Baháʼí Faith In Kiribati
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The Baháʼí Faith in Kiribati begins after 1916 with a mention by
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 un ...
, then head of the religion, that Baháʼís should take the religion to the
Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...
which form part of modern Kiribati. The first Baháʼís pioneered to the island of
Abaiang Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...
(aka Charlotte Island, of the Gilbert Islands), on March 4, 1954. They encountered serious opposition from some Catholics on the islands and were eventually deported and the first convert banished to his home island. However, in one year there was a community of more than 200 Baháʼís and a Baháʼí
Local Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
. Three years later the island where the first convert was sent to was found to now have 10 Baháʼís. By 1963 there were 14 assemblies. As the Ellice Islands gained independence as
Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...
and the Gilbert Islands and others formed
Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...
, the communities of Baháʼís also reformed into separate institutions of National Spiritual Assemblies in 1981. The Baháʼís had established a number of schools by 1963 and there are still such today - indeed the Ootan Marawa Baháʼí Vocational Institute being the only teacher training institution for pre-school teachers in Kiribati. All together the Baháʼís now claim more than 10,000 local people have joined the religion over the last 50 years and there are 38 local spiritual assemblies.


Early days


ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan

From 1892 to 1977 the islands of Kiribati were known as part of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
and included the
Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...
. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, head of the religion from 1892 to 1921, mentioned the Gilbert Islands among the places Baháʼís should take the religion to. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the
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in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled ''
Tablets of the Divine Plan The ''Tablets of the Divine Plan'' collectively refers to 14 letters ( tablets) written between March 1916 and March 1917 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to Baháʼís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were pr ...
''. The seventh of the tablets mentioned taking the Baháʼí Faith to the Gilbert Islands and was written on April 11, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 — after the end of
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and the
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. These tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on December 12, 1919.
(Tablet 7) "A party speaking their languages, severed, holy, sanctified and filled with the love of God, must turn their faces to and travel through the three great island groups of the Pacific Ocean—
Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
,
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
and
Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...
, and the islands attached to these groups, such as
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
,
Fiji Islands Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
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,
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,
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,
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, Ceram, Celebes, Friendly Islands,
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,
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,
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, Low Archipelago,
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,
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
, Gilbert Islands,
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,
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,
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and the other islands. With hearts overflowing with the love of God, with tongues commemorating the mention of God, with eyes turned to the Kingdom of God, they must deliver the glad tidings of the manifestation of the Lord of Hosts to all the people. Know ye of a certainty that whatever gathering ye enter, the waves of the Holy Spirit are surging over it, and the heavenly grace of the Blessed Beauty encompasseth that gathering."


Beginnings

The first Baháʼís to Kiribati were Elena Marsella and Roy Fernie, who left their home in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
and positions on the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama to pioneer. They arrived on the island of
Abaiang Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...
(aka Charlotte Island, of the
Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...
), on March 4, 1954. For this service they were named Knights of Baha'u'llah by then head of the religion,
Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...
. About the first of June 1954, former
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
seminarian and mission teacher Peter Kanere Koru quickly became the first convert on the island. He attributed his conversion in part to his attraction to the racial equality practiced by the pioneers, and their desire to implement such equality in his society.


