Bahá'í Faith in Nepal
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Nepal begins after a Nepalese leader encountered the religion in his travels before World War II
. Following World War II, the first known Bahá'í to entire Nepal was about 1952 in the person N. P. Sinha who moved to Birganj
and the first Nepalese Bahá'í
Local Spiritual Assembly elected in 1959, and its National Assembly
in 1972. For a period of time, between 1976 and 1981, all assemblies were dissolved due to legal restrictions. The 2001 census reported 1211 Bahá'ís, and since the 1990s the Bahá'í community of Nepal has been involved in a number of interfaith organizations including the Inter-religious Council of Nepal promoting peace in the country. The Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 4000 Bahá'ís in 2005.
Of Bajang, traveled to Europe and the Americas and heard of the Bahá'í Faith through contact with individuals like Lady Blomfield
.
The first known entry of members of the Bahá'í Faith to Nepal was about 1952 by N. P. Sinha, an Indian Bahá'í, to Birganj soon followed by Kedarnath Pradhan who was from Sikkim
before moving to Kathmandu along with his family. News of the religion also arrived following a United Nations conference in Colombo at which Nepalese delegates expressed interest in the religion. Following conversions and further pioneers
the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Nepal was that of Kathmandu city which was elected in 1959. In 1960 there were assemblies in Kathmandu, Dohlka Shahr, and Bhaktapur
and smaller groups of Bahá'ís in Dharan
, Baklong, Pokhara
, and Biratnagar; and over one hundred members of the religion.
's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was translated into Nepalese
. Perhaps the first Hand of the Cause to visit Nepal was Rúhíyyih Khanum
in 1964. In 1967 ambassador Ram Prasad Manandhar visited the Bahá'í House of Worship
in Wilmette, USA. In 1969 Hand of the Cause Adelbert Mühlschlegel
visited a number of central Asian countries including Nepal at the request of the Universal House of Justice
. In August 1971 youth from Nepal were among the attendees at a western Asian Bahá'í youth conference in India.
With Hand of the Cause Ali-Akbar Furutan representing the Universal House of Justice, the Bahá'ís of Nepal held their first national convention to elect their National Spiritual Assembly in 1972 during the reign of King Mahendra
. The convention had forty delegates. The members of the first national assembly were: Amar Pradhan, Shyam Maherjan, Jujubhai Sakya, Aranda Lal Shrestha, Dinesh Verma, Keith de Folo, W. F. Chaittonalla, P. N. Rai, D. K. Malla - from Buddhist, Hindu, Christian backgrounds. In November 1972 delegates from the local assemblies of the Narayani Zone
gathered for a local conference on the progress of the religion to study Bahá'í history
, Bahá'í administration
in general and specifically electing local assemblies, and Bahá'í teachings
.
after which she toured in Nepal including addressing some 700 students at the Padma Kanya Women's College (see Education in Nepal.) In May 1981 45 Nepalese Bahá'ís from various localities attended a conference at the national center in Kathmandu. A highlight of the weekend conference was the first showing in Nepal of the film The Green Light Expedition about Rúhíyyih Khanum's trip up the Amazon River. The local and national assemblies were reelected in and since 1982 - this dissolution and reformation was during the reign of King Birendra
. When the national convention gathered there were 25 delegates. In 1983 there is comment that a distinguishing effect of pioneers was that they "not only took an interest in our troubles, they also looked on conditions in Nepal as their own and talked about our problems as their problems." Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone attended the 1983 national convention. In 1984 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nepal printed "Selected Writings on Baha'i Administration" in parallel English and Nepali
scripts. Later in 1984 Nepalese Bahá'ís attended the conference at the almost completed Lotus Temple
. By 1985 the Bahá'ís assembly of Malangwa
has established a school that has about 30 students, several of whom receive scholarships. Low and high caste children eat and drink together, and the villagers have accepted that Bahá'í school
s do not observe customs concerning caste. In 1988 the national assembly had expanded and improved its adult literacy program. In 1989 representatives of the national Assemblies of Nepal along with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, India, Sikkim and Sri Lanka along with Continental Counselors and members of sub-regional councils in India met in Pune, India to discuss creating a unified vision of the religion and its progress across the sub-continent.
On 29 September 1990 Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone died and is buried in Kathmandu.
beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. Since the early 1990s the Bahá'ís of Nepal have involved themselves in diverse concerns in Nepal.
