The relations between religion and sexuality have been understudied for a long period of time
within German Study of Religion. This is remarkable for two reasons: Firstly sex and gender
are somewhat frequently discussed in almost any other field of research at present secondly
many religions still have problems to accept homosexuality as a normal and permissible way of
life. This is furthermore astonishing for the Bah ' Faith as it is often mentioned as a
particularly tolerant and open minded religious community. Coming from a profound historical
analysis of sexual practices in 19th century Iran and their understanding from a religious
point of view Hanna Langer further exemplifies the Bah ' Institutions' attitude towards
homosexuality and homosexuals and their standing within the Bah ' Community. The second part of
the book focuses on three major aspects related to the experiences of homosexuals: How do
homosexuals themselves interpret and understand the core writings? How do they apply this
understanding to their personal lives? How do they experience community life within the Bah '
Faith and the Institutions' and believers' approach towards them? Langer's comprehensive
analysis of the current situation of homosexual Bah ' s was originally written as a master
thesis at the Interfaculty Programme for the Study of Religion at Munich University and has
been supervised by Prof Horst Junginger who also contributed a preface for the publication.
Hanna A. Langer was raised in Dresden and studied Religion Iranology and Crosscultural
Communication at Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich.
