Etching the Idea of "Unity in Diversity" in the Bahá'í Community:

"Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch" is one of the most evocative concepts found in the Bahá'í Writings. It appeals to Bahá'ís of all ages throughout the world. It has become the signature concept for visual representations of the Bahá'í community, and effectively so. The "Parade of Nations" at the 1992 World Congress in New York City epitomizes the visual diversity of the Bahá'í community. The popularity of the concept seems also to have followed the evolution of the Bahá'í community during its stage of obscurity as well as during its current stage of emergence from obscurity.

This paper considers the Bahá'í popular and administrative dimensions of the term unity in diversity. How does the popular usage of the expression of unity in diversity among Bahá'ís fit with the formal statements of unity in diversity in the Bahá'í Writings? Moreover, how does the belief in diversity square with explicit Bahá'í statements that we shall have a world where "all ethnic and national differences will disappear" (`Abdu'l-Bahá, 1982: 46)? How well does the dimension of unity in diversity match the explicit allusions in the writings of Shoghi Effendi to the "complete unification of the diverse elements that constitute human society" (1967: 122)? What do we make of Shoghi Effendi's references to a vision of "a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration..., its script and language, involving "the fusion of all races, creeds, classes, and nations" (Shoghi Effendi, 1967: 43, 128)?

My original intent in developing this paper was to conduct empirical research in the Canadian Bahá'í Community. I had three questions in mind as part of an in-depth interview: the interviewees would, through a process of open-ended questions, allow me to probe the items that they would find important enough to mention, without any prompting on my part. To that end, I placed a research ad in the January 2001 issue of Bahá'í Canada. I received two responses: one was a thoughtful and interesting first reply to the ad; the other simply reaffirmed the Bahá'í importance of "unity in diversity." As I had hoped to secure at least 20 interviewees in this manner -- they would all reach me by email -- I had to abandon this approach, and I redirected my research to Bahá'ís in an area near where I live, in Eastern Canada. While in many respects this second approach would at least gain me some interviewees -- they all know me and are always interested in my Bahá'í research endeavours -- I soon discovered that no new or different insights would be forthcoming beyond the popular Bahá'í analogies of human diversity.

While these initial approaches proved inadequate in some respects, I did learn that, for the most part, that we, as Bahá'ís, do not seem to reflect in depth on "unity in diversity." The present paper had become more urgent than I initially realized: surely, there was more to the term than its commonplace usage, and how did this idea of diversity get etched into the life of the Bahá'í community?

Casting my net wider, I solicited the opinions of members of two listservs, entitled, "Bridges" and the "Sociology" one. The results, while more numerous than what my research ad produced in Bahá'í Canada, were still meager. The request on "Bridges" yielded two messages; the "Sociology" list produced items from seven individuals in Washington (USA), Corsica, Nice, Dublin, Lusaka (Zambia), Hilversum (Netherlands), South Africa, and Cayenne (French Guiana). Together with the two responses to the ad in Bahá'í Canada, twelve Bahá'ís offered their views on the topic ... a very modest number in light of the submissions on other Bahá'í-related topics. I have also made use of earlier listserv discussions, in 1998, on h-bahai@h-net.msu.edu and on educate@johnco. cc.ks.us.

As if to underpin the relative unfamiliarity with the notion of diversity, I learned during my research stage that a Bahá'í conference in West Cork, Ireland (9-10 June 2001), entitled, "Diversity in Unity" still had not produced, within a month of the Conference, a single abstract on the topic related to the topic. There are, nevertheless, some hopeful signs: the organizer of a Bahá'í workshop in southern Africa indicated he is organizing a focus group on the topic of unity in diversity, while another in southern France promised to engage in some correspondence with me on the topic at a later date. A presenter at a Bahá'í summer school in Corsica enquired whether I had any materials to share. I worked all these small eddies of research into a paper which I already had presented to various national Bahá'í communities, i.e. Denmark, Norway, and Finland (van den Hoonaard, 2000).

