I agree with Glenford Mitchell. I asked this question of the Universal House of JUstice myself years ago:
Q. Will all people become Bahá’ís in the future?
A. There is no reference in the writings stating that every single person will become Bahá’í, but at least half of them will. Rúḥíyyih Khánum used to say that Shoghi Effendi was asked this question quite often by pilgrims. He would answer by saying that, in this Dispensation, the totality of the peoples of the world will not become Bahá’ís, but the majority will.
‘Alí Nakhjavani, "Shoghi Effendi - The Range and Power of His Pen"
Is there any definitive guidance on what we will do when the Baha’is become a majority in a country? Will the national assembly take over? Or will we form a new government by other means. I am worried about shutting people out of the administration of a government. I am afraid we will cause bad feelings. Could we have a different law for Baha’is and other people so as to not impose Baha’i law on others?
The answer:
Dear Bahá’í Friend,
The Universal House of Justice has received your email message of 12 June 2018, seeking guidance about the nature of the administration of a country when the majority of its population will have accepted the Faith and how in that circumstance minorities would be treated. We have been asked to convey the following and regret the delay in our response. It is not possible to describe with particularity how the governance of a country might be affected when the majority of its people accept the Faith. However, any change will be by democratic means and not by force. The writings of our Faith make it clear that under a Bahá’í system the rights of minorities must always be respected and upheld. Shoghi Effendi has enunciated this principle:
Unlike the nations and peoples of the earth, be they of the East or of the West, democratic or authoritarian, communist or capitalist, whether belonging to the Old World or the New, who either ignore, trample upon, or extirpate, the racial, religious, or political minorities within the sphere of their jurisdiction, every organized community enlisted under the banner of Bahá’u’lláh should feel it to be its first and inescapable obligation to nurture, encourage, and safeguard every minority belonging to any faith, race, class, or nation within it. (The Advent of Divine Justice (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2006, 2015 printing), p. 53)
With loving Bahá’í greetings, Department of the Secretariat
In other words as Glenford Mitchell says the Universal House of House does not know what will unfold in the future when Baha'is are in the majority because we cannot know now what the situation is at that time. The important principle here is that the people who are not Baha'i rights are trampled upon when Baha'is are the majority in any country. In fact the different counties it can reasonably infer will have different circumstances and thus how the Baha'i institutions and the government interact will be different in each country. As the institutions of the Baha'i Faith are decentralized as Glenford Mitchell stated, the Universal House of Justice will not dictate to the National Assemblies what to do, but will give guidance on the situation at that time.
