Building community resilience against complex risks

Beyond the family, the community is the basic unit of social organisation. It is where we meet our basic needs, cultivate friendships, and organise the most fundamental level of governance. It is where solidarity has its most immediate expression. At a time when old institutions are breaking down, it is in our neighbourhoods and villages that we can start to build a better replacement. When the world is facing multiple crises and even the possible collapse of our material civilisation, it is important to consider how we can make our communities more resilient in the face of so many complex risks. This paper explores how this can be done, inspired in large part by the experience of the Bahá’í community.

First, we can consider this beautiful definition of a community:
“A community is… a comprehensive unit of civilization composed of individuals, families, and institutions that are originators and encouragers of systems, agencies and organizations working together with a common purpose for the welfare of people both within and beyond its borders; it is a composition of diverse, interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress.”1

Why build Community Resilience?

Communities are increasingly threatened by climate change and other environmental risks, unsustainable use of essential resources, economic vulnerabilities in a disintegrating world, and social challenges in fragmenting societies. Some outside dependencies cannot be avoided, but there are also potentials for self-sufficiency, and tools are available to explore these. Communities should build their capacity to read their local reality, consult on the options and resources available, and strengthen their resilience to live through the challenges ahead. Community solidarity is the best insurance in difficult times, and can maintain hope in the future.

The first step is to read the local reality: what are the complex risks and vulnerabilities that communities are facing? There are the environmental threats of climate change, drought, floods, wildfires, and agricultural failures. On the social side we face pandemics, fragmentation, political manipulation, misinformation and intentional disinformation, among others. Many of our challenges are economic, including recession, inflation, overwhelming debt, extremes of wealth and poverty, unemployment and bankruptcies. Political failings include oppression, conflict and war. Any one of these can threaten a community in fundamental ways, and any one may bring others in its wake.

What, then, will the future bring? We cannot predict the future. Too many factors are interacting. Too many leaders are unpredictable. Too many vested interests are blocking change. We are impacting the natural systems of the planet with unknown consequences. Do we face war, economic collapse, environmental catastrophe, or all of these? Science gives some guidance. There are efforts to try to model the future or to create scenarios of possible futures.

One classic example was the 1972 project of the Club of Rome on The Limits to Growth. Computer modelling of the major global trends in population, resource use, pollution and other parameters predicted that, with business as usual, our civilisation would hit planetary limits and collapse during the 21st century unless we transitioned rapidly to a more moderate and sustainable society. Updated several times, this conclusion seems to hold. Science has more recently identified nine Planetary Boundaries that represent limits to the Earth system’s capacity to support us, and we have overshot at least six of them.

On climate change, for example, scientists have already demonstrated profound damage at 1.2°C of warming, and every 0.1° increase means 140 million more suffering dangerous heat. Over 2.5°C means food price spikes, broken supply chains, and extensive migration. At 2.7°C, 2 billion people will be outside the habitable zone. At 3.0°C, cities including Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Miami and The Hague will be below sea level.2ii (Damian Carrington, The Guardian Weekly, 17 May 2024, pp. 34-39). In a report to the UN Security Council on the sea level crisis, the UN Secretary-General said that rising seas pose “unthinkable” risks to billions, with profound implications for security, international law and human rights. There would be a mass exodus of entire populations, desperate competition for fresh water, and low-lying communities and entire countries that could disappear under water, representing danger for 900 million people living in coastal zones.3

War has always led to the destruction of communities on a massive scale, and history shows that increasing armaments almost inevitable leads to war. Before the first World War, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the Baháí Faith, warned: “...enmity and strife will increase day by day, and the differences and divergences of nations will be woefully augmented. Continual additions to the armies and navies of the world will be made, and the fear and certainty of the great pandemic war—the war unparalleled in history—will be intensified; for armament, heretofore limited, is now being increased upon a colossal scale. Conditions are becoming acute, drawing nigh unto the degree of men warring upon the seas, warring upon the plains, warring in the very atmosphere with a violence unknown in former centuries. With the growth of armament and preparation the dangers are increasingly great.”4 Unfortunately, this seems equally appropriate today.

