Baha'i Faith PNG

Bahá’í Community: A Common Desire for Peace and Prosperity for Papua New Guinea


For media and other inquiries contact:

PNG Bahá’í Office of External Affairs | nsaexternalaffairs@bahai.org.pg | +675 7103 4101

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As our esteemed Government institutions continue on this formal process of amending the constitution and the affiliated policies, the Bahá’í Community wishes to make known its willingness to participate in national level consultations and to work alongside relevant stakeholders towards this common desire to safeguard and promote higher degrees of Peace and Prosperity for our country.

Baha’i Community of Papua New Guinea

Media Release: A Common Desire for Peace and Prosperity for Papua New Guinea

On the 18th August 2021, an official media release from the esteemed office of the Prime Minister announced the approval of the National Executive Council of the proposal to declare Papua New Guinea a Christian Country.

The same media release also indicates that the right to practice freedom of religion may be regulated for the purposes of defense, public safety, public order, welfare and public health.  Further, it states that Section 55 of the Constitution which promotes the equality of all citizens irrespective of religion, may have laws enacted against it provided they comply with Section 38 and 55 (2).

Placing aside for a moment the genuine concerns and anxieties expressed by the Bahá’í Community in our official submission to the CLRC[1] Public inquiry and the risks of systemic injustice which have potential to ensue from these amendments if protection mechanisms and freedom to practice religion equally are not clearly delineated; what appears to be the overarching motivating desire for these constitutional changes according to this media release and several other official public statements made in relation to the amendment of the Constitution, is an institutional intention to work towards Peace and Prosperity for Papua New Guinea:

…The approval by NEC of the proposal to declare PNG a Christian country will now secure the long-term peace and safety of our country.      

…Should the Constitution of PNG protect the freedom of religion by limiting it to Christianity, potential religious bigotry that could give rise to civil war, chaos and instability will be averted. 

18th August Media Release from Dept. of Prime Minister & National Executive Council.

The Bahá’í Community, who have been a part of PNG since 1954, wishes to respectfully highlight and acknowledge this noble intention – specifically, the desire for Peace and Prosperity, from our Government institutions. This is a desire which is shared deeply and sincerely by our community, the largest religious minority in-country.

Indeed, the Cause of Peace and Prosperity is intimately correlated, we believe, with the establishment of genuine unity amongst the full spectrum of diversity of our people. These conceptions are not only central to the Bahá’í Faith, an independent world religion[2], but importantly they imbue every effort of action and endeavour exerted by the Bahá’í Community. From individuals in the most remote villages or in urban settings right across the country to our governing institutions and even in coherence with the worldwide Bahá’í community; Bahá’ís work in earnest to bring about this vision of Peace and Prosperity – not as a pious hope or tokenistic slogan, but with concerted, deliberate steps, with a humble posture of learning and a desire to sincerely be of service to society as a whole.

Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.

The Bahá’í Holy Writings

Underpinned by a fundamental belief that all our people regardless of religion, race, creed, ethnicity or gender are indeed a part of one human family – we believe that working towards genuine Peace and Prosperity is a burden and responsibility of 3 levels of society: the individual, community and institutions.

Notably though, truly transformative change can only come if we transcend the realm of technique in order to address the question of the true and ultimate objective of development: human lives and societies increasingly characterized by peace, well-being and happiness; by knowledge, culture, and industry; by dignity, value, and purpose.

As declared over a century ago in the Bahá’í Holy Writings:

True peace and tranquility will only be realized when every soul will have become the well-wisher of all mankind.

Revising laws, and similar objectives can, in many cases, be accomplished by a relatively small cadre of experts and specialists. In contrast, the task of expanding the foundations for human well-being and purpose, both individually and collectively, will require a much wider conversation. No longer is it sufficient for the advancement of our country to be the provenance of a few working on behalf of the many. Rather, it will need to be shouldered by greater and greater proportions of our entire population.

Thus, it is our conviction that genuine spiritual and material transformation at the individual, community and institutional levels of our society are necessary if we, as one people, are to overcome the complex challenges and social issues of today and materialize the common desire for Peace and Prosperity in Papua New Guinea.

As our esteemed Government institutions continue on this formal process of amending the constitution and the affiliated policies, the Bahá’í Community wishes to make known its willingness to participate in national level consultations and to work alongside relevant stakeholders towards this common desire to safeguard and promote higher degrees of Peace and Prosperity for our country.

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[1] Constitutional Law Reform Commission

[2] The Bahá’í Faith is not an offshoot of Islam. In the same way Christianity is not an offshoot of Judaism.


For media and other inquiries contact:

PNG Bahá’í Office of External Affairs | nsaexternalaffairs@bahai.org.pg | +675 7103 4101

Office of External Affairs