All corrections
Wikipedia March 21, 2026 at 01:18 AM

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_Faith

3 corrections found

1
Claim
Baháʼís annually elect local, regional, and national administrative bodies that govern the religion's affairs,
Correction

This overstates the structure of Baháʼí administration. Regional councils are not a universal, always-elected layer; they exist only in certain countries when authorized, and some are appointed rather than elected.

Full reasoning

This sentence inaccurately presents regional bodies as if they were a standard annually elected level everywhere in the Baháʼí Faith.

Authoritative guidance from the Universal House of Justice says Regional Baháʼí Councils are not universal. They are created only in certain countries and only with the permission of the Universal House of Justice when local conditions make them necessary. The same guidance also states that a Regional Council may be formed either by election or by appointment, depending on what is authorized for that country.

So while local and national Spiritual Assemblies are standard elected institutions, it is incorrect to say, without qualification, that Baháʼís generally or universally “annually elect local, regional, and national administrative bodies.”

2 sources
2
Claim
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
Correction

This is outdated. UNIFEM no longer exists; it was merged into UN Women in 2010, and the Baháʼí International Community now describes UNIFEM as a former body.

Full reasoning

The article lists UNIFEM as if it were a current organization with which the Baháʼí International Community presently has status. But UNIFEM was dissolved when the UN created UN Women in 2010.

  • The UN states that UN Women was created by merging four entities, including UNIFEM.
  • The Baháʼí International Community’s own UN office page now refers to “the (former) UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)” and says that today its New York office collaborates with UN Women on a regular basis.

So presenting UNIFEM as a current body in a present-tense list of organizations is no longer accurate.

2 sources
3
Claim
At local, regional, and national levels, Baháʼís elect members to nine-person Spiritual Assemblies,
Correction

This misdescribes the regional level. Regional Baháʼí bodies are councils, not “Spiritual Assemblies,” and they are not always nine-person elected bodies.

Full reasoning

This sentence incorrectly treats the regional level as if it were made up of standard nine-member Spiritual Assemblies.

Authoritative guidance from the Universal House of Justice distinguishes Regional Baháʼí Councils from Local and National Spiritual Assemblies. It explains that Regional Baháʼí Councils are a separate kind of institution, created only where needed, and that their membership is not always nine: depending on the case, a council may have nine, seven, or five members. The same guidance also says some regional councils are formed by appointment rather than election.

So it is inaccurate to describe the regional level simply as nine-person Spiritual Assemblies elected by Baháʼís.

2 sources
  • Regional Bahá'í Councils - The Universal House of Justice

    Regional Bahá'í Councils ... comprising institutions of a special kind, to be designated as 'Regional Bahá'í Councils.' ... The number of members of a Regional Bahá'í Council is nine or, in certain cases, seven or even five ... the Universal House of Justice will decide which Regional Bahá'í Councils are to be formed by election and which by appointment.

  • 12 March 2000 - To all National Spiritual Assemblies | Bahá'í Reference Library

    These institutions are formed only with the permission of the House of Justice in certain countries ... a Regional Council is established either through election ... or through appointment by the National Spiritual Assembly.

Model: OPENAI_GPT_5 Prompt: v1.16.0