Tempe Bahá'í Community

What We Believe

Bahá'u'lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, teaches that there is one God whose existence is beyond our understanding. Although we may call Him by different names – God, Yahweh, Allah, Brahma, or the Great Spirit – we are speaking of the same loving, omnipotent, omniscient Presence that has guided humanity throughout history. As an outpouring of His love for creation, God reveals Himself to us through a series of Divine Messengers, according to the needs of the time, that bring teachings which address both the social and spiritual needs of a maturing humanity. We may know them by different names, such as Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, and Muhammad, but they all reflect the same singular Divine purpose. These Messengers are the Chief Educators of humankind Whom guide the material and spiritual progress of civilization.

Bahá'u'lláh, the latest of these Messengers, taught that a just and peaceful global society is now possible. The central principle of the Bahá’í Faith is the unity of humankind. Believing in the oneness of humanity demands a rooting out of all forms of prejudice and inequality, and it requires that all relationships, communities and institutions be grounded in cooperation, mutual assistance and service. Bahá'u'lláh affirms that every individual is a unique and noble soul with an equitable role to play in the advancement of society.

Who We are

Almost anywhere you go in the world, you’ll find Baha’is – the Baha’i Faith is the world’s second-most widespread religion after Christianity. The Baha’i community in Tempe has grown close to 140 adults and children. There are upwards of 2,300 Baha’is in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The Tempe Bahá'í community is comprised of people from all backgrounds and walks of life who are brought together by a common belief in the oneness of humanity, the oneness of religion and the oneness of God. We work alongside others applying our ever-evolving understanding of the Bahá'í teachings to cultivate a more just, peaceful and unified community. In neighborhoods across Tempe, Bahá’ís and their friends are striving to build a community that weaves together both the material and spiritual realities of our lives.

What We Do

Across Tempe, Bahá’ís strive to become involved in the life of society, working shoulder to shoulder with diverse groups and organizations, to contribute to the advancement of material and spiritual civilization. 

The challenges facing the world today are manifold, and Bahá’ís are under no illusions that solving them will be simple. Indeed, one of the fundamental challenges that Bahá’ís face in every facet of life is how to translate the lofty vision of humanity presented in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh into tangible reality. 

These efforts find expression through four core activities which provide spaces for people of all ages and social, educational, and religious backgrounds to explore fundamental questions of the spiritual life of humanity, such as the nature of the soul and the relationship between one’s inner life and external conditions. These four activities include: 

"… meetings that strengthen the devotional character of the community; classes that nurture the tender hearts and minds of children; groups that channel the surging energies of junior youth; circles of study, open to all, that enable people of varied backgrounds to advance on equal footing and explore the application of the teachings to their individual and collective lives…"

In addition to the efforts being made in these four main areas, a variety of other activities take place throughout the year, all of which serve to enrich the spiritual life of the residents of Tempe. These activities include:

Firesides: informal gatherings, usually held in a community member’s home, where friends discuss one or another aspect of the Bahá’í Faith

Reflection Meetings: residents within a small geographic area gather to discuss the progress of their community-building activities

Holy Day Observances: commemorate sacred, pivotal moments in the history of the Bahá’í Faith

Social Action: a spectrum of activities often undertaken at the grassroots with the purpose of promoting the material and social wellbeing of a neighborhood or the wider community 

Participation in the Discourses of Society: the process of Bahá’í learning from others as well sharing their own insights from Bahá'u'lláh’s teachings in social spaces at all levels of society, both local and professional, on subjects concerned with humanity’s prosperity such as healthcare, education, economic justice, environmental sustainability and gender equality among many others