Emergence from Obscurity:
The Journey of Sociology in the Bahá'í Community

by Will C. van den Hoonaard

About: The field of sociology and the Bahá’í Faith share important principles and both critically challenge beliefs that are often widely held. Yet there is a wall of relative silence separating them. Recent developments in both the Bahá’í community and sociology have made the wall more permeable, but what about the Bahá’í scholars themselves—how has the Bahá’í Faith shaped their approach to sociology? The surprising answer is that Bahá’í contributions to sociology are more implicit than explicit.