The Baháʼí Faith in Bolivia begins with references to the country in Baháʼí literature as early as 1916. The first Baháʼí to arrive in Bolivia was in 1940 through the beginning of the arrival of coordinated pioneers, people who chose to move for the growth of the religion, from the United States. That same year the first Bolivian joined the religion. The first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in La Paz in 1945 and the first native Bolivian formally joined the religion in 1956 which soon began spreading widely amongst indigenous Bolivians. The community elected an independent National Spiritual Assembly in 1961. By 1963 there were hundreds of local assemblies. The Baháʼí Faith is currently the largest international religious minority in Bolivia. The largest population of Baháʼís in South America is in Bolivia, a country whose general population is estimated to be 55%-70% indigenous and 30%-42% Mestizo, with a Baháʼí population estimated at 217,000 in 2005 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives.
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States in 1916–1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan. The sixth of the tablets was the first to mention Latin American regions and was written on April 8, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 — after the end of World War I and the Spanish flu. The sixth tablet was translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on December 12, 1919.
"His Holiness Christ says: Travel ye to the East and to the West of the world and summon the people to the Kingdom of God. ... the republic of Mexico...to be familiar with the Spanish language...Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the seventh country Belize...Attach great importance to the indigenous population of America...Likewise the islands of ...Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, ... Bahama Islands, even the smallWatling Island...Haiti and Santo Domingo...the islands of Bermuda... the republics of the continent of South America—Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, The Guianas, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela; also the islands to the north, east and west of South America, such as Falkland Islands, the Galapagòs, Juan Fernandez, Tobago and Trinidad...."
Following the release of these tablets and then ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921, a few Baháʼís began moving to or at least visiting Latin America.
Early Phase Shoghi Effendi, who was named ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's successor, wrote a cable on May 1, 1936 to the Baháʼí Annual Convention of the United States and Canada, and asked for the systematic implementation of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's vision to begin. In his cable he wrote: "Appeal to assembled delegates ponder historic appeal voiced by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in Tablets of the Divine Plan. Urge earnest deliberation with incoming National Assembly to insure its complete fulfillment. First century of Baháʼí Era drawing to a close. Humanity entering outer fringes most perilous stage its existence. Opportunities of present hour unimaginably precious. Would to God every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination of this glorious century embrace the light of the Faith of Baháʼu'lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order."
Following the May 1st cable, another cable from Shoghi Effendi came on May 19 calling for permanent pioneers to be established in all the countries of Latin America. The Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada appointed an Inter-America Committee to take charge of the preparations. During the 1937 Baháʼí North American Convention, Shoghi Effendi cabled advising the convention to prolong their deliberations to permit the delegates and the National Assembly to consult on a plan that would enable Baháʼís to go to Latin America as well as to include the completion of the outer structure of the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. In 1937 the First Seven Year Plan (1937–44), which was an international plan for the Baháʼís designed by Shoghi Effendi, gave the American Baháʼís the goal of establishing the Baháʼí Faith in every country in Latin America. With the spread of American Baháʼís in Latin American, Baháʼí communities and Local Spiritual Assemblies, the local administrative unit of the religion, began to form in 1938 across Latin America.
A pioneer from Los Angeles, Eleanor Adler, sailed from New Orleans on the S.S. Santa Marta on November 16, 1940 to pioneer to Bolivia by settling in La Paz taking up residence at Pension Cúellar, 899, 6 de Agosta though she did not at first speak Spanish. Citizens of Bolivia joined the religion - the first being Yvonne de Cúellar - though Adler left about May 1941 and de Cúellar was born in France. Regardless, when Adler left there was a group of three Bolivians Baháʼís present in La Paz.
Pioneer Flora Hottes arrived in June 1942. In late 1943 the fifth Bolivian Baháʼí and the first to take the religion beyond La Paz moved to Tarija. Maria Lijeron was a lawyer who also had a radio program. The first Local Spiritual Assembly, the local administrative unit of the religion, in Bolivia was elected in 1945. In 1946 committees with regional responsibilities were assigned - Bolivia and Peru being one such grouping - at the same time Gwenne D. Sholtis arrived as a pioneer and settled in Sucre and three Bolivians there joined the religion the same year.
Growth The first South American Baháʼí Congress was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November, 1946 and de Cúellar of Bolivia attended.
In 1947 several translations had been done or were in process by de Cúellar and her husband, Col. Arturo Cúella Echazu, including God Passes By, Foundations of World Unity,Detalle de registro bibliográfico , BibliotecaWeb, 2011 and a selection from the Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh. At the same time the first assembly of Sucre was elected. By then Sholtis was present in Cochabamba and Baháʼís from Sucre were pioneering to other cities while maintaining assembly status.
