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Abstract:
A statement on the problem of whom one should obey when there is apparent conflict between the immediate civil authority under which one resides and a superior authority, such as a state or the Federal Government.
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In the United States questions often arise as to what civil authority one
should obey especially when there is apparent conflict between the
immediate civil authority under which one resides and a superior
authority, such as a state government or the Federal Government. People
unfamiliar with the workings of the legal system find it difficult to
determine their course of action when such conflicts arise. Often it is
thought that the superior authority is the one to be obeyed under these
circumstances; thus, for example, in cases of school desegregation there are
those who, in trying to carry out a Federal ruling, find themselves in open
dispute with others who may prefer to support contrary actions of a local
or state authority. A Bahá'í caught in the cross-fire generated by this kind of conflict is often bewildered because he wishes to carry out the injunction of Bahá'u'lláh to be loyal to one's government. But how, he may well ask himself, can one be loyal to two or more conflicting authorities? The tendency of many people in choosing among loyalties is to feel that the Federal Government, being the supreme authority in the land, must be obeyed in preference to any local or state authority. How, then, does the principle of loyalty to government apply when there is apparent conflict between state and Federal laws? The following excerpts from the writings of the Guardian and The Universal House of Justice clarify these questions. "To all administrative regulations which the civil authorities have issued from time to time, or will issue in the future in that land, as in all other countries, the Bahá'í community, faithful to its sacred obligations towards its government, and conscious of its civic duties, has yielded, and will continue to yield implicit obedience...." (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By) Civil disobedience is not permissible for Bahá'ís. However, a Bahá'í may decide, while obeying a repugnant regulation, to complain to the authorities, if wisdom and consultation with Bahá'í institutions dictate such action. In conclusion, a Bahá'í should be implicitly obedient to the constituted authority in the community wherein he functions. Thus, for example, if school administrators are permitted by the state to promulgate rules and regulations for student conduct, the Bahá'í student will obey those rules. He may take part in action to correct such rules only by conduct which does not violate any Bahá'í principle or any law or regulation including the rule itself. Where a state or local government or agency enforces an unjust law, or unjustly enforces any law, the Bahá'í within the jurisdiction will not attempt to demonstrate the invalidity of the law by violating it, nor will he violate any second law in protest against the first. By such a standard of conduct. universally applied. the American Bahá'í Community will not only be demonstrating that striking contrast between itself and secular society longed for by the beloved Guardian but also be freed to ". . . concentrate on perfecting our characters as individual Bahá'ís; and on maturing our still embryonic. and as yet improperly understood World Order; on spreading the Message. according to the provisions of the Divine Plan; and, on building a tightly knit, world-wide Bahá'í community."
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