Despite the popularity of the term unity in diversity in Bahá'í community life, Bahá'í scholarly literature on the topic is rather meager and none of it has appeared in wider academic publication venues. Michael H. Bond (1998) offers the most complete analysis of the term, a social psychological profile that binds together Bahá'í concepts related to unity and diversity and findings in the social-scientific literature. While he does not explore the Bahá'í discourse per se, he does consider how unity in diversity can be achieved, especially in the context of multiculturalism. The earliest work is by Christensen (1969) who explored unity in diversity in solving problems in group discussions. There has not been an analysis of the discourse of unity in diversity and how it is etched into the Bahá'í community.

There are a number of empirical, published materials that relate to unity in diversity in national Bahá'í communities, especially on the theme of race relations. It is not surprising that much of the literature appeared after the arrival of Iranian refugees in Western countries. In Australia, for example, we find the work of Feather et al (1993) on comparing Australian and Bahá'í value systems with a special reference to Iranian Bahá'ís. In the United States, Keniston (2000) looks at cross-racial friendships in the Bahá'í community. D.J. May (1993) considers pluralism and the Bahá'í teachings on unity. McMullen (2000) brings in elements of local diversity in the context of a Bahá'í community's growth towards a global identity. Richard Thomasí Racial Unity (1992) provides both a historical and contemporary study of race relations in the American Bahá'í community. In Britain, Momen (1990) produced a short piece on the integration into the British Bahá'í Community of Iranian Bahá'ís. Hossain Danesh, in Canada, produced a series of articles in Bahá'í Canada that outlined the challenges facing the Bahá'í community with the arrival of Iranian refugees in the country (Danesh, 1986a, 1986b, 1986c, 1997, 1998). William Hackborn, a mathematician at Augustana University College (Canada) and I (van den Hoonaard and Hackborn, 1994) looked at í" ethnic relations in the Bahá'í community from the perspective of chaos theory.

Important source and institutional documents include the World Order letters of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith and a compilation of the Universal House of Justice on cultural diversity (2000 [1997]). The Australian Bahá'í community produced, in 1988, a monograph, Integration and Cultural Diversity. Between 1992 and 1999, the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly promoted a week in November as "Unity in Diversity Week," producing annual reports of events taking place across Canada.

The Bahá'í community, it appears, has taken the idea of "Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch" (Bahá'u'lláh, 1971: 218) to heart in visualizing the community both internally and externally, and seems to have taken a practical interest in the topic partly on account of the arrival Iranian Bahá'í migrants, partly due to the serious attention paid by the United States Community to "the most challenging issue," a term coined to refer to vital importance of resolving the racial issues in that country. The interest of the Bahá'í community seems to run parallel to the interest in "unity in diversity" taken by society at large. The first popular use of the term in the Bahá'í community occurred in 1967; interestingly, the most complete catalog of serious non- Bahá'í interest in the topic started in 1970.

There is an extensive interest in "unity in diversity" in the generality of society. An Internet search on "Google" currently (4 June 2001) yields some 38,700 results for a search keyed on "unity in diversity," involving a broad spectrum of groups engaged with "unity in diversity": universities, religious groups, research centres, the European Parliament, the United Nations, non-governmental groups, personal websites, biologists, the People's Movement for Racial Healing, and Mark Foster.

In the past 40 years, various social forces have contributed to the mainstay of unity in diversity. During the 1960s, the American civil rights movement laid the groundwork for later legal and social enactments with a focus on human rights. The dreamers of the American "melting pot" were unsettled by the political machinery to bring in minorities into full, democratic partnership, and the minorities themselves, individually and collectively, increasingly protested at the lack of civil rights. While the struggles were offset by legal and political redresses, full partnership in society would remains an as yet elusive goal. The successive waves of movements involving civil rights, multiculturalism, and globalization during the past 40 years or so have, no doubt, influenced discourse in the Bahá'í community on unity in diversity. In some respects, the Bahá'í popular concept of unity in diversity is bound within a discursive framework that is culturally and historically specific.

The promotion of multiculturalism during the 1980s (and in Canada since1970) was a means to stabilize inter-ethnic/racial relations that gave voice to minorities in a manner that fostered ethnic or racial identity within politically-safe parameters. "Unity in diversity" had become a half-achieved goal: social, economic, and political institutions have found a place for diversity, while unity still remained a distant, unspoken other half of that goal. As James R. Wilburn has noted, the ascendence of multiculturalism and its inability to produce an equitable society have led serious scholars to develop "a focus on the pervasive suspicion that this bold, two-centuries-old experiment in free institutions known in America had taken a wrong turn" (Wilburn, 1983: vii). In many respects, the Bahá'í popular notion of unity in diversity represents a "master frame" (Snow and Benford, 1988) in the production and maintenance of meanings for Bahá'ís as they connect to the larger world at this particular moment of time and geography.

