In Good Conscience

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how to find words for why I resigned my membership from the Bahá’í Community. I have been thinking about this because when I explain it to my friends who are not Bahá’ís, they understand easily. But it has not been so easy with my Bahá’í family and friends. Reactions have run the gamut from lectures, tears, fearful questioning, hurtful accusations, avoiding the subject, exclusion, and loving support. I have treaded on these reactions carefully for a number of reasons. In fact, I didn't bother sending a formal resignation letter for some time. My primary reason for this is that I believe all of the lines we draw in the sand to separate ourselves from each other as human beings are delusional and man-made. Especially when they regard basic qualities of humanness, like meaning. Especially when they are meant to categorize people into prejudicial divisions. I saw no value in participating in that kind of activity, and believed that my name appearing on someones list in some basement in some building had absolutely no relationship to my belief system or inner life. When I did send a formal letter, it was because I wanted to make clear to anyone who might care that "These Rules Do Not Apply To Me." In short, "Get Your Laws Off My Body." I wrote it when the umpteenth one of my dear Bahá’í friends had come to me when her prominent Bahá’í husband had tried to kill her in their hotel room when they were on pilgrimage. She spent months in hiding not only from him, but from the medieval letters and injunctions she received from Bahá’í institutions near and far directing her to reconcile with him. Telling her that was, surely, the will of Bahá’u’lláh. My resignation letter went something like this, "My name is Amanda Respess. Please remove my name from your membership list. Thank you for your careful attention to this matter. Sincerely, Amanda Respess, Bahá’í ID# 9999999."

The other reason I feel motivated to write about this now is because there is a growing trend of name-calling and maligning of those who hold "differing opinions" in and about the Bahá’í Community. Moojen Momen has published a paper in the academic journal, Religion, calling out individuals by name as "apostates." "Apostasy," that’s right, the same "spiritual crime" the Bahá’í s in Iran get charged with as grounds for their executions. It is a criminal charge in Muslim law, and carries a weight that is not easily explainable to my friends who are not Bahá’í. "What in the world is an apostate?" Here’s a decent link to fill in the blanks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy#In_Islam. In short, the accusation is the antithesis of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. When I see people of good conscience demonized and put publicly into this pejorative category in the middle of the modern day public square, I cannot sit idly by and watch them hang. This type of categorizing is dangerous. It is intended to silence and alienate and block the free flow of knowledge and communication. This kind of categorizing hurts people, it frightens many into silence, and it creates pain in families and friendships. It is meant to do this. When I see my fellow freethinkers online being defamed and abused for having the courage to publicly and respectfully speak their minds, I cannot in good conscience let them stand out there alone. If you’re going to call them names, you’re going to have to call me names, too. Out here in public, where everybody can see.

The article: http://bahaisonline.net/marginality_and_apostasy.pdf