Theory of Religious Cycles: Tradition, Modernity, and the Bahá’í Faith by Mikhail Sergeev (review)

In this insightful and provocative book, Sergeev creatively takes the reader through the world religions, with a remarkable and easy- to- understand table of comparisons at the end. It shows not only his deep interest in religions but also a fair and accurate understanding of the Bahá’i Faith, which takes up a major part of this book. He takes the reader through the movement of modernity and enlightenment and comprehensively compares religions to each other and all of them to the Bahá’i Faith, the newest world religion.

His explanation of modernity and its nonsectarian origin in chap. 3 is precisely accurate and easy to understand. His theory of religious cycles and the interfacing of elements of enlightenment with all past religions and the newer Bahá’i Faith take the reader through a journey of humanity through all ages, seeking truth and understanding with a reliance on faith and a mission. His theory of religious cycles is original and insightful, and it encompasses the commonality of humanity.

He begins by saying: “It is not my intention to discover the origin of religion or reduce it to other forms of social activity. As a unique human enterprise, religion meets certain needs that no other social institution can adequately satisfy. It provides a sense of morality, duty, community, and meaning to life. Religion will always exist because it speaks to the peculiarity of human condition—the awareness on one’s own mortality without any certain knowledge of what awaits us after death” (p. 4).

He puts the reader’s mind at ease about having to decide which religion is a better choice; instead, one can read with excitement and an appetite of discovery. Sergeev calls the “Theory of Religious Cycles” the recognition of all religions of the past and the Bahá’i Faith through their scriptures. He creatively lays out six phases that religions have gone through: formative, orthodox, classical, reformist, critical, and postcritical. When a sacred tradition is challenged by structural crisis, it shakes the foundation of the system that allows its evolution into a new movement or faith. Sergeev has explained well the development and reason for humankind to gravitate from an old to a new faith.

He spends a great deal of space to present the Bahá’i Faith and its principles accurately for today’s way of life—although he neither advocates nor recommends to the reader but tactfully portrays a bold, new dimension with this independent investigation of the relevancy and applicability of the Bahá’i Faith. His analysis of its different and unique aspects is noteworthy: the Will and Testament of Bahá’u’lláh and Abd’u’l-Baha, the significance of the Covenant in order to avoid division, the principle of Bahá’i organization as it relates to interpretation vs. administration, and the present and possible future role of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body for the Bahá’i Faith.

In my opinion this book provides the best bridging of religious changes I have read. It is more relevant now than any time since the Enlightenment, so is highly recommended.