To you hath God prescribed the faith which He commanded unto Noah, and which We have revealed unto thee, and which We commanded unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus saying: 'Observe this faith, and be not divided into sects therein!'" The Founder of every one of the great religions had called His followers to love and unity, but in every case the aim of the Founder was to a large extent lost sight of in a welter of intolerance and bigotry, formalism and hypocrisy, corruption and misrepresentation, schism and contention.

The aggregate number of more or less hostile sects in the world was probably greater at the commencement of the Baha'i era than at any previous period in human history.

It seemed as if humanity at that time were experimenting with every possible kind of religious belief, with every possible sort of ritual and ceremonial observance, with every possible variety of moral code.
At the same time an increasing number of men were devoting their energies to fearless investigation and critical examination of the laws of nature and the foundations of belief.

New scientific knowledge was being rapidly acquired and new solutions were being found for many of the problems of life.

The development of inventions such as steamship and railway, postal system and press, greatly aided the diffusion of ideas and the fertilizing contact of widely different types of thought and life.
The so-called "conflict between religion and science" became a fierce battle.