Bibliography: #YTA3A6AU

key	YTA3A6AU
title	Bahá'í Family Life : Beyond the Traditional
author	Collins, William P.
authority control	William P. Collins
item type	Book section
publication year	2004
date	2004
publication title	Search for Values : Ethics in Bahá'í Thought
abstract note	Families have faced increasing challenges since the 1960s. This article explores the notion of "tradition" and defines the patriarchal and nuclear family systems. Judaeo-Christian-Islamic texts enshrined both patriarchal and egalitarian family principles, but the patriarchal aspect came to the fore. The Bahá’í approach is non-traditional insofar as it is logically independent of the rigid and inequitable systems of the past. Following review of selected Bahá’í secondary literature on family life to highlight the general discourse on Bahá’í family systems, this essay examines principles and prospects of the Bahá’í family. Bahá’í texts regard the family as a building block for virtues and qualities to be exemplified in the wider world. Bahá’í ideas of family are shaped by several broad principles: unity and gender equality; elimination of domination based on gender, physical strength or earning power; application of the Bahá’í legal notion of mutatis mutandis as an equalizing principle; rights and responsibilities of family members; non-traditional uses of parental consent and dowry; and commendation of the marital state without making it obligatory. Each Bahá’í family finds its modus vivendi through consultation, cooperation and loving respect. While the Bahá’í writings redefine the family as a place of equal rights, they do not legitimize various marriage alternatives that are now advocated.
pages	21-43
series	Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions
series number	15
publisher	Kalimát Press
place	Los Angeles, CA
language	English
manual tags	FAMILY; TRADITION
editor	Danesh, John; Fazel, Seena
translator	Fazel, Seena; Danesh, John

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