One group of Bahá'ís setup an organizetion "Education, Curriculum, and Training Associates", or "ECTA", which means "unity" in Nepali, in 1997 to promote rural development strategies and programs that can be done at low cost by village groups without extensive outside aid. Nepalese Bahá'ís joined the Inter-religious Council of Nepal promoting peace in the country who have also met with CPN Maoist leadership and consulted on AIDS
issues.
A "Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet" conference in Nepal in November 2000 was organized by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
and the World Wide Fund for Nature
included Bahá'ís.
The Club of Budapest
offered a "Change the World -- Best Practice Award" given to four international educational projects that aim at empowering people through learning and enabling them to take full control of their economic development. Marcia Odell was one of the awardees, representing the Women's Empowerment Program (WEP) in Nepal, which has developed an approach to microfinance
and the empowerment of women. The WEP program has reached more than 130,000 women in Nepal and has also received considerable support from the Bahá'í community of Nepal.
In December 2003 a conference entitled "Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy," brought together representatives of five South Asian countries by government officials and members of the Bahá'í communities: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and was co-sponsored and supported by: the Bahá'í International Community
, UNESCO
, World Vision India, National Foundation for India, Save the Children
UK, Commonwealth Education Fund, and India Alliance for Child Rights.
In 2006 Bahá'ís participated in an international youth conference organized by Hindu Vidyapeeth Nepal. It was set as a peace conference with the theme of 'Deepening our Spirituality' in Kathmandu.
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 4000 Bahá'ís in 2005.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Following World War II, the first known Bahá'í to entire Nepal was about 1952 in the person N. P. Sinha who moved to Birganj
Birganj
Birganj is a sub-metropolitan municipality and border town in Parsa District in the Narayani Zone of southern Nepal. It lies 283 km south of the capital Kathmandu, 3 km north of the border of the Indian state of Bihar. As an entry point to Nepal from Patna and Calcutta it is also known...
and the first Nepalese Bahá'í
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
Local Spiritual Assembly elected in 1959, and its National Assembly
National Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
in 1972. For a period of time, between 1976 and 1981, all assemblies were dissolved due to legal restrictions. The 2001 census reported 1211 Bahá'ís, and since the 1990s the Bahá'í community of Nepal has been involved in a number of interfaith organizations including the Inter-religious Council of Nepal promoting peace in the country. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 4000 Bahá'ís in 2005.
Early days
In the 1920-1940 period Col. Raja Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh, RajaRaja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
Of Bajang, traveled to Europe and the Americas and heard of the Bahá'í Faith through contact with individuals like Lady Blomfield
Lady Blomfield
Lady Sara Louisa Blomfield was a distinguished early member of the Bahá'í Faith in the British Isles, and a supporter of the rights of children and women....
.
The first known entry of members of the Bahá'í Faith to Nepal was about 1952 by N. P. Sinha, an Indian Bahá'í, to Birganj soon followed by Kedarnath Pradhan who was from Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
before moving to Kathmandu along with his family. News of the religion also arrived following a United Nations conference in Colombo at which Nepalese delegates expressed interest in the religion. Following conversions and further pioneers
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Nepal was that of Kathmandu city which was elected in 1959. In 1960 there were assemblies in Kathmandu, Dohlka Shahr, and Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...
and smaller groups of Bahá'ís in Dharan
Dharan, Nepal
Dharan is a major city in eastern Nepal, in the Sunsari District, situated on foothills of Mahabharat Range with southern tip touching the edge of the Terai at an altitude of 1148 ft . It serves as a trading post between the hilly region and the plains of Terai region. It was once the...
, Baklong, Pokhara
Pokhara
Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City is the second largest city of Nepal. Pokhara is city of close to 350,000 inhabitants in central Nepal located at 28.25°N, 83.99°E, which is the centre of the country from east to west or from north to south, 198 km west of Kathmandu or 90 km west of Mugling, and...
, and Biratnagar; and over one hundred members of the religion.
