With regard to the harmony of science and religion, the
Writings of the Central Figures and the commentaries of the Guardian make
abundantly clear that the task of humanity, including the Bahá'í community that
serves as the "leaven" within it, is to create a global civilization
which embodies both the spiritual and material dimensions of existence. The
nature and scope of such a civilization are still beyond anything the present
generation can conceive. The prosecution of this vast enterprise will depend on
a progressive interaction between the truths and principles of religion and the
discoveries and insights of scientific inquiry. This entails living with
ambiguities as a natural and inescapable feature of the process of exploring
reality. It also requires us not to limit science to any particular school of
thought or methodological approach postulated in the course of its development.
The challenge facing Bahá'í thinkers is to provide responsible leadership in
this endeavour, since it is they who have both the priceless insights of the
Revelation and the advantages conferred by scientific investigation.
- The Universal House of justice (From a letter dated 19 May
1995, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual
believer; Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice dated 13 August 1997)