Incidents related to the first native Baháʼí

When Koru became the first Baháʼí Shoghi Effendi urged him in a letter of welcome to be "very discreet in spreading this Message", explaining that the Baháʼís did not wish to become a "source of discord, or arouse opposition". However several issues came to the fore to animate hostility from the local Catholics. First, Roy was an amateur magician. Roy was a confident figure who held a show along with a piano the first night they arrived. Records show that within weeks he attracted Sunday audiences perhaps dropping attendance at Sunday services. In the judgement of researcher Graham Hassall, Roy was most likely unaware of the fact that sorcery and magic were practiced widely in Gilbertese culture, and were being actively suppressed by the Catholics ministers and now here was a new presence in the community giving shows including magic tricks. Indeed, there are reports the Catholic minister's actions against the Baháʼís helped spread knowledge of them. Then there was the attempt of the Fernies to set up an English language school - and the fund-raising activities they organised in Tuarabu conflicted with the Tuarabu Catholics attempt to raise funds for their own purposes and embarrassingly unable to match donations with another nearby Catholic community. Indeed, a quarter ton of text books were sent from the Baháʼís of Panama to support the imminent school which was to be open to all natives irrespective of their religion. Lastly the conversion of a seminarian and missionary teacher away from Catholicism - these are all issues mostly likely to lead to antagonism from the Catholics. Indeed, the Catholic mission worked to have the Fernies deported, and on several occasions used its journal to "warn" its members against examining this new religion. Central to their initial complaint to authorities, however, was the fact that missionary activity required 100 or 200 individuals to sanction a group of religionists to allow for missionary work. However over two hundred Abaiang residents registered their wish to become Baháʼís after showing up at the home of the Fernies at 3am, and some 90 people came the next day to see Koru whom Catholic opposition had forced into banishment to his home island of
Tabiteuea Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the second largest and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands after Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, Aa ...
later in June. His pregnant wife who went into labour had to be left behind in a hospital and she died a short time later. On 24 September 1955 the government gave legal recognition to the first Baháʼí institution in the islands, the village of Tuarabu's Baháʼí
Local Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
on the island of Abaiang. Regardless, Roy Fernie was deported in November 1955 with the support of local land owners. Through correspondence Koru and Elena Marsella were working on translations of a collection of the Baháʼí prayers,
Hidden Words ''The Hidden Words'' (, , ) is a book written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, around 1858. He composed it while walking along the banks of the Tigris river during his exile in Baghdad. The book is written partly in Arabi ...
, and excerpts from the writings of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá until later in 1956 when Marsella left. Before she left the Education Department had approved Elena and two native Baháʼís as teachers in the new school. The new Baháʼí community which had formed essentially in one year continued to function and for a time Shoghi Effendi requested no further pioneers go to the Gilbert Islands. Koru did not meet Baháʼís again until four years later, but he remained steadfast in his beliefs. By the time Baháʼís were eventually able to come to visit him, nine more people were active members of the religion on his island, (apparently nearly fifty had been drawn to the religion there.) One of them was a Protestant minister then under disciplinary sanction by his church.


Continued early growth of the religion

In 1956 four assemblies (including Tuarabu, Tebero, and Kuria) were elected and five smaller groups of Baháʼís. In addition to Koru, other early converts included Taukoriri Eritai, who became a Baháʼí at the time the Fernies were on Abainag, and Timeon Tamaroa who helped take the religion to the island of Beru. In earliest 1957 Shoghi Effendi allowed pioneers to consider the Gilbert Islands and Frances Heller from the United States was able to arrive on February 8, 1957. She was able to remain despite failing health until June 1958 - having helped elect the spiritual assembly of Betio. American Mabel Adelle Sneider was the next to arrive and she and Heller agreed the religion needed to be taken to the capital of the islands. So it was that Sneider established herself in the village of
Bikenibeu Bikenibeu is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the Tarawa atoll, part of the island country of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which a ...
on
Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''
Sneider lived there for 15 years helping to transfer the center of Baháʼí activities from the relatively remote island of Abaiang to the civic capital on Tarawa - eventually Snieder was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly often serving as secretary or treasurer at one time or another. She helped purchase the site for the National
Haziratu'l-Quds A Haziratu'l-Quds (Arabic, ''sacred fold''), or Baháʼí centre, is one of the national, regional or local Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼí administrative centres. Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Baháʼí Faith in the first half of the 20th century, ...
, or the seat, of the National Assembly. Pioneers Joe Russell (arrived in May 1959, and became a Kiritbati citizen) and John Thurston soon followed. Meanwhile, the school started by the Fernies was noted as still in existence in 1958 despite their absence. By 1959 a new building, on donated land and built by Baháʼís alone, had managed to be built for the school while temporary housing for visitors and Baháʼí centers were being raised. By November 1959 two summer schools were held and a conference to discuss the progress of the religion on the islands. Russell was able to travel to Tabiteuea to join Koru in December 1959 and together they helped establish three assemblies by April 1960. By 1961 there were thirteen communities with Baháʼís.