It is beyond the scope of this paper, but there is a large body of popular and academic literature that addresses the issue of "unity in diversity" in terms that extend beyond human rights. Judith E. Jones, for example, avers that the "principle of contrast celebrates diversity and unity without either the risk of more trivial multiplicity or leveling uniformity" (Jones, 1998: 199). More well known, is R. Buckminster Fuller's concept of synergy (1972). Images on unity in diversity are also found in William Kuhnsí, The Post Industrial Prophets (1971). Social commentaries in science-fiction literature were the forerunner of such widescale interest in the topic and went as far as saying that unity in diversity is an essential component of a society. Isaac Asimov in The End of Eternity (1990), for example, would rather forego peace than diversity which he believes is an essential component in the progress of humanity.

Echoes of the tree analogy (cited earlier) are plentiful in the Bahá'í Writings, involving the drops or the waves of one sea (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 159, 205-6, 306), the flowers of one garden (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 206, 218, 286-7, 306), the blossoms of one tree (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 75, 158, 159, 210, 282, 289), the members of one body (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 39-40, 223-4, 228), the fingers of one hand (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 39-40), the inhabitants of one city (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 79), the stars of one heaven (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 206, 306), the drops of one river (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 306), the rays of one sun (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 306), the trees of one orchard (Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, 1955: 306), or the blending of many notes "in the making of a perfect chord" (`Abdu'l-Bahá). The ideas expressed in these powerful images are not only very popular among Bahá'ís, but have also shaped their missionizing literature, Holy-Day celebrations, children's classes, and the cultural, and social life of the Bahá'í community.

The Bahá'í community thus has elaborated the popular meaning of "unity in diversity," which was (and still is) so prevalent in the larger society, although the term in its institutional sense was first reported in secondary Bahá'í literature in 1966. Dorothy Ferraby, an Auxiliary Board Member, presented a course on unity in diversity at a Netherlands Bahá'í summer school in summer 1966 (Bahá'í News, Dec. 1966: 8). Even though Dorothy Ferraby spoke about unity in diversity in the Bahá'í administrative order, the author of the report picked up on the theme of unity in diversity, in terms of "the ages of those present, from infants to octogenarians, and in the many nationalities." The term appears again the following year, in a display on Race Unity Day in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, entering general Bahá'í discourse, now with an exclusive focus on the racial "diversity of mankind" (Bahá'í News, Oct. 1967: 7). The Rarotonga report refers to an article on the Bahá'í Faith that appears in Ebony Magazine, showing "unity in diversity" (Bennett, 1965). The term, however, does not occur in the Ebony article. By 1977, with the publication of Donald Barrett's article, "Unity in Diversity" in World Order Magazine (Barrett, 1977), the term had gained currency in its popular meaning. With societies' withdrawing themselves into ethnic enclaves, World Order Magazine decried, in "Ethnicity: A Counsel of Despair" (1977), the problems of a society driven by ethnic or racial enclaves. In the late 1980s, the collapse of communism and the subsequent wave of dissolving states into smaller entities led the editors of World Order Magazine to write about their deepening concern about diversity in another lead editorial, "Diversity: A Way to Unity" (Fall 1987). There are others, however, who believe that "each group will first need to become sure of its own capacities, values, abilities, and contributions"... a form of cultural pride ... so that each group can relate to others with pride which is a necessary precondition for unity in diversity (Danesh, 1998a: 16).