Such warnings have been repeated after the Second World War. The Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith warned America of this world peril in 1954: “The multiplication, the diversity and the increasing destructive power of armaments to which both sides, in this world contest, caught in a whirlpool of fear, suspicion and hatred, are rapidly contributing;... the overwhelming accretion of strength to the arch enemy of the system championed by the American Union in consequence of the realignment of the powers in the Asiatic continent and particularly in the Far East—these have, moreover, contributed their share, in recent years, to the deterioration of a situation which, if not remedied, is bound to involve the American nation in a catastrophe of undreamed of dimensions and of untold consequences to the social structure, the standard and conception of the American people and government. “No less serious is the stress and strain imposed on the fabric of American society through the fundamental and persistent neglect... [of the] attitude of the average white American toward his Negro fellow citizen, a situation which... will, in the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, cause the streets of American cities to run with blood, aggravating thereby the havoc which the fearful weapons of destruction, raining from the air, and amassed by a ruthless, a vigilant, a powerful and inveterate enemy, will wreak upon those same cities.”5

Most recently, the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Bahá’í Faith, has warned of violent convulsions yet to come: “None can anticipate precisely what course the forces of disintegration are destined to take, what violent convulsions will yet assail humanity in this travailing age, or what obstacles and opportunities may arise, until the process reaches its culmination in the appearance of that Great Peace that will signalize the arrival of the stage when, recognizing the unity and wholeness of humankind, the nations will “put away the weapons of war, and turn to the instruments of universal reconstruction”. “... the unfailing divine protection that encompasses the House of Justice will ensure that, as the Bahá’í world navigates the turmoil of a most perilous period in humanity’s social evolution, it will follow undeviatingly the course set by Providence.”6

While there may be nothing that local communities can do to prevent such global challenges, they can reflect on aspects of their local community vulnerability that are within their reach. For example, the impacts of natural disasters, and extreme climate events like floods, storms and wildfires, are experienced locally and can be prepared for. Communities can also experience governance failures, broken supply chains, intolerance, hate, fear, rejection and the resulting violence. The resources of a community can suffer from land-use change, local biodiversity loss, and pollution. These can result in inadequate quality and quantity of essential resources including food, water shortages, poor shelter, unclean air, temperatures not within a safe or adaptable range, and threats to security from natural hazards and extreme events.7

Communities can also address local inequality, the origin of many social problems. The effects of social inequalities are apparent on all sides in apathy, alienation, social unrest, violence and the erosion of trust between individuals and the institutions of governance, to name but a few. Inequality has become more and more visible in poverty related to gender, income, education, employment, productive assets, basic freedoms, and the like, exacerbating a host of social, environment and economic problems.8

Even global issues have impacts that need to be considered at the local level. A critical challenge is to make these global issues relevant to the lives of the most vulnerable people. These injustices disadvantage poorer communities and poorer countries. Equity must drive decision-making, identifying the fair direction of resource flows, and turning nature- negative activities to nature- and people- positive ones. Where there are places and contexts with a justice deficit, resources should be redirected to redress these, with a focus on natural assets as the foundation for resilience and welfare.9

Building Community Resilience

So what can be done to create community resilience in the face of these outside forces? The main dimensions are building the spiritual dimension, reinforcing social cohesion, and cultivating a spirit of selfless service. First, human nature is fundamentally spiritual. Communities are unlikely, therefore, to prove prosperous and sustainable unless they take into account the spiritual dimension of human reality and seek to foster a culture in which the moral, ethical, emotional and intellectual development of the individual are of primary concern. It is in such a milieu that the individual is likely to become a constructively engaged, service-oriented citizen, working for the material and spiritual well-being of the community, and that a common vision and a shared sense of purpose can be effectively developed. Community-building efforts will succeed only to the extent that they link material progress to fundamental spiritual aspirations, respond to the increasing interdependence among the peoples and nations of the planet, and establish a framework within which all people can become active participants in the governance of their societies.10

A central principle is the acknowledgement of the oneness of all humankind. Embracing humanity’s oneness holds a wide range of implications for societal progress—that adversarial approaches to problem-solving, no matter how noble the cause they support, are limited in achieving enduring transformation; that differences of opinion are an opportunity to explore values and strategies from diverse perspectives; that every member of society has the capacity, right, and responsibility to contribute to the common good; and that a hopeful future is within reach, through conscious and dedicated effort.11

Our challenge, therefore, is to redesign and develop our communities around those universal principles — including love, honesty, moderation, humility, hospitality, justice and unity— which promote social cohesion, and without which no community, no matter how economically prosperous, intellectually endowed or technologically advanced, can long endure. Here are seven principles for building communities:12

1. The protection of the family and the promotion of its wellbeing must become central to community processes. The family is the primary institution of society and the principle incubator of values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. When it is spiritually healthy, it contributes significantly to the development of happy and responsible citizens.

2. The physical, social, economic, legal and political designs of our communities must serve all members of society, not just the privileged. A truly just and equitable society will require a citizenry which understands that the interests of the individual and of the community are inextricably linked; that the advancement of human rights requires full commitment to the corresponding responsibilities; and that when women are welcomed into full partnership with men in all fields of human endeavour, families, communities and nations will prosper and advance.