Growth across the country

With a few pioneers and many local converts the community in the South Pacific was organized into a regional national spiritual assembly for the South Pacific Islands which was elected from 1957 to 1967 including Cook Island, Fiji,
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
,
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
and other islands. The delegates from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were unable to attend the 1959 election. By 1961 the religion had reached the Ocean Island (now called Banaba Island) and one of the delegates from the Gilbert Islands was able to attend the convention to elect the regional national spiritual assembly for the South Pacific Islands.


Status in 1963

By the end of 1963 there were a wide range of communities across the Gilbert Islands with 14 assemblies, 19 groups, and 7 additional isolated Baháʼís. The Baháʼís established a number of schools by 1963 - Tuarabu Primary School, Abaiang Island, and several on
Tabiteuea Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the second largest and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands after Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, Aa ...
Island - Eita, Utiroa, Taku and Tababuea Primary Schools.


Forming a national community

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
professor Charles Forman analyzed religious trends across the Pacific Islands and attributes the surprising growth of the Baháʼí Faith across
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
was partly due to a certain amount of response from some youths of wider experience and education as well as from some village folk among whom Baháʼís settled In October 1966 Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone attended the dedication of the main Baháʼí center of the islands inaugurated with a conference discussing the progress of the religion on the island. With the assistance of the Hands of the Cause Collis Featherstone and Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir the Baháʼí communities in the area reorganized to form a regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1967. In 1970 the national assembly held three classes on methods Baháʼís use for growth of the religion and began holding them in a building, the Baháʼí Institute, owned by the assembly. In May 1971 an international conference on the progress of the religion across the south pacific as held in Suva, Fiji to which Gilbert Island Baháʼís went. Following that conference a national conference for the Gilbert Islands was held at the Baháʼí Institute. As of 1972 the statistics of the national assembly counted 2700 members across Gilbert and Ellice Islands with 51 Assemblies. In February 1973 the national assembly produced two five-minute radio programs for an observance of
Human Rights Day Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...
that was broadcast on radio in two languages, Gilbertese and Ellice. The program was on the equality of men and women, with passages from the Writings of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and a report on the advancement of women in the islands. In April 1973 twenty-three delegates from nine islands gathered in the National Teaching Institute and the Baháʼí Maneba, a native meeting hall with no sides and a high thatched roof, for the national convention. Together the Institute and the Maneaba are part of the national headquarters Pao Penox. For
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the national assembly distributed background materials on the observance to national Director of Information, thee King George IV boarding school, the island Teachers College, and to the Department of Education. In 1976 Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone made a return trip the islands of the region. While in Kiribati he addressed a reception held in his honor and attended by the governor, deputy governor, and government ministers and secretaries. A copy of ''The Baháʼí' World'', vol. XIV, was presented to the governor for the House of Assembly library and a 20-minute radio interview with Mr. and Mrs. Featherstone was broadcast over Radio Tarawa. In 1978 the Baháʼís took various roles about societal issues. First in several events across the islands they participated in and helped organize the occasions commemorating Japanese soldiers who died in the islands in World War II. Second they helped during a cholera outbreak in September - the Baha'is relayed messages using the radio equipment on the Baháʼí-owned catamaran ''Erena-Roe'' which also ferried patients to the hospital and a Baháʼí served as secretary of the government's response committee created to manage the epidemic. The ''Erena-Roe'' was making a last run before the owner left the islands and came across a girl in the ocean who was returned to her native island alive though feared dead. By 1979 the national assembly reported there were 80 local assemblies - 16 of which were officially registered with the government and 13 of which had their own centers. As the Ellice Islands gained independence as
Tuvalu Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...
and the Gilbert Islands and others formed Kiribati, the communities of Baháʼís also reformed into separate institutions of National Spiritual Assemblies in 1981.


