Index for Volume 8, Issue 4 January - March 1997

In Russia, a long-suppressed community is restored.

PERM, Russian Federation -- Since the fall of the Soviet Union, with an official state ideology that eschewed God and religion, many Russians have undertaken searches for spiritual meaning. The Bahá'í Community of Russia, long-suppressed, has re-emerged as men and women from all walks of life have embraced the Faith and its ethical principles.

The Rise of Civil Society.

PERSPECTIVE -- It is perhaps the most significant social phenomenon of our time: the sudden efflorescence of countless movements and organizations of social change at local, regional, and international levels. And it is changing the way international issues are understood and dealt with.

The Microcredit Summit: NGOs host a world-class meeting.

WASHINGTON -- Overlooked by the big international agencies, microcredit is an economic innovation that can greatly help to alleviate global poverty, say NGOs who recently held a Summit-level meeting on the issue.

"Benchmark" draft of Earth Charter emerges at Rio + 5.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Looking ahead to the upcoming "Earth Summit II," scheduled for June in New York, NGOs meeting in Rio de Janeiro call for an emphasis on values, issuing a new draft of the long-discussed Earth Charter.

Sentenced to death for "apostasy," two Bahá'ís in Iran await appeals.

NEW YORK -- A number of governments and organizations outside Iran have recently expressed grave concern over the status of two Bahá'ís in Iran who have been sentenced to death for allegedly committing apostasy - a "crime" that boils down to choosing one faith over another.

With deep roots, the Bahá'í community of Russia survived a long era of Communist persecution

The connection between Russia and the Bahá'í Faith stretches back more than a century. In the mid-1800s, Russian diplomats made important interventions on behalf of the Faith when it faced a first round of persecutions in Iran. Turn-of-the-century Russian intellectuals studied and wrote about the Faith extensively, attracted by its progressive principles. And early followers established a thriving community in Russian Turkistan in the pre-Revolutionary era, building there the world's first Bahá'í House of Worship.

An unsung hero of the early women's movement.

The Sex Side of Life: Mary Ware Dennett's Pioneering Battle for Birth Control and Sex Education. By Constance M. Chen.

REVIEW -- Tightly focused on the life of Mary Ware Dennett, a turn-of-the-century American social activist, this biography shines a light on the vast moral changes at the root of the women's movement, our era's openness about sexuality, and, even, the idea that people should launch an individual search for spiritual fulfillment.