Jason “Oak” Ritchie
Columbia, S.C.
Baha'i since 1999

‘I wanted to see the world change for the better, to do good in this world’

Jason "Oak" Ritchie I grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, but when I was around 11 I started asking questions that made my family uneasy. By the time I reached my teens, I had become an atheist and was starting from square one to get my questions answered. I wanted to have God’s existence proven to me, so I studied different faiths and religions. It was easy to find their flaws; it became a game.

I always considered the Bible “the Good Book,” but then I’d see clergy not doing things right. People saw them as exalted characters, but often they’d do untoward things, like drive a gold-plated Lexus. The hypocrisy turned me off.

I felt spiritual and believed in a higher power, but couldn’t find a religion that worked for me, Then in college I got invited to a party by a girl who was a Baha'i. It was the first time I had heard of the Faith. It seemed strange and unfamiliar. There was no booze, but everybody looked really happy.

I asked for literature and read Baha’u’llah and the New Era. Everything I had wanted was all right there. I had heard institutions talk about systematic change, but the Baha'i Faith actually had an administrative order in place to effect change in the world. I thought, “if we don’t destroy ourselves first, this is where we’ll be: without prejudice, no extremes of poverty and wealth, women treated equally . . .” (the principles of the Baha'i Faith)

I felt like I was putting stock in a company before it took off. Like Bill Gates coming up to you with an idea and you understand what he’s proposing. Whatever you do in this phase you’ll be successful, but not in an egotistical sense. I wanted to see the world change for the better, to do good in this world.

At this point, I was already sold on the Faith, but I wanted to make sure it had no hierarchy – no elders, ministers or trick clauses that put someone above someone else. I wanted to make sure there was no really, really, really fine print. There wasn’t.

As a Baha'i my life has changed all for the better. I’ve learned more respect for women. In fact, I became sort of a feminist, championing women’s rights. There are so many intelligent, confident, self-assured Baha'i women.
I also have a new understanding of race. I’m black – part Haitian, part African-American – and light-skinned; the Colin Powell, Bryant Gumbel type. But I also have locks, and I embrace my being black. As Baha’u’llah says, we’re all one, we were all created by one God.