3. Work is both a means of livelihood for the individual and a way of contributing to the prosperity of the community as a whole. As such, it helps give meaning to one's life. Therefore, community design must ensure that the creative energies of the individual have a channel of useful employment in which they can be expressed. For his or her part, the individual must assume responsibility in carrying out this trust. Progress in this area will lend great momentum to the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty in the world.

4. "Religion," the Bahá'í Writings state, "is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein." In every community, therefore, freedom of religion must be ensured, including the right to establish centres of worship. Places of worship provide a venue for prayer and meditation, acts of devotion through which the individual can come closer to the Creator, thereby strengthening his or her spiritual capacities for sacrifice and service.

5. The promotion of beauty, whether natural or man-made, should become a guiding principle in community planning, for beauty can touch the heart and inspire the soul to noble sentiments and actions.

6. Community development will need to incorporate principles of environmental preservation and rehabilitation, not only to bring our current civilization into a sustainable pattern of development, but also to respond to the human spirit's great need for close contact with the natural world. The primary role of the farmer in food and economic security also needs to be carefully considered in the design of all human settlements.

7. The vast forces of science and technology must be harnessed to serve the material, intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs of the entire human family. This will require that all peoples be involved in generating scientific knowledge and determining its applications.13

The Bahá’í writings provide the inspiration for a spirit of community service:
“Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race.”14

“It behoveth the loved ones of God to occupy themselves under all circumstances with that which is conducive to the edification of human souls, the advancement of the world of being, and the exaltation of the Word of God.… Well is it with them that strive to render service to the world of humanity. The influence of these souls will lead the world from hardship to comfort, from poverty to wealth, and from abasement to glory.”15

The Bahá’í Community has many processes and tools for building community solidarity. The Institute process provides materials for capacity building, including children’s classes, junior youth activities, and Ruhi books for the study of our spiritual dimension. Its core activities include devotional gatherings, social action, public discourse, and reflection meetings for consultation with wide participation. The aim is to achieve justice and equity, welcoming diversity, refugees, migrants and foreigners. This provides a framework capable of transforming oppressive relations, reforming structural inequalities, and embodying the highest aspirations of all people, particularly the most marginalized and vulnerable.16

Equity and justice are the twin guardians of society. Equity is the standard by which policy and resource commitment decisions should be made. Justice is the vehicle through which equity is applied, its practical expression in the life of the individual and society. It is only through the exercise of true justice that trust will be established among the diverse peoples, cultures and institutions of an increasingly interdependent world.17

The principle of equality is an important element of social organization, including the equality of men and women, the equality of diverse peoples and nations, and the equality of all people before the law. This expresses, not possessions or conditions, but certain attributes of the human being. Dignity, reason, and conscience are qualities common to every member of the human race. Equality, then, is more than just a desirable condition to be achieved for the good of society. It is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. A conception of society without an “other” is essential to the maturation of the human race. This requires the redefinition of human relationships within the context of a single social body, animated by bonds of mutualism and reciprocity. It calls for an organic change in the structure of society on an unprecedented scale. It requires that the oneness of humanity become the operating principle of our collective life.18

In a talk in Paris more than a century ago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá defined the Bahá’í attitude to strangers and foreigners:
“Let not conventionality cause you to seem cold and unsympathetic when you meet strange people from other countries. Do not look at them as though you suspected them of being evildoers, thieves and boors. You think it necessary to be very careful, not to expose yourselves to the risk of making acquaintance with such, possibly, undesirable people. Be kind to the strangers, whether come they from Turkey, Japan, Persia, Russia, China or any other country in the world. Help to make them feel at home; find out where they are staying, ask if you may render them any service; try to make their lives a little happier. In this way, even if, sometimes, what you at first suspected should be true, still go out of your way to be kind to them—this kindness will help them to become better. After all, why should any foreign people be treated as strangers?”19

Consultation

Central to redesigning the system of human relationships is the process that Bahá'u'lláh refers to as consultation. "In all things it is necessary to consult," is His advice. "The maturity of the gift of understanding is made manifest through consultation." Seeking truth through consultation goes far beyond the kind of negotiation and compromise that we see in present discussions of human affairs. It cannot be achieved with the culture of protest that we see in present society. Debate, propaganda, seeing others as adversaries, taking sides and partisanship so common in collective action all harm its purpose: to arrive at a consensus about the truth of a given situation, the options and the wisest choice of action at that moment. Consultation is the working expression of justice in human affairs. The people on whose commitment and efforts success depends will only participate if consultation is made the organising principle of every project.20

