Peter Berger’s Early Work on Baha’i Studies

At the very beginning of his academic career, Peter Berger made an important contribution to the sociological study of the Babi and Baha’i religions. This article provides an overview of (1) Berger’s early ideas in the sociology of religion; (2) his overall analysis of the Babi and Baha’i movements; (3) his account of the contemporary Iranian Baha’i community; and (4) his impressions of the American Baha’i community of the time. A brief discussion of the continuing value of Berger’s Babi‐Baha’i study in the Sociology of Religion and in Baha’i Studies is also offered.