The second South American Baháʼí Congress was celebrated in Santiago, Chile, in January, 1948 and de Cúellar was the official delegate. The congress announced the formation of the South American Teaching Committee. Retrospectively, a stated purpose for the committee was to facilitate a shift in the balance of roles from North American guidance and Latin cooperation to Latin guidance and North American cooperation. The process was well underway by 1950 and was to be enforced about 1953. In March 1948, chairman of the South American Teaching Committee, Estéban Canales of Chile, took a trip to speak in various countries. In Bolivia he spoke to an audience of about 80 people and 40 stayed for a reception afterwards. In September the Teaching Committee proposed sending a pioneer from Santiago, Chile, to Sucre: Rosy Vodanovich. At the same time the progress on the translation of God Passes By was submitted to review of the strength of the translation to a literary critic. In December 1949 Mary Binda went as the first pioneer from Bolivia choosing Venezuela as her goal. In December 1949 a regional conference on the promulgation of the religion in Peru and Bolivia was held in La Paz. In September a Study Institute was held.
The Regional Baháʼí Spiritual Assembly of South America was elected in 1950. In the face of the changes of coordination between the American and Latin Baháʼís the Sucre assembly was lost in 1950 and was reformed in 1951. Meanwhile, the spring 1951 celebration of World Religion Day with 60 people participating was held by the Baháʼís of La Paz. In 1952 Arturo, Yvonne and Dorothy Campbell were delegates from the Baháʼís of Bolivia to a regional UN Conference on NGOs. Rezzi Sunshine pioneered to Cochabamba, arriving on January 26, 1955. The fifth convention for the regional national assembly of the Baháʼís of South America was held in La Paz in 1955. A series of study classes preceding the convention was held on the Advent of Divine Justice, the Promised Day is Come, as well as the topics of "Indians of South America", and "Sacrifice". Indeed, Rezzi Sunshine began offering classes on English and the religion in Indian villages near where she lived in Cochabamba while the Baháʼís there elected the first local assembly and a pioneer moved to an Indian village named Chuquisaca.
In 1957 the regional assembly was split into two - basically northern/eastern South America with the Republics of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, in Lima, Peru and one of the western/southern South America with the Republics of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Hand of the Cause ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá oversaw the election of the Assembly in Buenos Aires.
In 1961-2 thousands of Aymara Indians in hundreds of localities formed near 100 assemblies.
Indians Across the Americas by 1947 members of the Baháʼí Faith had contacted peoples of Alaska and Greenland, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.Teaching Among Aboriginal and Indigenous People by Shoghi Effendi Compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, Published in Compilation of Compilations Volume 3 pages 203-225All-America Intercontinental Conference-- Second Message Messages To The Baháʼí World: 1950-1957, pages 146-156
The first translations into Aymara and Quechua languages of Baháʼí literature was done by the assembly in La Paz in 1951.
The subject of outreach to Indian populations was among the topics consulted on at the fifth convention for the regional national assembly of the Baháʼís of South America in 1955.
A cornerstone in the process of outreach began on Sept. 8, 1956 when the first Indians of Bolivia formally entered the religion and they promptly engaged other Indians in the religion - the distinctive moment for them being when they were allowed in the front door of the Baháʼí center. They were Andres and Carmelo Jachacollo (all members of their village had the same last name) and through their efforts the first all-Indian assembly of Bolivia was elected in 1957 in the village of Vilacollo, of which Andres was the chairman, speaking the Aymará language though the location was in deep poverty and the people somewhat nomadic.
This led to a general sense of excitement. During the first years of the Ten Year Crusade, 1953–1963, reports of the large conversions to the religion in Africa began to come through, (see Baháʼí Faith in Africa.) Then news began to arrive of the conversion of large numbers in Bolivia, and Shoghi Effendi began to increase his insistence on teaching the indigenous groups. For example, on May 26, 1957, he sent a letter through his secretary to the new national assemblies of Latin America, referring to the "Tablets of the Divine Plan" with respect to the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas.
In December 1957 a special class on the religion was held in Cochabamba, and another in La Paz in March 1958, for Indians peoples from the Huanuni area which included some who wanted to travel to other Indian groups to introduce the religion there. The school held in La Paz included Andres and several of his kin, some Chola peoples (another Aymara people) attended. The first Chola Baháʼí, Juana Topa, joined the religion July 12, 1958, some months after the school. Guests at the school included auxiliary board member Katherine McLaughlin, and Rezzi Sunshine. This group of students of the school brought the religion to Potosí, Huanacota, and Chalapiti villages and several spoke on local radio programs as well.