Today, Bahá'í communities have taken a shine to these analogies, promoting them as widely as possible, informally and formally. A glance at photographs in Bahá'í magazines and newsletters confirms the heavy weight Bahá'ís accord to the tangible meaning of unity in diversity, highlighting differences of race, national costume, and tribal or ethnic origin. The seven-year-long program in the Canadian Bahá'í Community to promote "Unity in Diversity" Week (1992-1999) speaks clearly to the issue of human rights (External Affairs, 1998) or to the idea of the oneness of humanity (External Affairs, 1997). Statistical representation of the Bahá'í world community, commenced during the life of the Guardian, highlights many of these differences. The Bahá'í International Community Office at the United Nations has since the mid-1970s woven "unity in diversity" into a wide variety of presentations and publications on occasion of its work with international agencies. The cultural meaning of unity in diversity seems dominant in Bahá'í discourse, as the following remarks indicate in a national Bahá'í magazine, invoking concepts of tradition, culture, and customs as key ingredients of diversity:

If the Native believers decide to hold their Feasts or conferences in the Native tradition, or if the French Canadians feel that certain forms of teaching, deepening, or proclamation activities are most suitable to their culture, or if the Persian friends decide to hold deepening classes in Persian or organize firesides emphasizing hospitality according to Persian customs, then all other Bahá'ís should rejoice..... [I]nwardly we are united at the most fundamental level: our love for Bahá'u'lláh." (Danesh, 1998a: 16) [bold for emphasis]

Pauline Rafat also highlights the cultural meaning of unity in diversity when she connects that idea to the "example of Bahá'í communities consisting of different cultures and races," which "create misunderstanding, irritation," etc. (Rafat, 1988: 16) [bold for emphasis].

It appears that Bahá'ís seem to favour at least seven different concepts of diversity; some of these concepts are directly derived from the Bahá'í Writings, while others have gained currency primarily through choosing ideas from our own selves. My purpose is to present some of these concepts and indicate how each concept differs from another in fundamental ways. The Bahá'í community works with two broad kinds of popular concepts of unity in diversity, namely the aesthetic and the functional. Whether Bahá'í communities use an aesthetic or functional illustration of unity in diversity, they all underscore the tangible aspects of diversity (such as ethnic or racial differences) or human rights.

As far as aesthetic terms are concerned--and maybe the most simple designation of diversity (especially for those of us who live in Canada!)--is the analogy of snowflakes: there are no two alike and, yet, they congeal into a bank of snow. The diversity disappears when show melts. This analogy highlights outward differences and emphasizes inner commonalities. We seem to be saying that diversity is a naturally occurring phenomenon, but it would be hard to translate that analogy into something that can be easily transposed to the human condition.

To speak of diversity as a "salad" as our second example, we have the following in mind: each portion of food on the plate represents--and maintains--its distinctive quality. They are "united" only insofar as they appear on the plate, however pleasing to the eye (and stomach). Like the above example, it is hard to take this analogy any further except as a vivid, physical description of diversity. Bahá'ís in Canada usually make use of the "salad" analogy in contradistinction to the idea of the "melting pot" in the United States. The undertones of this particular analogie serve to underscore the difference of ideology and political life between Canada and the United States.

The well-known analogy of the "fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch," (Bahá'u'lláh, 1971: 218), serves another purpose: yes, we emphasize the diversity of the same species of fruit, but the analogy is more about the fact that there is one source, or root, of all that diversity. The analogy underscores the common foundation of our diversity and appeals to our belief in a common humanity.

`Abdu'l-Bahá offers the best-known analogy of diversity when He likens human diversity to the flowers in a garden: the aesthetic intent of this analogy is particularly poignant because communities relate it to racial, ethnic, or tribal diversity. What places the analogy of the garden at a higher level of aesthetic meaning is that it not only emphasizes the common benefits we derive from the same source of growth, but that it takes work for the gardener to nurture the flowers and weed the soil. The analogy highlights the results of the interaction of the diverse elements that produces something altogether different than the interaction among similar elements. What features strongly in this aesthetic analogy is that maintaining diversity requires conscious effort (by the gardener) and that diversity is more aesthetically pleasing.

In terms of the functional analogies for diversity, we are left with two often-used ones. First, diversity is compared to the limbs of a body. This particular analogy suggests the varied functions of the limbs and that they are coordinated. However, the coordination in a healthy adult requires no effort: it comes about quite naturally. Nevertheless, the analogy is appealing because it suggests a functional wholeness, while emphasizing the necessary functional variety of the limbs.

