'i youth.
In letters replying to questions on the registration of children and youth the Universal House of Justice has attempted to avoid laying down rulings that are universally applicable. However, for the assistance of National Spiritual Assemblies it is now providing the following summary of guidelines and elucidations that have been given. We are to emphasize that no hard and fast lines should be drawn, and procedural matters must never be allowed to eclipse the spiritual reality of belief, which is an intensely personal relationship between the soul and its Creator.
Baha'i Children
Unlike the children of some other religions, Baha'i children
do not automatically inherit the Faith of their parents. However, the parents
are responsible for the upbringing and spiritual welfare of their children, and
Spiritual Assemblies have the duty to assist parents, if necessary, in
fulfilling these obligations, so that the children will be reared in the light
of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah and from their earliest years will learn to
love God and His Manifestations and to walk in the way of God's Law. It is
natural, therefore, to regard the children of Baha'is as Baha'is unless there
is a reason to conclude the contrary. It is quite wrong to think of Baha'i
children as existing in some sort of spiritual limbo until the age of fifteen
at which point they can "become" Baha'is. In the light of this one
can conclude the following:
Children born to a Baha'i couple are regarded as Baha'is from the beginning of their lives, and their births should be registered by the Spiritual Assembly.
The birth of a child to a couple, one of whom is a Baha'i, should also be registered unless the non-Baha'i parent objects.
A Spiritual Assembly may accept the declaration of faith of a child of non-Baha'i parents, and register him as a Baha'i child, provided the parents give their consent.
In the cases of children whose parents become Baha'is, much depends upon the ages and reactions of the children concerned. They will require great love and understanding, and each case must be judged on its own merits. This applies to an added degree, of course, if only one of the parents has accepted the Faith, in which case the attitude of the other parent is an important factor; the aim of the Baha'is should be to foster family unity. The important thing is that the children, whether registered as Baha'is or not, should be made to feel welcome at Baha'i children's classes and other community gatherings.
It is within a Spiritual Assembly's discretion to request Baha'i children to undertake work of which they are capable in service to the Faith, such as service on suitable committees.
Baha'i Youth
Fifteen is the age at which a child attains spiritual
maturity, and thus it is at the age of fifteen that a Baha'i child assumes the
responsibility for obeying such laws as those of fasting and prayer, and for
affirming of his own volition his faith in Baha'u'llah.
At the present time the Universal House of Justice prefers to leave it to each National Spiritual Assembly to decide what method is to be followed in ascertaining the attitude of Baha'i children when they reach fifteen, provided that it is clear that a Baha'i child is not becoming a Baha'i at that age, but is simply affirming his faith on his own behalf. One Spiritual Assembly, for example, sends a very kind letter to each Baha'i child in its community on the occasion of his fifteenth birthday (unless, of course, it has reason to doubt that the child in question is a Baha'i), explaining the meaning of attaining the age of maturity, and extending the good wishes of the Assembly for his future services to the Cause. This does not require an active response from every child but does provide each with an opportunity to make his position clear if desired. In whatever procedure it adopts a National Spiritual Assembly must wisely steer a course between seeming to doubt the faith of a child who has been brought up as a devout Baha'i on the one hand, and seeming to compel a child to be a member of the Baha'i community against his will, on the other.
If the Assembly ascertains from a youth that he does not, in fact, accept the Faith, even if he has been brought up in a Baha'i family, it should not register him as a Baha'i youth, and such a youth, since he is now mature and responsible for his own actions, would be in the same situation as any other non-Baha'i youth who is in close contact with the Baha'i community. He should be treated with warmth and friendship.
It may happen that a Baha'i child, on reaching the age of fifteen is not entirely sure in his own mind. This can well happen if one of the parents is not a Baha'i or if the parents have accepted the Faith not long before. In such a case the Assembly should not assume automatically that he is not a Baha'i. If the youth wishes to attend Feasts and is content to continue to be regarded as a Baha'i as he was when a child, this should be permitted, but in the process of deepening his understanding of the Faith his parents and the Assembly should explain to him that it is his responsibility to soon make his position clear.
Declarations of faith from non-Baha'i youth between the ages of 15 and 21, whose parents are not Baha'is, may be accepted without the consent of their parents unless this is contrary to the civil law. However, the importance of respect for one's parents must not be forgotten, and such youth may need to be counselled to give heed to their parents' wishes as far as the degree of their activity on behalf of the Faith is concerned, and even, if the parents are very antagonistic, to be completely inactive for a time.
Administrative Maturity
It is stated in the Constitution of a National Spiritual
Assembly that upon attaining the age of 21 years a Baha'i is eligible to vote
and to hold elective office. Some National Spiritual Assemblies in the past,
and indeed a few at the present time, have required a specific action on the
part of a Baha'i youth to claim his voting rights on attaining the age of 21.
The House of Justice does not wish to make a general ruling on this point,
since in some circumstances this may be a necessary protection to the Faith. It
does, however, discourage National Assemblies from making such a requirement
unless they deem it essential.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)
