1. n.d.. Development of the Faith. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir. Process and development of the Faith, "from its birth to its glory and greatness and color in the world."
2. 2026-03. On Community Building and the Nine Year Plan: A Balancing Point?. Wm. Keith Bookwalter. The Bahá'í community consists of two nested spheres: an inner community and an outer "wider community of interest." Its two challenges are maintaining balance between outward and inward activities, and managing the transition to fuller participation.
3. 2025-12-31. Message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors. Universal House of Justice. Regarding the progress of the Nine Year Plan of the worldwide Bahá’í community (2022–2031).
4. 2025-04-21. Evolving Administrative Order, An. Bahá'í World. The Bahá’í administrative order, evolving globally, fosters unity, decentralization, and social transformation, offering a cooperative model of governance rooted in Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of humanity’s collective maturity.
5. 2025-04-21. Global Community, A. Bahá'í World. The global Bahá’í community advances unity, social transformation, and spiritual principles through systematic learning, community-building, and inclusive, grassroots action worldwide; overview of 1996–2021.
6. 2023-11-28. Reflections on the First Century of the Formative Age. Universal House of Justice. Overview of the Faith's developments and activities during the previous century, including the Guardianship, global expansion, community building and development, participation in societal discourse, and construction of the Bahá'í World Centre.
7. 2023. Harvard Pluralism Project: Bahá'í. Author unknown. Six overview essays on Bahá'í history, beliefs, and practices. (Offsite)
8. 2022. Compilation on All of Humanity Embracing the Bahá'í Faith, A. Brent Poirier, comp.
9. 2021-04-20. Ridván 2021: Bahá'í Era 178. Universal House of Justice. Annual message to the Bahá'ís of the world.
10. 2020-2026. Nuggets, The. Badi Shams. A newsletter written from a Bahá’í perspective consisting of inspiring stories, news, and history from the culture and wisdom of Canada's First Nations and all religions, contributing to making the world a better and united place.
11. 2019-03-12. Progress of the Faith in the United States and South Carolina. Universal House of Justice. While growth may not be always apparent in local regions, efforts of clusters country-wide are showing overall progress.
12. 2017-08-22. The Bahá'ís of America: The Growth of a Religious Movement, by Mike McMullen: Review. Christopher Buck.
13. 2013. List and Map of 114 Youth Conferences in 2013. Bahá'í World News Service. List of pages at bahai.org (offsite) with reports, descriptions, and videos of youth events across the globe. The accompanying map gives an impression of the spread of the worldwide Bahá'í community.
14. 2013. Next Stage, The. Douglas Martin. Bahá'í scholars find themselves at a stage in the Faith’s development where they must construct a discourse that is free of "haughty intellectualism." The Association for Bahá’í Studies can help promote the Bahá'í cause to institutions of higher learning.
15. 2013. Concept of Spiritual Force, The: Teilhardian and Bahá'í Perspectives. Benjamin Schewel. The concept of spiritual force - purpose, and growth in capacity - constitutes an important component of both Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s thought and a Bahá’í conceptual framework; overview of historical approaches to the concept of spiritual force.
16. 2012. Human Knowledge and the Advancement of Society. Hoda Mahmoudi. Knowledge is the means toward realizing a global civilization. The current Five Year Plan focuses the Bahá'í community’s consultation, reflection, and global growth, and the individual’s applying spiritual and secular knowledge to help this process.
17. 2012. Legacy of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Visit to America, 1912, The. Robert Stockman. Overview of Abdu’l-Bahá’s trip to the U.S. and Canada, its impact, his social action and public discourse, and comparison with similar "travel-teaching" trips by Protap Chunder Mozoomdar and Swami Vivekanada (Hindus) and Anagarika Dharmapala (a Buddhist).
18. 2010-12-28. la Conferencia de los Cuerpos Continentales de Consejeros, A: 28 de diciembre de 2010. Universal House of Justice, Cortesía, trans. .
19. 2010-12-28. Continental Boards of Counsellors, Letter to the Conference of. Universal House of Justice.
20. 2010. Baha'i Conceptual Framework for Interfaith Discourse and Action. Ismael Velasco. Overview of challenges to interfaith work, a Bahá'í appraisal of current activities, and the culture of systematic growth.
21. 2010. Maps and charts in Baha'i World volumes. John Conkling, comp, Jonah Winters, ed. List of all inserts and maps included in volumes of the Bahá'í World books.
22. 2009-05-17. Celebration of the Nineteen Day Feast. Universal House of Justice. Guidance on adapting the Nineteen Day Feast amid community growth, emphasizing decentralization, inclusivity, and flexible administration while preserving unity and core Bahá’í principles.
23. 2009. Revelation and Social Reality: Learning to Translate What Is Written into Reality. Paul Lample. The nature of change in social reality, Bahá’í understanding and practice, learning and growth, participating in the advancement of society, and problems of knowledge and power.
24. 2008-04. Attaining the Dynamics of Growth: Glimpses from Five Continents. International Teaching Centre. This World Centre publication was used for consultation at the 10th International Bahá'í Convention. In pictures, case studies, testimonials, and analysis of programs of growth on 5 continents, it demonstrates the diverse conditions of Bahá'ís worldwide.