A second functional analogy that is circulating in Bahá'í circles compares unity in diversity to an Indian meal or a soup. Such a meal consists originally of many individual parts. However, the parts lose their distinction as the meal is prepared and cooked: a new flavour is the combined result. There is no question that each ingredient has a function in adding something to the overall taste and "make it interesting" (Interview with a Fredericton-area Bahá'í, 16 May 2001). "Life," says another Canadian Bahá'í , one of those who responded to the research ad in Bahá'í Canada, "would be tedious without diversity" (Email, 5 February 2001). The cultural meaning of unity in diversity appears to be shifting in very recent times. For example, Maarten Kleijne, a loyal subscriber to a Bahá'í listserv, maintains that society at large is entering a stage where diversity is sought after, especially following what he believes youth are saying (Kleijne, email, dated, 30 May 2001):

At the same time I do not need any longer people around me that are just like me, to make me feel more secure. On the contrary: people that are different from me are more interesting and fun than people who are just like me. The more people like me there are the more boring life gets. The more individual differences we experience the more fun life gets.

When Bahá'ís refer to the playing of an orchestra as an example of diversity, they again emphasize the functionality of the diverse instruments that make the music possible. However, its meaning acquires some depth, because it takes careful, conscientious, and continuing effort to harmonize orchestrated music, involving intense practice, individually, by section, and collectively. It is an all-consuming process. It is noteworthy that although on the surface we seem to be hearing one piece of music, we will still hear the various parts of the orchestra: we simply "know" and "hear" when a section of the orchestra is especially strong... or weak. The analogy of the orchestra represents a striking model of unity in diversity: all the instruments retain their individuality at the service of the larger good. The "one voice" of the orchestra is only possible when each "voice" is heard. The Conductor, along with the desire of individuals to be part of the orchestra, is the "unifying force" (`Abdu'l-Bahá, 1978: 291). In history, dominant groups have come to believe that they should conduct the orchestra, so to speak. To put it bluntly, it is like the bassoon (or take any instrument of your choice) player who decides to lead the orchestra. A world society will surely be one where each instrument takes its rightful place in the orchestra, not in front of it.

Some Bahá'ís assign a function to the need of establishing a mental unity in diversity. Rouha Rose, for example, claims that our mental perception of the world is like a "million separate photographs." By opening up ourselves to diversity, we are able to learn more of how those "pictures" hang together, relieving the sense of fear that has been part of humanity's collective history (Rose, email, dated 29 May 2001).

As evocative as these popular analogies are, scrutiny of the Bahá'í Writings and statements of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice suggests that these authoritative texts speak to a more fundamental aspect of social organization than as a token, tangible, diversity. The other respondent to my research ad in Bahá'í Canada speaks clearly to this issue:

I think that much of the talk of diversity in the Bahá'í community is centred in the more obvious of its forms, especially racial, and that as Bahá'ís, there is a risk of tokenism of sorts. I came to believe, while teaching at [name of a Bahá'í school], that diversity is much more subtle than this, and that an often overlooked area of Bahá'í scholarship, with ramifications in an almost formulaic avoidance of popular culture, is in diversity of thought: how does the Revelation permit, within the confines of Bahá'í law, the diversity of thought that often arises from living in a multi-cultural society, one which is highly attuned to and susceptible to a wide variety of social issues? (Email, 11 Jan. 2001)

A reviewer of an earlier version of this paper even goes as far as suggesting that "much of what passes for multiculturalism and pluralism strikes me as having "sectarian tendencies," — a term taken from the 1993 Ridvan Message:

Of relevant importance [for the functioning of Baha'i institutions], too, are their resolve to remove all traces of estrangement and sectarian tendencies from their midst, their ability to win the affection and support of the friends under their care... (Universal House of Justice, 1993) [emphasis added]

It suggests that "unity in diversity" involves a deeper, intangible diversity that is rooted in the "divers shades of thought, temperament and character," and "the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas, and convictions" of the world's peoples (`Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted by Shoghi Effendi, 1974: 42). It is this particular meaning of the term that Shoghi Effendi draws on when he first uses "unity in diversity" in the context of social organization.

