Gandhi believed
that all religions are equal and
that
therefore there is no
need for a person to change their declared
religion.![[footnote]](img47.png){kind=small}
According to Gandhi, it is sufficient if all people study each
other's religions.
There is no need to ``convert,'' because all
religions mirror Truth.
In contrast, although Bahá'ís do believe that all the religions are
equally divine in origin and purpose, they also believe that each
religion has its appropriate time and place in history. For example,
it would be a great step backward for humankind to return to the days
of ritual animal sacrifices. Similarly, the age-old customs of
caste-based divisions have now been superseded by the principle of the
oneness of humankind.![[footnote]](img48.png){kind=small}
As a
child grows, its needs change--likewise is it with humankind.
Bahá'ís believe that since Religion is progressive and revolutionary
in nature, therefore no single religious system can last
forever. Hence, religions supersede one another as the times
change--even the Bahá'í Faith will, in a distant future, be
superseded by a new religion. Religious conversion, far from being
avoidable, is a necessity according to the Bahá'ís. If early Hindus
had not converted to the ``new'' faith of Lord Buddha and if Jews had
not converted to the new Faith of Jesus Christ, then Buddhism and
Christianity would never have spread.![[footnote]](img49.png){kind=small}
The very first duty of a person,
according to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, is recognition of the Manifestation of God
for the age in which one lives. Essentially, Gandhi did not believe
in what Bahá'ís call progressive revelation.
Of course, Bahá'ís completely agree with Gandhi that people should never be forced to convert. Proselytization--i.e., religious conversion of one person by another--is strictly forbidden in the Bahá'í Faith. Rather, people must have absolute freedom of choice in purely personal matters of faith.