Basics of the Baha'i Faith: Information and Distance-Learning Courses

The Basics of the Bahá’í Faith is a sequence of four distance-learning courses. Its purpose is to provide basic information on the Bahá’í Faith, its writings, and theology. The Basics of the Bahá’í Faith was established after the Wilmette Institute Board reviewed the extensive guidance from the Universal House of Justice on the institute process.

The four courses in The Basics of the Bahá’í Faith are as follows:

The Bahá'í Faith: A Comprehensive Overview
(designed especially for new believers and inquirers-starts June 2005)

How to Study the Bahá'í Writings
(starts December 2005)

Bahá'u'lláh’s Revelation: A Systematic Survey
(starts June 2006)

Bahá'í Theology: The Concepts of God, Revelation, Manifestation, Humanity, Creation, Afterlife, and Covenant (starts December 2004 and December 2006)

The Basics of the Bahá’í Faith courses may help to ease the transition of some students taking the Wilmette Institute’s Beyond the Basics distance-learning courses. However, students are not required to take courses from the basics sequence before enrolling in the specialized courses in Beyond the Basics.

The Basics of the Bahá’í Faith courses may also provide a bridge to the Wilmette Institute’s Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization program. SFGC is a four-year program including home study plus two weeks of intensive study in Wilmette every summer. SFGC also includes intensive classroom work, creating a spiritual community, and integrating the House of Worship into the learning process.

The basic sequence of courses is ideal for local study groups. After completing the basic sequence, study groups can then turn to specialized topics of study on their own, to other courses available through their regional training institute, or to the some forty distance-learning courses in the Beyond the Basics group.

The Universal House of Justice, in a January 9, 2001, letter has noted

The value of a sequence of courses, each one following the other in a logical pattern and each one building on the achievements of the previous ones, has become abundantly clear. Various models are emerging that provide insight into how such sequences can be used to create training programs. In one example the main sequence, much like the trunk of a tree, supports courses branching out from it, each branch dedicated to some specific area of training. In another, several tracks of courses, each with its own focus, run parallel.

The programs offered by the Wilmette Institute-The Basics of the Bahá’í Faith, Beyond the Basics, and Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization-are all ideal for sequenced learning. Study circles that have completed a sequence of courses (such as the Ruhi books) and are looking for additional topics to study may wish to turn to the Wilmette Institute's offerings.

For more information about distance-learning courses, click here