The first use of "unity in diversity" by the Guardian, in November 1931, connects it to `Abdu'l-Bahá's phrase of likening humanity to the flowers of a garden (Shoghi Effendi, 1974: 42). He introduces the concept in the context of decentralization and centralization. Needful of respecting unity in essential elements, and diversity in all secondary matters, the Guardian spoke of unity in diversity as the "watchword" as the organizing principle of human governance. He draws on the "garden" analogy of `Abdu'l-Bahá to underpin his views. The Guardian reinforces his particular application of "unity in diversity" by stating that,

[i]t does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethnical origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world. (Shoghi Effendi, 1974: 41)

further elaborating that unity in diversity "concerns itself primarily with the nature of those -- states, nations," etc. (Shoghi Effendi, 1974: 43). Thus, the distinctive meaning of "unity in diversity" bears directly on a system of governance that eschews "the evils of excessive centralization" (Shoghi Effendi, 1974: 41).

In his efforts to gradually build up the Bahá'í Administrative Order, the Guardian wove his theme of unity in diversity into all of his guidance to Bahá'ís. In late 1939 he spoke about the importance of favouring the member of a minority in the case of an electoral tie (Shoghi Effendi, 1969:29). He was also reluctant to have national Bahá'í communities develop an administrative manual that would govern the affairs of Bahá'í communities such as when the first American Bahá'í pioneers settled in West Africa. In the words of the Guardian (on 2 January 1934),

It is not uniformity which we should seek in the formation of any national or local assembly. For the bedrock of the Bahá'í administrative order is the principle of unity in diversity, which has been so strongly and so repeatedly emphasized in the writings of the Cause. Differences which are not fundamental and contrary to the basic teachings of the Cause should be maintained. (Shoghi Effendi, 1970: 48)

Within the same year, on 27 December 1934, the Guardian, in a letter written on his behalf, reinforces his use of "unity in diversity" in the context of having uniformity in essentials:

He [the Guardian] does not object if there be any differences in these secondary matters, but he feels that he should insist on uniformity in essentials. Diversity in unity ... which is so vital and basic a principle of the Movement ... would therefore be maintained" (Shoghi Effendi, 1981: 102)

The emphasis given to social organization as an expression of unity in diversity is particularly evident in The Prosperity of Humankind, a statement released by the Universal House of Justice in 1995. Taking Bahá'u'lláh's analogy of likening the organization of a planetary society to the human body, the House of Justice cites "unity in diversity" as one of the chief organizing principles of such a society (1995: 7). "Unity in diversity" will "find full expression" through the collective coming-of-age of the human race. In many respects, it seems, that "unity in diversity" is both the enabler and the result of the coming of age.

What is striking about the current Bahá'í discourse and usage of "unity in diversity" is that it seems rather different than the meaning advocated in the writings of Shoghi Effendi. One focuses on such tangible qualities of cultural diversity such as dress, language, race, tribe, and ethnicity, the other focuses on human governance. The concepts, however, are more related than meets the eye.

The Bahá'í concept of diversity extends beyond the tangible superficiality of race, national, linguistic, and ethnic or tribal origins. The formal Bahá'í concept of diversity extends to the vast arsenal of human experience that is engendered by such tangibles as language, race, tribe, and ethnicity. Although Bahá'í popular culture highlights the tangible attributes of diversity, the Bahá'í Writings privilege the intangible dimensions of diversity: the historical experience borne of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and national differences.

With the emphasis placed on the importance of thought and convictions, the Bahá'í model of unity in diversity speaks clearly to the varied experience and consequence of diversity as they manifest themselves in the "divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas, and convictions"of the peoples of the world (`Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted by Shoghi Effendi, 1974: 42). The Bahá'í Writings affirm those experiences as a living reality. It is these experiences, whether collectively or individually, that constitute the diversity in unity.

No doubt, there are other aspects of diversity of the human condition that await discovery by the Bahá'í community. Take the aged, for example. The people who are the most diverse from anyone else are the aged, because they have accrued the experiences of a lifetime that have shaped each one in a very unique way. By comparison, newborn babies have had very few experiences that would distinguish one from the other. In fact, we often rely on some identifying mark in a crib when visiting our newborn in the hospital, such as a distinctive toy. And, yet, society at large treats the aged as a homogeneous group. Similarly, there are other areas where diversity can be conceptualized anew, such as in areas of devotions ("should they always be quiet?"), of education ("why is the North American model of education taken for granted?") , and of service ("what constitutes service?") (Email from a Canadian Bahá'í , 11 Jan. 2001).

