A History of the Baha'i Faith in South Carolina

The Baha'i Faith is increasingly acknowledged as South Carolina’s second-largest religion, part of the social fabric of the state. The earliest mentions of the distinctively interracial, theologically innovative faith community in the state date back to the Civil War. Black, white and indigenous South Carolinians defied racial and religious prejudices to join the religion during the tumultuous civil rights era. From the visit of the first Baha'i teacher in 1910 to the Carolinian Pentecost of the 1970s and beyond, the faith has deep roots in the Palmetto State. Author and Baha'i historian Louis Venters provides, for the first time, an overview of the first century of the Baha'i Faith in a state with one of its strongest followings.