25. 2008. Reflections on a Culture of Learning and Growth: Community and Individual Paradigm Shifts: Part A: A Contemporary, Historical, Futuristic and Personal Context. Ron Price. The building of the community & administrative structure of this new world Faith was at the core of Bahai programs & policies, goals & game-plans, so to speak, from 1921 to 1996, a period of 75 years, and as far back as the last years of the 19th century.
26. 2008. New Development in the Bahá'í Community, A. R. Mehrabkhani. On the three stages in the growth of each religion, and the new instruments for the correct implementation of the Bahá'í plans, the Cluster and its Reflection Meetings, and the Ruhi course.
27. 2007-09-30. Message on clusters, institutes, and growth. International Teaching Centre. Message from the Counsellors on growth and enrollments.
28. 2007-04-19. Ridvan Message to the US National Spiritual Assembly. Universal House of Justice. Brief discussion of clusters and the low rate of enrollments in the United States.
29. 2006. Turning Point: Selected Messages of the Universal House of Justice and Supplementary Material 1996-2006. Universal House of Justice, International Teaching Centre. A decade of Bahá’í guidance outlining strategic plans, learning processes, and institutional development to advance global growth through systematic action and community-building initiatives.
30. 2006. Learning to Respond to Emerging New Realities: Messages from the Universal House of Justice. Universal House of Justice. Two letters to the US NSA dealing with expansion and administration, and a document prepared by the International Teaching Centre, "Impact of Growth on Administration Processes."
31. 2005. Globalization of the Bahá'í Community: 1892-1921, The. Moojan Momen. On the connection between Abdu’l-Baha’s thinking and his practical directives in the global expansion of the Baha’i religion, considered in light of Jan Aart Scholte's globalization categories: normative, psychological, economic, and institutional.
32. 2004/2007. Towards World Order. Alí Nakhjavání. Transcripts of six talks given at a week-long course on the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, sponsored by the NSA of Italy. Document includes compilation and outline.
33. 2004. Bahá'í Faith in the West, The: A Survey. Peter Smith. General account of the development and expansion of the Faith in Europe and North America 1894-1994, including distribution and social composition of contemporary communities. Includes Foreword to the volume.
34. 2003/2011. Change of Culture, A. Moojan Momen. An overview of the process of cultural change in the Bahá'í community.
35. 2003-04. Building Momentum: A Coherent Approach to Growth. International Teaching Centre. Guidance for the Bahá'í world in advancing the process of entry by troops. Part 3 of a series, following "Training Institutes" (1998) and "Training Institutes and Systematic Growth" (2000).
36. 2002-08-22. Enrollments and limited growth of the Bahá'í community. Universal House of Justice. The lack of significant numerical growth in certain Western Bahá'í communities is related to the preceding decades of struggle, achievement and disappointment.
37. 2002-08-22. Falta de crecimiento y el cambio de cultura, La. Universal House of Justice.
38. 2001-06. Authenticity Project, The. Mary K. Radpour. An effort to integrate Bahá’í ethical principles and the psychological dynamics of growth. In both presentation and long-form notes formats.
39. 2001-04-28. Intensive Growth Programs. Farzam Arbab. Talk delivered as part of a two-day seminar on the Five Year Plan, sponsored by the Youth Activities Committee at the Bahá'í World Centre.
40. 2000-02-23. Application of Bahá'í Laws. Universal House of Justice. On the application of Bahá’í law and how its procedures differ from civil law, with discussion of the examples of Huququ'llah, obligatory prayer, and fasting.
41. 2000-02. Training Institutes and Systematic Growth. International Teaching Centre.
42. 2000-01. National Spiritual Assemblies: Lists and years of formation. Graham Hassall.
43. 2000. Entry by Troops, Promoting. Shoghi Effendi, Universal House of Justice, Universal House of Justice, Research Department, comp. .
44. 1997. Shoghi Effendi: Guide for a New Millennium. Glenford Mitchell. The Bahá'í community is a global laboratory in which a transformation in individual and collective behaviour is progressing, leading to a new sense of community and the glimmerings of a new world order.
45. 1996. Bahá'í Community as a Learning Organisation, The. Roy Steiner. How a knowledge management system focussed on assisting individuals, communities and institutions could improve their success. Followed by commentaries by Kambiz Maani and Svenja Tams.
46. 1996. Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986: Third Epoch of the Formative Age. Universal House of Justice, Geoffrey W. Marks, comp. .
47. 1996. Proselytizing, Development, and the Covenant. Universal House of Justice. Teaching vs. proselytization; applying Bahá'í social teachings without becoming ensnared in prevailing cultural mores; and the uniqueness of the Bahá'í covenant.
48. 1996. Bahá'í Community of Canada, The: A Case Study in the Transplantation of Non-Western Religious Movements to Western Societies. Will C. van den Hoonaard. The origins and early life of the Bahá'í community in Canada as a sociological case study in the transplantation of non-Western faiths into Western settings.
