Most people know of the world’s four major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. However, there is a religion that combines facets of all these religions that is not as easily recognizable: Baha’i.

Mallory Flowers, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering, practices Baha’i and is a member of the Baha’i Campus Association.

Flowers said Baha’i can be a multi-faceted, complex religion.

“There are a lot of different ways to look at it,” Flowers said. “It can be complex. Basically, we believe in one God who exists eternally and is unknowable.”

Flowers said those who practice Baha’i believe that God’s messengers have been sent throughout time. These messengers came with a message that was relevant to the time period’s society and culture.

“In order to help us try and understand [God], He has sent messengers throughout time who have revealed His world and what He wants for us in terms of what we can understand as a culture and society,” Flowers said.

Flowers gave some examples of different messengers, such as Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Zoroaster and Muhammad.

“We have our own messenger, Baha’u’llah, which means glory of God, which is where the name Baha’i comes from,” Flowes said. “Baha’i means of Baha’u’llah,”

The God worshipped in Baha’i is the same God as in any other religion, be it Christianity, Judaism or Islam, Flowers said.

“The differences that we perceive in those religions are man-made,” Flowers said. “It’s because we can’t understand God fully when we hear those messages.”

Baha’i was originally founded in Iran by Baha’u’llah in the mid-1800s, Flowers said. He was born to a wealthy family and eventually rejected his fortune in order to spread his message.

“It’s an incredibly similar story to that of any of the prophets of God,” Flowers said. “It was the same cycle of trial and tribulation, and in the end his message was spread around the world.”

The basic principles of Baha’i are unity, gender equality, elimination of poverty and wealth in its extremes, oneness of God and oneness of mankind, harmony of science and religion, and elimination of all forms of prejudice such as class, race and gender.

Flowers said she started practicing Baha’i when she met somebody who was Baha’i and realized it included many of beliefs she already held.

“I grew up in a Protestant household, and I had a lot of struggles internally trying to find my place in the religious scheme of things,” Flowers said. “I was searching for a really long time and then eventually I had a friend who was Baha’i and I started learning more and more about it. I liked it a lot and it really worked for me. It had all the basic tenets of faith that I’ve always believed in. I felt isolated and now I felt I was part of something bigger.”

Flowers said the Baha’i Campus Association has about three members. If students are interested in joining or want to learn more about Baha’i they can email [email protected].

Shirin Posner, a Spanish professor at the University and the faculty advisor for the Baha’i Campus Association, said there is a Baha’i Center in Tuscaloosa and a local spiritual assembly for Baha’i, which is made up of nine people.

Posner said she feels Baha’i combines everybody into one common family.

“The Baha’i faith teaches us that we all come from one God with the common goal of advancing society,” Posner said. “We are like one human family. We really have a lot more in common than differences. In the past, within religions there has been division [between] those who are followers and those who are not, the believers and the infidels. However, in the Baha’i faith, all can be recipients. The world of humanity is like a tree, the branches are the peoples and nations, and the fruits and leaves are the individuals and like the leaves and fruits, we come in various shapes and hues.”

Flowers said at times it can be isolating being part of a minority religion on campus but that you just have to look at it with the right mindset.

“It can be isolating at times, knowing few students hold the same set of beliefs as I do,” Flowers said. “At the same time because, in my mind at least, my faith comes from theirs and my faith is united with theirs; it’s much easier for me. If you keep it with that perspective you can never really be alone.”