The concept of religion and the challenge of identity construction (Part I: Definitions and Foundations)

”Baha’ism” and the relentless challenge of identity from “sect” to “religion”! Historically, the Baha’i Faith was born with the identity as a “sect,” but its leaders had deeper desires and adopted the identity of an independent religion. The description of religion is not valuable in its essence, but it will have a value along with its content, and this is the beginning of continuous and wide-range disputes. Some modernist Baha’is are now using the social sciences to authenticate the Baha’i “religion” in the time of globalization. This credibility requires the “value” inherent in the word religion and desires a widespread “normative”. This precious gem is hidden only in the shell of the description of “religion” itself. Now some Bahai modernists try to use the neutral attitude in the social sciences to stamp the seal of religion on the forehead of the Baha’ism as an “ideal Type”, and then benefit from the “value” and “normative” approaches! This article believes that the view of the mentioned modernists is the product of a large project; so we try to discuss the dimensions of this project.