Portal:Bahá'í Faith/Featured article
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There are currently seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship around the world, although Bahá'í communities own many properties where they plan for Houses of Worship to be constructed as the Bahá'í community grows and develops.
The name used in the Bahá'í writings for Houses of Worship is Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (Dawning-place of the Remembrance of God). All Bahá'í temples share certain architectural elements, only two of which are specified by Bahá'í scripture, that they are nine-sided and surmounted by domes.
Bahá'í Houses of Worship are open to people of all faiths - or of no particular faith. Services focus solely on the worship of God. There are no collections and no sermons. Only the Word of God is uttered within the Temple, with readings from all the Holy Writings of the earth. The only instrument used is the human voice, and the choir in any Bahá'í House of Worship sings without instrumental accompaniment. No sermons or lectures are permitted inside the House of Worship. As the Bahá'í Faith has no priesthood, ordinary members of the community - men and women, adults and children - read the texts.