The Bahá'í concept of unity in diversity as originally formulated by Shoghi Effendi seems to be finding a home in recent globalizing trends. The popular notions of unity in diversity, visually inspiring and attractive, might always carry the day, but they seem to be secondary to the ideas conceived by the Guardian in 1931.

"Unity in diversity" has became a more powerful concept in the 1990s, not as an extension of the workings of civil rights or multiculturalism for that matter, but as an outcome of globalization (see, e.g., Rowntree, 2000). Suddenly, even majorities in national societies have become minorities in a world system. An entire national society could, under the hammer of hegemonic corporations, become a minority. In the face of McDonaldization, even certain manufacturing, organizational, and service processes could now occupy a "minority" status (Ritzer, 2000). Standardization now affects the global economy on a sufficiently large scale that environmental degradation, the exploitation of children as workers, and the other global ills that we all like to cite are now the norm in our discourse about this economy. The popular, massive protests against the directions that globalization is taking, as represented in the structure and decisions of the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999 and more recently at the G- 8 meetings in Genoa, have given a fresh and meaningful life to the term unity in diversity. Human governance, within this new framework, implies the divestment of centralized and centralizing systems.

With local and national institutions weakened, and even chastised by multinational corporations, debates about new forms of human governance are taking place, from establishing local currencies and alternative money systems (see, e.g. Lietaer, 2000) to establishing an international court adjudicating on matters related to genocide and crimes against humanity. The forces of social integration and disintegration fall on both sides. Some international, global tendencies have a salubrious, diversifying effect; others propel traditional economic and political institutions towards disintegration. Some local efforts have a germ of restoring integration, while others exemplify anarchistic tendencies. Diversity has come to occupy a central role in this debate: it either undermines efforts at standardization or it must be affirmed in the presence of corporations and trade pacts with global ramifications. As Ulf Hannerz, one of the most noted sociologists of our times, affirmed:

There is now a world culture, but we had better make sure that we understand what this means. It is marked by an organization of diversity rather than by a replication of uniformity. No total homogenization of systems of meaning and expression has occurred, nor does it appear likely that there will be one any time soon. But this world has become one network of social relationships. and between its different regions there is a flow of meanings as well as of people and goods. (Hannerz, 1987 (cited by Marcus, 1998: 51))

The emphasis on decentralization as part of an evolving structure of Bahá'í governance reflects the spirit and form of the "new social movements" that social theorists are speaking of (see, e.g., Bowles and Gintis, 1986). Adam refers to "all of this talk about diversity, plurality, and de-centredness" when scholars seek out the new social movements (Adam, 1993: 329), without the fall of the meta-narrative, however. There is a worldview ... a comprehensive one at that ...which, at its heart, like many new social movements, "recognizes and supports subordinated people" (cf, Adam, 1993: 330).

If the Bahá'í Writings aver (as I have tried to show above) that diversity is more about "customs, manners, habits, ideas, opinions and dispositions" (`Abdu'l-Bahá, 1978: 291), than about tangible differences of skin colour, language, or the like, then what matters in a future society is the collective experience of having developed a vaster and more complex range of individual experiences -- it is this range of experience that will always be present. One could argue, that given the individual's access to a world ledger of experiences, individual diversity is bound, in fact, to increase.

In this light, the Bahá'í conception of "unity in diversity" in the sense of human governance, echoes the needs of the age. According to McGlinn, the Bahá'í social structure is "not incompatible with that of a decentralized postmodern society (McGlinn, 1999: 717). Michael Novak, an author of at least eight books on the topic of unity in diversity, speaks of unity in diversity as "the highest possible attainment of a civilization, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race..." (Dedication in Birch, 1983).

In the specific context of a Bahá'í community, there are defined limits to diversity. Diversity should not contravene the essential principles of the Bahá'í Faith. Moreover the social setting must be considered, especially for differences that divide people or are based on religious, as opposed to cultural, practices: if the Bahá'í community is the audience (Universal House of Justice, 2000: 106), religious diversity is less acceptable, such as is the case of celebrating Christmas, but if the social setting is wider, involving family members who are Christians, then such diversity takes on a different connotation.