Many of the initiatives carried out by Bahá’í communities begin with the creation of consultative spaces in villages or neighbourhoods that invite members of their societies, irrespective of background or belief, to better understand their material and social reality, and devise appropriate responses to the challenges they face. On numerous occasions, these spaces have given rise to short term social and economic development initiatives, such as educational campaigns, health projects, environmental awareness actions, or humanitarian assistance efforts.21

Transformation of society

Against the backdrop of climate change, environmental degradation, and the crippling extremes of wealth and poverty, the transformation from a culture of unfettered consumerism to a culture of sustainability has gained momentum. It is a transformation that will require an earnest examination of our understanding of human nature and of the cultural frameworks driving institutions of government, business, education, and media around the world.22

To alleviate a variety of problems born of the economic inequalities so prevalent in the world today, social and economic development will require, especially among the younger generations, a fundamental shift in perspective, one that changes the way in which certain essential concepts are viewed--the true purpose of life, the nature of progress, the meaning of true happiness and well-being, and the place that material pursuits should assume in one's individual and family life.23

The principle remains... that the spiritual precedes the material. First comes the illumination of hearts and minds by the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, and then the grass roots stirring of the believers wishing to apply these teachings to the daily life of their community. The greatest need of all peoples is for the Faith itself, so that they may know the destiny towards which they as individuals and as members of society must strive, and will learn from the teachings those virtues and methods which will enable them to work together in harmony, forbearance and trustworthiness.24

It is important to work against feelings of helplessness, such as by listening to people who have overcome adversity, or to find meaning in suffering, just as the Bahá’ís describe the spiritual growth that comes from tests and difficulties. Even if doom comes, there is no such thing as too late. Baha’is have a vision of the ever-advancing civilization to come after the difficulties ahead. This turns anxiety from a stressor to a resource. We can generate meaning and purpose to create the active hope that we need. Prayer and meditation can also help to address feelings of anxiety.

We should apply positive win-win solutions: energy efficiency, active transport, green and blue spaces, reduce inequality, build community cohesion, and governance based on trust, transparency and participation. We should respect our anxiety rather than fight it. We can work at the community level to build a sense of solidarity, community and belonging. Ecological grief and anxiety can be the start of a healthy response to climate change.25

Maintaining Hope

With all the challenges that communities face, it is not easy to maintain hope. We need to acknowledge the risks of catastrophe without succumbing to fear and anxiety. It helps to have a positive vision of the future, and to work for the transformation through positive actions, no matter how limited they may seem. The Bahá’í response is to focus on hope, a rare commodity today. For example, the Guardian described the challenges to youth: “Even though the Bahá'í Youth should feel with the condition in which they see their non-Bahá'í friends and not indict them for it, they should not let themselves be carried by the wave of world events as they are being carried. Whereas they see before them only a world that is crumbling down we are also seeing a new world being built up. Whereas they experience the destruction of old institutions that commanded their respect, we are beholding the dawn of a new era with its strict commands and new social bonds. Their materialistic outlook shows them the futility of all things while our faith in a regenerated and spiritualized man makes us look to the future and build for it.”26

“Be thou hopeful and be thou happy and rejoiced. ...so thou mayest overcome the self and perform charitable deeds and that human perfections may appear from thee; that thou mayest be endowed with lofty gifts; find thy way to divine wisdom and show forth the manners and conduct of those who are favoured in the Threshold of the Almighty.”27

“The bright day is coming. The nucleus of the new race is forming. The harbinger of the new ideals of international justice is appearing. The trees of hope will become verdant; the copper of scorn and derision will be transmuted into the gold of honour and praise; the arid desert of ignorance will be transformed into the luxuriant garden of knowledge, the threatening clouds shall be dispelled and the stars of faith and charity will again twinkle in the clear heaven of human consciousness.”28

“We wish to address some additional words to those of you... who long for change. Have hope.... Is not the history of our Faith filled with accounts of inauspicious beginnings but marvellous results? How many times have the deeds of a few believers.young or old.or of a single family, or even of a lone soul, when confirmed by the power of divine assistance, succeeded in cultivating vibrant communities in seemingly inhospitable climes?29

The Example of Bahá’í Communities

In the Bahá’í community we foster community cohesion, connectedness and participation, reduce inequality, build social capital with shared goals, while we undertake social actions including to address environmental problems where we live. We are encouraged to be positive, full of creative imagination, drawing on the fantastic potential hiding within all of us. Today will only be a start, but tomorrow is already the future. The more we build forward, the more that future will open up.

