spiritual assembly

The spiritual assembly is the basic organizational structure of the Bahá’í Faith. Local spiritual assemblies may be formed anywhere that nine or more Bahá’ís live, and national spiritual assemblies are created at the national or regions level when local development is sufficient. Today, there are more than 11,000 local assemblies around the world, and national spiritual assemblies have been elected in 182 countries. Assemblies are elected in a spiritual atmosphere of prayer, where each person silently considers the qualities of an assembly member, prays, and votes his or her conscience. There are no nominations, mention of names, or campaigning in Bahá’í elections.