Bahá’ís see the young as the most precious treasure a community can possess. In them are the promise and guarantee of the future. Yet, in order for this promise to be realized, children need to receive spiritual nourishment. In a world where the joy and innocence of childhood can be so easily overwhelmed by the aggressive pursuit of materialistic ends, the moral and spiritual education of children assumes vital importance.
If we’re planting unity throughout the world, no place could possibly be more fruitful than the fertile greenhouse of a children’s class: a safe, joyful space where children can learn about their own souls and their roles in the world, and the unity of all humanity can be sown, watered and grown.
Bahá’ís build children’s classes on this very concept. They aren’t classes in a schoolroom style; they’re a structured space, free for everyone, that fosters learning, communication, and interracial, inter-religious, and intercultural unity.
The Aim of Bahá’í Children’s Classes is to nurture the tender hearts and minds of children by helping them to develop spiritual qualities and the habits and behaviors that constitute the essential attributes of a spiritual being. Teachers of Bahá’í children’s classes are volunteers, often youth or adults who live in the neighborhood where classes are offered. They see teaching children’s classes as a service to offer the younger generation, who will soon inherit the spiritual and material progress of their community.