49. 1996. On the Nature of Bahá'í Communities. Check Woo Foo. Reflections on the development of Bahá'í communities in urban societies, especially the relationship between the individual believer, the local community, and the Institutions, in the context of achieving an advance in the process of entry by troops.
50. 1995. Community as Family, The: Opportunities of Growth. Ros Gabriel.
51. 1995. Bahá'í History in the Formative Age: The World Crusade 1953-1963. Graham Hassall. The major features of the Bahá'í 'World Crusade' 1953-1963; thoughts about the contemporary practice of historical Bahá'í scholarship; the guardianship and evolution of the Universal House of Justice; United Nations and the Bahá'í International Community.
52. 1994-08-28. Evolution of Institutional Capacity for Social and Economic Development, The. Office of Social and Economic Development. Bahá'í principles of development and guidelines for individual initiative.
53. 1994-05-19. Letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, May 19 1994. Universal House of Justice. A lengthy response inspired by the US community's 1994 "Vision in Action" initiative, addressing the slowness of the growth of the Faith in America and the impact of negative trends in American society on the nation's Bahá'í community.
54. 1994-05-19. Carta Sobre Relaciones entre AEN, Comunidad e Individuo. Universal House of Justice.
55. 1994 Fall. Houses as Perfect as Is Possible. Duane L. Herrmann. A survey of the evolution in design of the Bahá'í Houses of Worship around the world through the twentieth century.
56. 1992-04-09. Humanity's Coming Encounter with Baha'u'llah. Douglas Martin. Retrospective look at the previous 100 years of Bahá'í history, current shifts of focus and teaching plans, and the prospects for the future which the new Message can bring.
57. 1992. Potential of the Bahá'í Faith to Grow in Scope and Influence, The. Annette Prosterman. A sociological perspective says that, to grow and develop, a religion must have ideological and structural elements that foster its effective growth, maintain its cohesion as a collective unit, and enable it to mobilize its members toward social change.
58. 1991-03. Spiritual Health of American Community. Universal House of Justice. Publication of a letter addressing an individual's concerns for the spiritual health of the American Bahá’í community, and suggestions for personal action. (Letter dated Dec. 24 1990, published March 1991.)
59. 1991. Learning About Growth: The Story of the Ruhi Institute and Large-scale Expansion of the Bahá'í Faith in Colombia. Farzam Arbab. On the formation and development of the Ruhi Institute in Colombia; difficulties Bahá'ís faced in developing ​​a large-scale teaching project; analysis of all the measures taken and the degree of their success.
60. 1989/1990. Immortality and the Human Soul: Lecture Series. Hooper Dunbar.
61. 1989. Learning from History. Moojan Momen. The challenges caused by the influx of Third World villagers into the Bahá’í world community. The value of a study of the history of the Bahá’í Faith in understanding this development and in helping us towards appropriate presentations of the Faith.
62. 1989. Bahá'í Faith 1957-1988, The: A Survey of Contemporary Developments. Peter Smith, Moojan Momen. A general account of developments in the Bahá'í Faith during these three decades.
63. 1985:12. Library and Archival Resources at the Bahá'í World Centre. William P. Collins. Overview of the nature of the Bahá'í World Centre; historical resources at the BWC; Centre for the Study of the Holy Texts; access to BWC resources; classification schemes.
64. 1984. Growing in the Bahá'í Faith. Adib Taherzadeh. Talk at an Alaskan summer school, covering topics such as the nature of the soul, our purpose, and personal and collective growth.
65. 1983-08. Flame Within Us, A. Alí Nakhjavání. Faith must become an inner flame expressed through action, sacrifice, and sincerity, preparing individuals to face trials and contribute to the spiritual transformation of humanity; persecutions in Iran. Transcript not formatted.
66. 1982-01-03. Letter to an Individual (on Belief, Development, and the Covenant). Universal House of Justice. Regarding questions raised about sharing Bahá'í beliefs, participation in social and economic development activities, and the significance of the Covenant.
67. 1980-05. Growth and Spread of the Baha'i Faith, The. Arthur Hampson. A detailed attempt to describe and account for the spread of the Bahá'í Faith, including the roles played by its centralized leadership, its belief system, and its policies, as well as attitudes and conditions outside the control of the Bahá'í movement.
68. 1971-1995. 1971-1995: Newspaper articles archive. Various. Collection of newspaper articles from 1971-1995.
69. 1971 [1944]. God Passes By. Shoghi Effendi. The classic — and canonical — historical summary and interpretation of the significance of the development of the Bábí and Baháʼí religions from 1844 to 1944.
70. 1968. Becoming Your True Self. Daniel C. Jordan. The nature of human potential, and how the Bahá'í Faith can guide the process of spiritual transformation.
71. 1957. Shoghi Effendi. Marcus Bach. Dr. Bach set out to meet the five people of his time whom he felt best exemplified the teachings of Jesus Christ. He travelled the world to pursue this aim, interviewing Helen Keller, Pope Pius XII, Albert Schweitzer, Therese Neumann, and Shoghi Effendi.
72. 1923. Tablet on the Debasement of Persia. Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, trans. . Short comment by Abdu'l-Bahá on the present debasement of Persia and its future glory, date unknown, shared by the Guardian in a letter to the US NSA in 1923.

