Chaplains and Religious Life

Paul Smith, a member of the local Providence Baha'i community and Chair of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Providence, serves as advisor to the Baha'i Faith at Brown University. He is not a clergyperson, as the Baha'i Faith has no clergy, but he does provide consultation and assistance to Brown students regardless of any spiritual background.

Paul was raised a Methodist. After graduating from Dartmouth College as a mathematics major, he spent an initial year as a seminarian at Yale Divinity School. After leaving Yale, he began a search for both a different career and a comprehensive view of God, religion, and spirituality. At the age of 23, he became a member of the Baha'i Faith, thereby "updating" his religious beliefs to become a follower of Baha'u'llah, Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith.

Baha'u'llah (1817-1892) taught that all the world's religions come from the same Source, having been progressively revealed throughout history, and that humanity has reached the age of maturity in which such principles as the oneness of humankind, the equality of women and men, the harmony of science and religion, and the elimination of all forms of prejudice will lead to the establishment of universal education and world peace.