Baha'i Presentation at IRCU Uganda Jubilee Conference 3-4 Oct 2012.ppt

A presentation at a conference of Inter-Religious Council of Uganda by Baha'i participating team

1. As Uganda Turns Fifty

2. The Role of Religion
in Uganda

3. A Presentation as Uganda
marks 50 years of
Independence

4. By the Bahá'í
Community
of Uganda

5. Quotes cited in this
presentation are from the
Bahá'í Writings, unless
otherwise specified

6. •Is “the chief instrument for the
establishment of order in the world
and of tranquillity amongst its
peoples”
•"Should the lamp of religion be
obscured, chaos and confusion
will ensue, and the lights of
fairness and justice, of tranquillity
and peace cease to shine."
Religion

7. God’s Great Religions
Stimulated and
refined mankind’s
capacity to love,
understand reality,
and achieve social
progress

8. God’s Great Religions
Defined what is good and
what is bad

9. God’s Great Religions
Developed our inner
faculty to identify
and apply virtues

10. God’s Great Religions

11. God’s Great
Religions
Every religion
has
dramatically
influenced
human
progress and
raised a
civilization that
bore its name

12. To treat others
the way you
would like
others to treat
you
All God’s Great Religions
taught ‘The Golden Rule’

13. “Let no man do to
another what would
be repugnant to
himself.”
[Krishna: Mahabharata,
5: 5 – 7]
The Golden Rule in Hinduism

14. “What is hurtful to
you, do not to your
fellow man, that is
the entire law; all the
rest is commentary.”
[Moses: Talmud: Shabbat
31a]
The Golden Rule in Judaism

15. “And as you wish that
men would do to you,
do so to them.”
[Jesus Christ: Luke
6:31
The Golden Rule in Christianity

16. “No one of you is a
believer until he
desires for his
brother that which
he desires for
himself.”
[Hadith Sharif]
The Golden Rule in Islam

17. The Golden Rule in The Bahá’í Faith
“Blessed is he
who preferreth
his brother
before himself.”
[Bahá'u'lláh: Tablets, p. 71]

18. Teach standards of
behaviour that
create social unity
Are able to
collaborate for
raising future
generations that
appreciate world
peace and harmony
God’s Great Religions

19. The two main parts of religion

The spiritual part
It “never changes” … it is
God’s “one code of
morality”

20. The two main parts of religion
The practical part
It “deals with exterior forms and
ceremonies, and with modes of
punishment for certain offences”
and “guides the customs and
manners of the people.”

21. The spiritual part of religion
Teaches
the
existence
of God

22. The spiritual part of religion
Avoidance of
bad qualities
and
acquiring
human
virtues

23. Some Virtues
found by all
religions
Truthfulness
Trustworthiness
Justice
Equity
Courtesy
Wisdom
Patience
Forgiveness
Capacity to
serve
Sacrifice

24. Teaches the
need to fear
God and obey
God’s
commandments
The spiritual part of religion

25. When we do
not fear God

26. Crime goes rampage, ranging from
murder to arson, and armed robbery to
sexual assault …

27. Corruption
spreads in
civil service
and private
business on
expense of
people’s
welfare and
prosperity

28. The gap between the
abjectly poor and the
extremely rich widens
with no end in sight …

29. Environmental degradation for selfish
material benefits deprives future
generations from enjoying a healthy
Planet

30. Violence becomes the norm in family &
society, fuelled by drug and alcohol
abuse, unrestrained sexual appetites,
and other damaging pursuits …

31. Can the penal
code be a
substitute for
the fear of God?

32. The world
enacts
more laws
and
empowers
the penal
system to
enforce
them

33. But enactment of laws and
legal enforcement often fails,
especially with quite serious
crimes – examples …

34. When entire communities engage in
genocide to eliminate each other

35. And when
corrupt
civil
servants get
away with
their
crimes

36. And when the
victims of
domestic
violence are
either too
forgiving or
too helpless to
obtain redress

37. The spiritual part of religion
Teaches
unity and
social
harmony

38. In order to
remain a
unifying force
religion needs
to be taught
free from
fanaticism

39. A formidable barrier:
Religious Fanaticism
Holding tenaciously to manmade
“superstitions and rituals which
are at complete variance” with
the essence of religion, and
“often prevent good results from
being obtained”

40. Religious fanaticism in history
Wiped out one-
third of
Europe’s
population in
the thirty-year
war ( 1618-
1648) between
Catholics &
Protestants

41. Religious fanaticism in history
Triggered two
centuries of
senseless wars
known as
‘The
Crusades’
between the
Christian and
Muslim
worlds

42. Religious fanaticism today
Stifles social
progress in
many parts
of the world,
whether
developed or
developing

43. Religious Fanaticism today
One of the
reasons
behind
Europe’s
most recent
genocide in
the Balkans

44. Religious fanaticism today
The world-
engulfing
plight of the
Twenty-First
Century, with
no end in
sight

45. Religion and the future
of Uganda

46. Religion and the nation
Religion must
assist Uganda to
achieve a fruitful
interaction and
cooperation with
its East Africa
neighbors, the
African countries,
and all peoples
and nations of
the world beyond

47. Religion and the Family
•All family members come to places of
worship for guidance and inspiration
•Religions are requested to play a great
role in strengthening the institution of
the family, through moral
empowerment, enlightenment, and
weeding-out of unfavorable traditions
and habits

48. “A family is a nation in miniature.”
“Simply enlarge
the circle of the
household and
you have the
nation. Enlarge
the circle of
nations and you
have all
humanity.”

49. The role of religion in a family
“being a human unit, [the family] must be
educated according to the rules of sanctity”

50. In an
ideal
family
Husband and wife
manifest true and
sincere love
towards each other
All human virtues are
taught to the
children from
infancy

51. In an ideal family
•The rights of all
family members
are safeguarded
•All important
family matters are
settled through
frank and loving
consultation

52. Religion and Society
Must support the
empowerment of
women and
abolish the
fallacy that
women are
inferior to men

53. Must
encourage the
education of
the girl-child,
as she will be
the educator
of the next
generation
Religion and Society

54. Religion and the rising generations

55. Since Uganda is a
part of an
interdependent world,
with many of our
problems requiring
international
solutions, we should
raise younger
generations that
appreciate diverse
cultures and interact
harmoniously with
various races

56. Future
generations
must be
raised free
from
religious
fanaticism
and racial
prejudices

57.  Each child
must be
taught that
“he is the
brother of
the people of
all religions
and nations”

58. “Thoughts of universal peace and love of
humankind” should be firmly established in the
heart of every” child
Every child “should know himself as a servant
of human society of all the countries of the
world”

59. Leaders of religion as role
models

60. Leading by setting
of good examples
“Words without the
living example will
never be sufficient
to breathe hope into
the hearts …”

61. Recognize
various
avenues
of
salvation
and
respect
all faiths

62. May God
Bless You
All!