Reframing Social Principles:

About: While social principles such as justice, equality, and unity have historically played a vital role in promoting the Bahá'í Faith, particularly in the West, their increasing integration into mainstream discourse calls for a renewed emphasis on the spiritual source from which they derive their transformative power. This paper examines how such principles risk losing their depth and meaning when disconnected from their spiritual foundations, using tolerance as a key example. Viewed through the lens of the "center and periphery" dynamic, the essay argues that the Bahá'í Faith’s social vision emanates from its spiritual essence and flows outward to shape the broader layers of social reality. The discussion further explores the harmony between science and religion, the interplay between continuity and change, and the far-reaching effects of spiritual voids manifesting as materialism, moral confusion, and alienation. By emphasizing and categorizing the spiritual foundations and methodological approaches of the Faith, the essay demonstrates how the Bahá'í worldview offers a coherent and profound spiritual response to the complex social challenges of the modern world.