Baha’i Faith: Day 11

Do Bahá’ís believe in Heaven and/or Hell? Not as tangible, physical locations.

Bahá’ís believe that in this world, it is important to work on our souls. We do this through work, service, worship, prayer, being a decent human being. In our marriages, we help each other’s spiritual development. In our parenting, we assist in our children’s spiritual development. The purpose of our lives here on Earth is to develop our spiritual selves:

“Wert thou to attain to but a dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst readily realize that true life is not the life of the flesh but the life of the spirit.”

We believe that the work we do here affects our souls after death. Instead of Heaven, we view nearness to God as the ultimate goal. Instead of Hell, we view distance from God as the natural consequence of not working on spiritual development. Our souls will continue their progress until the ultimate goal is achieved.

The faith teaches that we don’t know much about the afterlife other than the fact that it exists, and that our souls will progress without our physical bodies, always seeking closeness to God. We also believe that all souls progress (regardless of what religion was practiced here on Earth) and that our souls will recognize others in the next life – and these are both things that bring me great comfort.