There are some interesting perspectives in the Bahá'í Writings that put the idea of unity in diversity on its head. `Abdu'l-Bahá's assertion that "multiplicity is the greatest factor for coordination" (1978: 291) seems to turn the concept of unity in diversity on its head, especially when popular conceptions have it that "diversity needs coordination." For that matter, in `Abdu'l-Bahá's terms, difference "reinforces" harmony, and diversity "strengthens" love (1978: 291). Does this mean that we should make a greater effort in appreciating and welcoming diversity? If music needs notes, unity needs diversity.

Another statement speaks of the "diversity of the national characteristics" of states in a federated world as being "infinite" (Shoghi Effendi, 1974: 43). What are the far-reaching implications of such a statement? Is homogeneity finite, by contrast? What does one make of `Abdu'l-Bahá's assertion that "a token of diversity is the essence of perfection..." (1978: 219)? Does such a statement carry implicit assumptions about the goal of education, namely to cultivate diversity as a means to achieve perfection?

These possible answers are merely tentative suggestions, not definite. They do, however, strongly suggest that more weight needs to be given to the notion of diversity in the Bahá'í Writings and their implications for the life of Bahá'í communities and, indeed, for the world as a whole.

The significance of "othering" which scholars have already acknowledged as a source of social research is applicable to the world as a whole. When we privilege the popular meaning of unity in diversity, we do privilege the norms of mainstream, dominant culture. Alternatively, when we adopt unity in diversity as a principle of human governance, we know that "diversity" is as essential factor as "unity." In the former, we "other," rather than befriend, members of minorities, i.e. strangers. In the latter, we pay tribute to the phrase of `Abdu'l-Bahá, to "call none a stranger" (`Abdu'l- Bahá, 1978: 280) and we touch upon a very fundamental principle of social and institutional interaction and relations that only then will come home to roost in microscoping a globalized world..

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I thank the following people, in addition to those who have contributed their ideas to my appeals for contributions: Dr. Deborah Kestin van den Hoonaard of St. Thomas University, Fredericton, NB, Canada, Mr. Cecil E. Cook of South Africa, and Mr. David Bowie of British Columbia, Canada. I am also grateful to Dr. Margit Warburg for her encouragement.

bridges@jccc.net, bahai-sociology@BCCA.Org

The organizer did receive a tenuous promise from one person to present a paper on "prejudice and identity" -- but no abstract. The Conference was postponed to a later date. I

Race relations in the American Bahá'í community is usually characterized as "the most challenging issue," a term designated by the Guardian for this specific use in the United States.

Carol L.Birch (1983) lists some 3,021 works on the subject of unity in diversity, from 1970 to 1081, inclusive. No doubt, there must have been works pre-dating this collection, but were of insufficient number to be included in the volume.

David A. Snow and Robert D. Benford signify "framing" (in the study of social movements) "which denotes an active, processual phenomenon that implies agency and contention at the level of reality construction" (1988: 6).

I am indebted to Maarten Kleijne for pointing to this reference of Asimov.

Italicized page numbers indicate the section with the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh.

The point of the statistical representation of the worldwide Bahá'í community was to show its global diversity. In this context, whether the nomenclature of the groups conformed to either anthropological or native uses can be deemed as irrelevant. Similarly, the first enrollment of a member of a particular tribal or ethnic group signifies the diversity of a growing community; who constitutes a member of that group (for example, if he or she has been adopted by that group) is another matter (There is the case of Mr. Benjamin Miller who became the "first" Bahá'í of the Uai tribe in Liberia in 1952; Mr Miller was originally from Cincinnati, migrated to Liberia and was adopted by the Uais (Africa Teaching Committee Records, 1952)) .

The term "unity in diversity" does not seem to be derived from Persian. The equivalent term, vahdat dar kithrat, is used in Persian literature on mysticism to indicate the unity between the invisible and visible worlds (Email from Iraj Ayman, dated 6 May 2001, to author).

I am indebted to Professor Deborah Kestin van den Hoonaard, Gerontology Department, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, Canada, for this particular observation about aging and diversity.

McGlinn, however, invokes the Bahá'í idea of unity in diversity in terms of "church-state relationships," a system of "distinct and autonomous social organs," secular and religious which equilibrate unity and diversity as an organizing principle (McGlinn, 1999: 717).