University Bahá’í Societies
To Local Spiritual Assemblies and Groups
When replying please refer to: SRL-21783.A
15 August 2013
Dearly loved Friends,
University Bahá’í Societies
The use of Bahá’í societies in universities has been a long-standing feature of efforts by Bahá’í students to promote the Faith on university campuses. Given the developments in the approaches, methods and instruments employed by the Faith to build materially and spiritually flourishing communities, the role of Bahá’í societies is evolving as they strive to find their place within the framework for action in the clusters where they are located. In light of this new reality the National Spiritual Assembly has developed a new constitution for Bahá’í societies with accompanying guidance notes.
The development of these new materials is not intended as a general call for the formation of Bahá’í societies by Bahá’í university students. Rather, they seek to clarify the aims and purposes of a Bahá’í society, the manner in which they interact with other agencies of the Faith and outline their basic administrative arrangements. The new materials are rooted in the recognition that Bahá’í university students and their co-workers can be seen as a teaching team like any other in the cluster. A Bahá’í society can be seen as a formal structure for promoting the name of the Faith, interacting with university authorities and providing access to university facilities. However, it should not be assumed that such a formal structure is always necessarily beneficial in assisting a group of students to engage their fellow students in walking a path of service to humanity. Therefore, students are encouraged to read their reality and make the determination as to whether or not a Bahá’í society would complement their efforts on campus based on their particular circumstances, needs and opportunities available to them.
To assist with raising consciousness of the new materials we ask that you kindly circulate the enclosed documents to any university students in your area or to students about to go to university from your area. Beyond this, the National Assembly is sure that you will continue to offer loving encouragement and support to any students at universities in your area in their endeavours in your cluster.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
National Spiritual Assembly
Patrick O’Mara, Secretary
Click on the links below to download PDFs:
- The National Assembly’s letter
- University Bahá’í Societies Guidance Notes
- University Bahá’í Societies draft constitution