Growth
By 1963 the local assemblies of Nepal included: Bhaktapur, Biratnagar, Dharan, Kathmandu, and Pokhara, with small groups of Bahá'ís in Bodegaon, Dabeha, Nalar, and Dolkhashahr. Isolated Bahá'ís were in Bakloong, Damdame, Rakhughati, and Rakheshwav and Hand of the Cause John EsslemontJohn Esslemont
John Ebenezer Esslemont M.B., Ch.B. , was a prominent British Bahá'í from Scotland. He was the author of the well-known introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, which is still in circulation. He was named posthumously by Shoghi Effendi as the first Hand of the Cause he...
's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was translated into Nepalese
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
. Perhaps the first Hand of the Cause to visit Nepal was Rúhíyyih Khanum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
in 1964. In 1967 ambassador Ram Prasad Manandhar visited the Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Wilmette, USA. In 1969 Hand of the Cause Adelbert Mühlschlegel
Adelbert Mühlschlegel
Adelbert Mühlschlegel was a prominent German Bahá'í from a Protestant family. He became a Bahá'í in 1920, translated Bahá'í literature and served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany....
visited a number of central Asian countries including Nepal at the request of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
. In August 1971 youth from Nepal were among the attendees at a western Asian Bahá'í youth conference in India.
With Hand of the Cause Ali-Akbar Furutan representing the Universal House of Justice, the Bahá'ís of Nepal held their first national convention to elect their National Spiritual Assembly in 1972 during the reign of King Mahendra
Mahendra of Nepal
Possibly no heir for the time period of 1911 through 1920. Previous Crown Prince: Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, from 1906 to 1911....
. The convention had forty delegates. The members of the first national assembly were: Amar Pradhan, Shyam Maherjan, Jujubhai Sakya, Aranda Lal Shrestha, Dinesh Verma, Keith de Folo, W. F. Chaittonalla, P. N. Rai, D. K. Malla - from Buddhist, Hindu, Christian backgrounds. In November 1972 delegates from the local assemblies of the Narayani Zone
Narayani Zone
- Geography :Narayani contains parts of the Terai, Inner Terai, and Hill regions of Nepal, but it does not contain any of the Mountain or Himalayan region. Narayani is rich in flora and fauna...
gathered for a local conference on the progress of the religion to study Bahá'í history
Bahá'í history
Bahá'í history is often traced through a sequence of leaders, beginning with the Báb's May 23, 1844 declaration in Shiraz, and ultimately resting on an administrative order established by the central figures of the religion. The religion had its background in two earlier movements in the...
, Bahá'í administration
Bahá'í administration
The Bahá'í administration or Bahá'í administrative order refers to the administrative system of the Bahá'í Faith.It is split into two parts, the elected and the appointed...
in general and specifically electing local assemblies, and Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
.
Dissolution and reformation
The national and local assemblies were all dissolved between 1976 and 1981 due to legal restrictions. However Bahá'ís from Nepal were able to attend the October 1977 Asian Bahá'í Women's Conference with Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih KhanumRúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
after which she toured in Nepal including addressing some 700 students at the Padma Kanya Women's College (see Education in Nepal.) In May 1981 45 Nepalese Bahá'ís from various localities attended a conference at the national center in Kathmandu. A highlight of the weekend conference was the first showing in Nepal of the film The Green Light Expedition about Rúhíyyih Khanum's trip up the Amazon River. The local and national assemblies were reelected in and since 1982 - this dissolution and reformation was during the reign of King Birendra
Birendra of Nepal
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was a King of Nepal. The son of King Mahendra, whom he succeeded in 1972, he reigned until his death in the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre...
. When the national convention gathered there were 25 delegates. In 1983 there is comment that a distinguishing effect of pioneers was that they "not only took an interest in our troubles, they also looked on conditions in Nepal as their own and talked about our problems as their problems." Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone attended the 1983 national convention. In 1984 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nepal printed "Selected Writings on Baha'i Administration" in parallel English and Nepali
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
scripts. Later in 1984 Nepalese Bahá'ís attended the conference at the almost completed Lotus Temple
Lotus Temple
The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahá'í House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent...
. By 1985 the Bahá'ís assembly of Malangwa
Malangwa
Malangawa or Malangwa is a town and municipality and the headquarters of Sarlahi District in the Janakpur Zone of Nepal. It is located at 26°52'0N 85°34'0E with an altitude of 79 metres near the border with India....
has established a school that has about 30 students, several of whom receive scholarships. Low and high caste children eat and drink together, and the villagers have accepted that Bahá'í school
Bahá'í school
A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration...
s do not observe customs concerning caste. In 1988 the national assembly had expanded and improved its adult literacy program. In 1989 representatives of the national Assemblies of Nepal along with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, India, Sikkim and Sri Lanka along with Continental Counselors and members of sub-regional councils in India met in Pune, India to discuss creating a unified vision of the religion and its progress across the sub-continent.