1. 1953-10-14 — Shoghi Effendi announced the settling of 13 further Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, with 178 territories now open to the Faith. [MBW173]
2. 1953-11-11 — Shoghi Effendi announced the settling of a further contingent of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh in 21 virgin areas, bringing the number of territories open to the Faith to 200. [MBW52–3]
3. 1954-10-01 — Shoghi Effendi announced that there were Bahá'ís in 235 countries and territories and over 3000 centres around the world. [MBW69–70]
4. 1955-04-03 — Shoghi Effendi announced that the Bahá'í Faith was represented in 236 countries, in 3,200 locations, by over 40 ethnic groups. Bahá'í literature was translated into 176 languages. [MBW76–8]
5. 1959-04-21 — The Custodians announced that the number of national and regional spiritual assemblies had risen to 31, the Faith was established in 255 countries, Bahá'ís lived in over 5,200 localities and had formed nearly 1,275 local spiritual assemblies, and Bahá'í literature had been translated into 261 languages. [MC137–8]
6. 1960-04-21 — The Custodians announced that the Bahá'í Faith was represented in over 256 territories and was established in over 5,800 localities; there were 31 national spiritual assemblies and nearly 1,500 local spiritual assemblies; and Bahá'í literature is in 268 languages. [Mc183–96]
7. 1961-01-01 —
   Hand of the Cause of God Dr Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir traveled to India and demonstrated the principle of mass teaching. [DM172–84; SBBH2:165–7]
   • Mass teaching began in the rural area of Madhya Pradesh among the Hindu population. In 1961 there were 850 Bahá'ís; in 1963 87,000; by 1973 nearly 400,000; and by 1987 about two million. In 1983 45 per cent of all local spiritual assemblies were in India. [BBRSM195; BW13:299]
8. 1963-04-20 —
   The Ten Year Crusade was successfully completed. The achievements of the Ten Year Crusade were celebrated at the Most Great Jubilee in April and May 1963, which commemorated the Centenary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah's Mission. Two historic events transpired during that time: the International Convention, convened in Haifa, Israel, to elect the first Universal House of Justice; and the World Congress held in London, England.
   • For a summary of achievements during the Crusade see BW13:459–60.
   • For countries, islands and dependencies opened to the Faith during the Crusade see BW13:461–2. (259)
     • During the Ten Year Crusade the Faith had expanded to 93 more countries and major territories. bringing the total to 259. [Patheos website]
   • For number of localities in which Bahá'ís reside in different parts of the world see BW13:462. (from 2,000 to more than 11,000)
   • For languages into which Bahá'í literature has been translated see BW13:462–4.
   • For races represented in the Bahá'í world community see BW13:464.
   • For national spiritual assemblies at the end of the plan see BW13:468–9. (from 12 to 56)
   • See The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963 compiled by the Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land.
   • See also Addenda to Statistical Information Published by the Hands of the Cause of God Residing in the Holy Land in Ridván 1963. This publication shows the countries and territories opened by the Faith as well as "supplementary accomplishments".
9. 1964-04-21 —
   The Universal House of Justice released statistics on the growth and spread of the Bahá'í Faith at Ridván. [BW14:124–35]
   • Localities: 15,186
   • Local Assemblies: 4,566
   • National Assemblies: 69
10. 1970-06-15 — Worldwide Bahá'í Statistics [CBN248,February1971p11]
    

