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Demographics

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A large temple in the shape of an open lotus flower
The Lotus Temple, the first Baháʼí House of Worship of India, built in 1986. It attracts an average of 4 million visitors a year.

As of around 2020 there were about 8 million Bahá'ís in the world.[1][2] However in 2013, demographic scholars Johnson & Grim wrote that, "The Baha'i Faith is the only religion to have grown faster in every United Nations region over the past 100 years than the general population; Bahaʼi(sic) was thus the fastest-growing religion between 1910 and 2010, growing at least twice as fast as the population of almost every UN region."[3] (See Growth of religion.)

As of 2020[4] the largest percentages of the Bahá'ís are in sub-Saharan Africa (29.9%) and South Asia (26.8%), followed by Southeast Asia (12.7%) and Latin America (12.2%). Lesser populations are in North America (7.6%) and the Middle East/North Africa (6.2%), with the smallest populations in Europe (2.0%), Australasia (1.6%), and Northeast Asia (0.9%). 2015 statistics of the internationally recognized religion have it as the largest numerical religious minority relative to its national population in Iran,[5] Panama,[6] Belize,[7] Bolivia,[8] Zambia,[9] and Papua New Guinea;[10] and the third largest religion in Chad,[11] and Kenya.[12]

Since its beginnings in the 19th century the vast majority of Baháʼís were found in Iran up until the 1950s; those converts from outside Iran were mostly found in India and the western world.[13] From the roughly 200,000 Baháʼís of 1950,[14] the religion grew to over 4 million by the late 1980s with widespread distribution.[15][13][16] Most of that growth in the 20th century was seeded out of North America from planned migration of individuals.[17] Yet, rather than being a cultural spread from either Iran or North America, in 2001, sociologist David Barrett wrote that the Baháʼí Faith is, "A world religion with no racial or national focus".[18] However the growth has not been even. From the late 1920s to the late 1980s the religion was harrased and banned in the Eastern Block of the Soviets,[19][20][21] and then again from the 1970s into the 1990s across countries in sub-Saharan Africa.[22][23] The most intense opposition has been in Iran and neighboring Shia majority countries,[24] considered by some scholars and watch agencies as a case of attempted genocide.[25][26][27][28] Meanwhile in other times or places the religion has experienced surges in growth. Before it was banned the religion "hugely increased" in Africa south of the Sahara.[29] In 1989 the Universal House of Justice named Bolivia, Bangladesh, Haiti, India, Liberia, Peru, the Philippines, and Taiwan as countries where growth in the religion had been notable in the previous decades.[30] Bahá'í sources claimed "more than five million" Bahá'ís in 1991-2.[31] However since around 2001 the Universal House of Justice has prioritized statistics of the community by their levels of activity rather than simply their population of avowed adherents or numbers of local assemblies.[32][33][34]

Being the majority population of no country,[35] and most often is only a tiny fraction of the country's population,[36] results in problems of under-reporting. In addition, there are examples where the adherents have their highest density among sociological minorities in societies who face their own challenges.[37][38]

Citations

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  1. ^ Smith 2022b, p. 509.
  2. ^ "Baha'is by Country". World Religion Database. Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020. (subscription required)
  3. ^ Johnson & Grim 2013.
  4. ^ Smith 2022a, p. 510.
  5. ^ "Iran – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  6. ^ "Panama – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  7. ^ "Belize – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  8. ^ "Bolivia – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  9. ^ "Zambia – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  10. ^ "Papua New Guinea – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  11. ^ "Chad – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "Kenya – Religious Adherents". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2015. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Smith & Momen 1989, pp. 70–71.
  14. ^ Smith 2016.
  15. ^ Rabbani 1987, pp. 2–7.
  16. ^ "Religion (&) Bahá'í Faith". Britannica Book of the Year. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1988. pp. 130, 189, 303.
  17. ^ Hampson, Arthur (May 1980). The growth and spread of the Baha'i Faith (PhD). Department of Geography, University of Hawaii. pp. 458–9, 472. OCLC 652914306. UMI 8022655. Retrieved Jul 24, 2022.
  18. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia 2001.
  19. ^ Kolarz, Walter (1962). Religion in the Soviet Union. Armenian Research Center collection. St. Martin's Press. pp. 470–473. OCLC 254603830.
  20. ^ Momen, Moojan (1994). "Turkmenistan". draft of "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith". Retrieved Jul 28, 2022.
  21. ^ Hassall, Graham (1992). "Notes on the Bábí and Baháʼí Religions in Russia and its Territories" (PDF). Journal of Baháʼí Studies. 5 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  22. ^ Smith, Peter; Momen, Moojan (1989). "The Baha'i Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments". Religion. 19 (1): 63–91. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8.
  23. ^ compiled by Wagner, Ralph D. "NIGER". Synopsis of References to the Baháʼí Faith, in the US State Department's Reports on Human Rights 1991-2000. Baháʼí Library Online. Retrieved Aug 14, 2022.
  24. ^ For one recent published study see: Morlock, Naghme Naseri (6 Dec 2021). "Religious Persecution & Oppression: A Study of Iranian Baha'ís' Strategies of Survival". Journal of Hate Studies. 17 (2): 15–24. doi:10.33972/jhs.201. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  25. ^ Affolter, Friedrich W. (2005). "The Specter of Ideological Genocide: The Baháʼís of Iran" (PDF). War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. 1 (1): 75–114.
  26. ^ Dallaire, Roméo (29 November 2011). "Baha'i People in Iran—Inquiry". Statements from Roméo Dallaire. The Liberal caucus in the Senate. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  27. ^ "Genocide and politicide watch: Iran". Genocide Watch; The International Alliance to End Genocide. 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  28. ^ Seyfried, Rebeka (2012-03-21). "Progress report from Mercyhurst: Assessing the risk of genocide in Iran". Iranian Baha'is. The Sentinel Project for Genocide Prevention. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  29. ^ "Overview Of World Religions". General Essay on the Religions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Division of Religion and Philosophy, University of Cumbria. Archived from the original on 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  30. ^ Riḍván 1989 letter from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the World
  31. ^ Baháʼí World News Service 1992.
  32. ^ Stockman 2022a, p. 565.
  33. ^ Stockman 2022b, pp. 578.
  34. ^ Hassal 2022, p. 588.
  35. ^ Park 2004.
  36. ^ Association of Religion Data Archives 2010.
  37. ^ Kolodner, Alexander (May 1, 2014). "The Baha'i Faith Compared to Race in American Counties" (PDF). Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  38. ^ Smith 2022b, p. 619.

References

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  • Rabbani, Ahang; Department of Statistics at the Baháʼí World Centre (July 1987). "Achievements of the Seven Year Plan". Baháʼí News. Baháʼí World Center, Haifa: Baháʼí International Community. pp. 2–7. Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.
  • Baháʼí World News Service (1992). "How many Baháʼís are there?". The Baháʼís. Baháʼí International Community. p. 14. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015.
  • Barrett, David B.; Kurian, George T.; Johnson, Todd M. (2001). "World Summary". World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions in the modern world (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Association of Religion Data Archives (2010). "Most Baha'i Nations (2010)". Retrieved Jul 21, 2022.

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