On 29 September 1990 Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone died and is buried in Kathmandu.
Modern community
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic developmentSocio-economic development (Bahá'í)
Since its inception the Bahá'í Faith has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and...
beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. Since the early 1990s the Bahá'ís of Nepal have involved themselves in diverse concerns in Nepal.
One group of Bahá'ís setup an organizetion "Education, Curriculum, and Training Associates", or "ECTA", which means "unity" in Nepali, in 1997 to promote rural development strategies and programs that can be done at low cost by village groups without extensive outside aid. Nepalese Bahá'ís joined the Inter-religious Council of Nepal promoting peace in the country who have also met with CPN Maoist leadership and consulted on AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
issues.
A "Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet" conference in Nepal in November 2000 was organized by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
Alliance of Religions and Conservation
The Alliance of Religions and Conservation is a United Kingdom-based international organisation founded by His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, in 1995....
and the World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
included Bahá'ís.
The Club of Budapest
Club of Budapest
The Club of Budapest is an international organization founded in 1993 by Ervin Laszlo to expand beyond the exclusively scientific purpose of The General Evolution Research Group to try to mobilize the full cultural resources of humanity to meet the challenges we face.-Club's mission:“The Club of...
offered a "Change the World -- Best Practice Award" given to four international educational projects that aim at empowering people through learning and enabling them to take full control of their economic development. Marcia Odell was one of the awardees, representing the Women's Empowerment Program (WEP) in Nepal, which has developed an approach to microfinance
Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
and the empowerment of women. The WEP program has reached more than 130,000 women in Nepal and has also received considerable support from the Bahá'í community of Nepal.
In December 2003 a conference entitled "Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy," brought together representatives of five South Asian countries by government officials and members of the Bahá'í communities: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and was co-sponsored and supported by: the Bahá'í International Community
Bahá'í International Community
The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, World Vision India, National Foundation for India, Save the Children
Save the Children
Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...
UK, Commonwealth Education Fund, and India Alliance for Child Rights.
In 2006 Bahá'ís participated in an international youth conference organized by Hindu Vidyapeeth Nepal. It was set as a peace conference with the theme of 'Deepening our Spirituality' in Kathmandu.
Demographics
Though it is illegal to convert others, occasional reports of police harassment, and reports of discrimination based on religious belief or practice by 2001 the national census reported 1211 Bahá'ís (but includes children down to 0–4 years old—indeed the largest segment of population was 10–14 years old.) There were more women than men, and of the 5 Divisions more Bahá'ís lived in the Eastern Division and the least in the Western one. The Association of Religion Data ArchivesAssociation of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 4000 Bahá'ís in 2005.
See also
- Bahá'í Faith by countryBahá'í Faith by countryThe Bahá'í Faith is a diverse and widespread religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in the 19th century in Iran. Bahá'í sources usually estimate the worldwide Bahá'í population to be above 5 million. Most encyclopedias and similar sources estimate between 5 and 6 million Bahá'ís in the world in the early...
- History of NepalHistory of NepalThe history of Nepal is characterized by its isolated position in the Himalayas and its two neighbors, India and China.Due to the arrival of disparate settler groups from outside through the ages, it is now a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multilingual country...
- Religion in NepalReligion in NepalNepal was the world's last constitutionally declared Hindu state. But after the movement for democracy in early 2006 and the sacking of King Gyanendra, the Nepali Parliament amended the constitution to make Nepal a secular state.- History :...
- Freedom of religion in NepalFreedom of religion in NepalNepal is a secular state under the Interim Constitution, which was promulgated on January 15, 2007. The Interim Constitution provides for freedom to practice one's religion. The Interim Constitution also specifically denies the right to convert another person...
- Spiritual ecologySpiritual ecologySpiritual ecology is a recent term that refers to the intersection between religion and spirituality and environment . Practitioners of spiritual ecology fall into three categories: the scientific and academic, spiritual or religious environmentalism, and religious or spiritual individuals who...
- Spiritual ecology