         Countries opened to the Faith:
              Independent countries                134
              Significant territories and islands  179
                                      Total        373
    
         Number of localities where Bahá'ís reside   43,341
    
         Number of local spiritual assemblies        10,318

11. 1989-04-00 — Nearly one half million new believers were enrolled since last Ridván. [AWH60]
12. 1990-04-21 — In its Ridván message the Universal House of Justice announced that in the previous two years almost two million people have become Bahá'ís. [AWH79]
13. 1991-04-21 — Number of National Assemblies - 155

    Number of Local Assemblies - more than 17,000

    Number of nationalities and tribes represented is estimated at 2,112 [B'91pg54 note 2]

    Number of localities - over 108,000. [CoB375]

    Number of languages - over 800 [B'91pg3]

14. 1993-09-16 — The document Bahá'í Social and Economic Development: Prospects for the Future, prepared at the World Centre, was approved for publication by the Universal House of Justice for use by the Office of Social and Economic Development (OSED) in orienting and guiding the work in this area. Most central to this vision was the question of capacity building. That activities should start on a modest scale and only grow in complexity in keeping with available human resources was a concept that gradually came to influence development thought and practice. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November, 2012]
15. 1997-04-21 — The Universal House of Justice restricted the formation of Local Spiritual Assemblies to the first day of Riḍván. This measure had the effect anticipated; there was a decrease in the number of these institutions but the fall was not drastic. [Message from the Universal House of Justice Ridván 2000]
    "As of Riḍván 1997, all Local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world will have to be elected on the First Day of Riḍván." (31 December 1995 – To the Bahá'ís of the World)

    "This development was related to the fact that, while believers from outside a locality could assist with the electoral process, the primary responsibility for electing any Assembly and maintaining its operations rests with the Bahá'ís of that place" (30 December 2021 – To the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors)

16. 1998-04-21 — The Universal House of Justice announced in its Ridvan Message the "ten of thousands of individuals have over the last two years completed at least one institute course." [Mess86-01p612]
17. 2003-04-27 —
    The publication of Building Momentum: A Coherent Approach to Growth by the International Teaching Centre at the request of the Universal House of Justice. Because of the cancellation of the 9th International Conference this publication had to be sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies rather than giving a copy to the delegates as had been planned. [BW03-04p35] See also TP367.
    • See also the Message from the Universal House of Justice 17 January 2003.
18. 2005-07-00 —
    The publication of Impact of Growth on Administration Processes by the International Teaching Centre on behalf of the Universal House of Justice.
    • The PDF for Learning to Respond to Emerging New Realities: Messages from the Universal House of Justice can be found here. The document Impact of Growth on Administration Processes is part of that document.
    • See also TP397.
19. 2008-04-00 —
    The publication of Attaining the Dynamics of Growth: Glimpses from Five Continents by International Teaching Centre. The Universal House of Justice asked the International Teaching Centre to choose one example from each continent of an intensive programme of growth and prepare a document to demonstrate at once the diversity of conditions in which the believers everywhere were labouring and the coherent vision that united them as they advanced the process of entry by troops. The document consisted of five case studies and a closing analysis.

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