"Concerning membership in non-Baha'i religious associations, the Guardian
wishes to re-emphasize the general principle already laid down in his
communications to your Assembly and also to the individual believers that
no Baha'i who wishes to be a whole hearted and sincere upholder of the
distinguishing principles of the Cause can accept full membership in any
non-Baha'i ecclesiastical organization. For such an act would necessarily
imply only a partial acceptance of the Teachings and Laws of the Faith,
and an incomplete recognition of its independent status, and would thus be
tantamount to an act of disloyalty to the verities it enshrines. For it is
only too obvious that in most of its fundamental assumptions the Cause of
Baha'u'llah is completely at variance with outworn creeds, ceremonies, and
institutions. To be a Baha'i and at the same time accept membership in
another religious body is simply an act of contradiction that no sincere
and logically-minded person can possibly accept. To follow Baha'u'llah
does not mean accepting some of His teachings and rejecting the rest.
Allegiance to His Cause must be uncompromising and whole-hearted. During
the days of the Master the Cause was still in a stage that made such an
open and sharp disassociation between it and other religious
organizations, and particularly the Muslim Faith not only inadvisable but
practically impossible to establish. But since His passing, events
throughout the Baha'i World and particularly in Egypt where the Muslim
religious courts have formally testified to the independent character of
the Faith, have developed to a point that have made such an assertion of
the independence of the Cause not only highly desirable but absolutely
essential."