The House of Justice has written about “vibrant communities,” describing them as being characterized by “tolerance and love and guided by a strong sense of purpose and collective will” and explaining that they provide an “environment in which the capacities of all components––men, women, youth and children––are developed and their powers multiplied in unified action.”30

In the Bahá'í Community itself, the friends endeavour, through their application of spiritual principles, their rectitude of conduct and the practice of the art of consultation, to uplift themselves and thus become self-sufficient and self-reliant…. In the process and as a consequence, the friends will undoubtedly extend the benefits of their efforts to society as a whole, until all mankind achieves the progress intended by the Lord of the Age.31

A flourishing global civilization in harmony with the natural environment is a vision toward which growing numbers are labouring. The world that beckons is one of integration and balance, beauty, and maturity. It is a world with a redefined sense of progress, filled with communities and individuals working together with the support of institutions toward the realization of their highest aspirations.32

An Exercise in Planning for Resilience

Here are some possible events that almost any community might face, with a need to consider what would be the priorities, who could provide leadership, and what social actions would be necessary. In application of the reflections and principles in this paper, consider how would you respond to the following situations?
- Your community has been hit by a major disaster (wildfire, flood) and many have lost their homes.
- A pandemic has hit your community, and many families have lost loved ones.
- A cyberattack has destroyed most internet communications and digital platforms.
- An extreme right wing government has declared the Bahá’í Faith illegal.
- An economic crisis has caused the breakdown of trade and supply chains for food and other necessities.
- A minority in your community is facing extreme prejudice and rejection.
- Your country is being attacked by an inveterate enemy.
These can be subjects for fruitful community discussion as you build local resilience.

Based on a presentation to the Justice Conference, The Netherlands, April 2025

Powerpoint presentation

Endnotes
1. Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 1996
2. Damian Carrington, The Guardian Weekly, 17 May 2024, pp. 34-39
3. UN Security Council 14 February 2023
4. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, 16 September 1912, §104
5. Shoghi Effendi, “American Bahá’ís in the Time of World Peril”, 28 July 1954, Citadel of Faith
6. Reflections on the First Century of the Formative Age, Universal House of Justice, To the Bahá’ís of the World, 28 November 2023David Obura. 2024. “Equity in action: global to local”. pp. 11-14 in Global Catastrophic Risks 2024
7. David Obura. 2024. “Equity in action: global to local”. pp. 11-14 in Global Catastrophic Risks 2024
8. based on Bahá’í International Community, Beyond Balancing the Scales: The Roots of Equity, Justice and Prosperity for All, 2012
9. David Obura. 2024. “Equity in action: global to local”. pp. 11-14 in Global Catastrophic Risks 2024
10. Bahá’í International Community, Sustainable Communities in an Integrating World, 1996
11. Bahá’í International Community, Embracing Interdependence: Foundations for a World in Transition, 2024
12. Bahá’í International Community, Sustainable in an Integrating World, 1996
13. Bahá’í International Community, Sustainable Communities in an Integrating World, 1996
14. Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 3
15. Bahá’u’lláh, Compilation on Social Action §11
16. based on Bahá’í International Community, Beyond Balancing the Scales: The Roots of Equity, Justice and Prosperity for All, 2012
17. Bahá’í International Community, Valuing Spirituality in Development, 1998
18. based on Bahá’í International Community, Beyond Balancing the Scales: The Roots of Equity, Justice and Prosperity for All, 2012
19. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “Kindness and Sympathy towards Strangers and Foreigners”, Paris Talks 1
20. based on Bahá’í International Community, The Prosperity of Humankind, 1995, §31,34
21. Bahá’í International Community, Embracing Interdependence: Foundations for a World in Transition, 2024
22. Bahá'í International Community, Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism, 2010
23. Universal House of Justice, To Baha'is in the Cradle of the Faith, 2 April 2010
24. From a letter dated 8 May 1984, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly
25. Frontiers Forum presentation by Professor Britt Wray of Stanford University 28 April 2023 https://iefworld.org/node/1396
26. on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 1932, quoted in Youth, compiled by the Research Department of UHJ, §22
27. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá v3, p. 545
28. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, v 5, p. 141
29. Universal House of Justice, Ridvan Message 2015
30. Universal House of Justice, letter to the Conference of Continental Boards of Counsellors 26 December 1995
31. based on Universal House of Justice, 20 October 1983
32. Bahá'í International Community. One Planet, One Habitation: A Bahá’í Perspective on Recasting Humanity's Relationship with the Natural World, 1 June 2022, para. 42