The Independent Investigation of Truth
Every individual has the duty and capacity to independently investigate truth, rather than following tradition, family religion, or authority blindly.
Bahá'u'lláh taught that independent investigation of truth is an obligation, not merely a right. Inherited religious affiliation, cultural tradition, and social pressure are not adequate bases for spiritual belief. Each person must investigate God's truth for themselves using reason, heart, and conscience — a radical affirmation of intellectual and spiritual autonomy.
The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and of the fundamental oneness of religion.
The Bahá'í principle of independent investigation is exceptionally bold within a religious tradition and connects it to Enlightenment values of rational autonomy.
Paris Talks
Written about in
- What the Bahá'í Faith says about doubt
Bahá'u'lláh made investigating truth a duty, not a liberty. Inherited religious affiliation, family and social pressure are explicitly ruled out as adequate grounds for belief, so the unsettlement that arrives when you first examine what you were handed is the process working rather than failing.