Multiplying interests and activities of the community

Following the growth of the institutions the sociological impact of the Baháʼís became more well known starting in the 1980s. It became known that the Baháʼís of Kiribati used traditional Maneba buildings to meet in. Thanks to Peter King, a New Zealand Baháʼí pioneer on
Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''
Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
in 1981. By 1982 there were 50 local assemblies across Kiribati. Henry Brechtefeld was born in Kiribati but moved to the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
where he came in contact with
the Garcias ''The Garcias'' is an American sitcom developed by Jeff Valdez that premiered on the streaming service HBO Max on April 14, 2022. The series is a sequel to '' The Brothers García''. In December 2022, the series was canceled after one season. ...
, converted, and then moved on the islands of Micronesia, including back to Kiribati, and was well known to have reformed his behavior among his family on Kiribati and friends. He died in 1982 back on the Solomon Islands. In 1984, Art New Zealand profiled Robin White as a Kiribati artist who had moved from metropolitan New Zealand of
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to life on the tropical island. In 1985 the Baháʼís held their first national youth conference in
Bikenibeu Bikenibeu is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the Tarawa atoll, part of the island country of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which a ...
. By 1986 there is a Baháʼí on the Pacific
Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
which is closer to
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than to the capital on Tarawa, 2000 miles to the west.


Modern community


Focus to the society

Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the
Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the ...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Baháʼís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the
Baháʼí teachings The teachings of the Baháʼí Faith are derived from the writings of Baháʼu'lláh, its founder. A corpus of Baháʼí literature include books and writings of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh, along with the public talks and writings of ‘Abduâ ...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Baháʼí socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. The Baháʼís of Kiribati have engaged a wide variety of social and economic development projects. The Ootan Marawa Baháʼí Vocational Institute, a high school, is the only teacher training institution for pre-school teachers in Kiribati. It is open to all, regardless of religion, and is assisted by the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baháʼís of Australia and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. There are five pre-schools administered by Baháʼí local spiritual assemblies on
Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''
Ieremia Tabai, and ministers of government in speeches when they then attended a 1986 peace conference at which over 1000 Baháʼís attended. The successes of the schools in Kiribati were discussed at the 100th Anniversary of the Baháʼí Faith in Hawaii at breakout workshops in 2001 which included participants from many countries. The Kiribati government supported the
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General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
vote on the "Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran" (A/56/583/Add.3 Draft Resolution) on 19 December 2001.


Internal developments

Internal the community among the developments are the following. In 1990 the national convention elected two indigenous women, Maureen Nakekea and Marao Teem, to the national assembly. At the 50th anniversary, 2004, celebrations of the Baháʼí Faith in Kiribati dignitaries attending included President
Anote Tong Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952) is an I-Kiribati environmental activist and former politician for the Pillars of Truth party with half Chinese heritage, who served as the fourth president of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the election in ...
and Madam Tong, Mr. Michael Fudakowski, representing the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand and who lived for some 17 years in Kiribati with his wife, Robin White, now a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Australasia, and their family. Mr. Dominic Tabuaka represented the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the Marshall Islands, and congratulatory messages arrived from Baháʼís in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, Canada, Hawaii, the Solomon Islands,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, the United States, and Western Caroline Islands.


Demographics

There has long been a discrepancy between census figures and assertions by the Baháʼí community on their population in Kiribati. The census figures are consistently between 2 and 3% while the Baháʼís claim numbers above 17% as far back as 1987. Baháʼís now claim more than 10,000 local people have joined the religion over the last 50 years and there are 38 local spiritual assemblies.


See also

*
History of Kiribati The islands which now form the Republic of Kiribati have been inhabited for at least seven hundred years, and possibly much longer. The initial Austronesian peoples’ population, which remains the overwhelming majority today, was visited by ...
* Religion in Kiribati


References


External links


Kiribati Baháʼí National Community
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i Faith In Kiribati Religion in Kiribati
Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...
1954 in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...