The Baha'i Faith. I was intrigued until...

I have always known that I wasn't a (big C) Christian, even though raised a christian, and believing in christian ways. I believe in treating people right. I just don't believe in the Church. For a long time, I have been happy with the 'Atheist' tag.
As I get older, though, I begin to wonder...

...is it just me, or is Atheism now just an excuse to be a bit loud and obnoxious?

...is it just me, or is faith for most people just dogma, routine and guilt?

...can I lead a more fulfilled, happier existence, if I had a faith?

And so, I began exploring.

New religions fascinate me, mainly because they don't usually have millennia of hearsay and legend embellishing the acts that made the founders so noteworthy. Bahá'í, which began on the evening of 22 May 1844 is somewhat of a spring chicken.
Upon a read of the rather comprehensive [wikipedia] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_Faith) page, there seems to be a healthy emphasis on all the things that most of us hold in high regard:

• Backbiting and gossip are prohibited and denounced. This is truly brilliant. The hurt and low self esteem that can be caused by gossip is horrific.
• Drinking or selling alcohol is forbidden. I can live with that. I lost a friend due to alcoholism.
• Abstaining from partisan politics is required. Fair enough. It hasn't got us very far, really, has it?
• Begging as a profession is forbidden. The emphasis on a strong work ethic is particularly wholesome.
• Bahá'ís over the age of 15 should individually recite an obligatory prayer each day, using fixed words and form. The age limit here is what is important to me. Let children be children. Hearing a 6 year old recite bible passages makes me sad.
• In addition to the daily obligatory prayer, Bahá'ís should offer daily devotional prayer and to meditate and study sacred scripture. If the average person devoted even half as much time to reading or thought as they do reality TV or social media, many of our problems would be dealt with so much more efficiently.
• Adult Bahá'ís should observe a fast each year during daylight hours for 19 days in March, with certain exemptions. Fasting makes you realise how comfortable your life really is, and that some people have to go without, not through their choice.
• There are specific requirements for Bahá'í burial that include a specified prayer to be read at the interment. Embalming or cremating the body are strongly discouraged. Embalming fluids leech into the water table, as does the lead used to line coffins. Why on earth should the dead poison the water of the living? Liquid cremation all the way for me...
• Bahá'ís should make a 19% voluntary payment on any wealth in excess of what is necessary to live comfortably, after the remittance of any outstanding debt. These Huqúqu'lláh payments are to be used for philanthropic purposes. In other words, live within your means, don't get flashy. Debt crushes families and stunts the financial wellbeing of people for years. I have lived through this, and any movement that encourages a health attitude towards both debt and consumerism must be applauded, no matter which camp you sit in.
• One of the fundamental teachings of the Bahá'í Faith is that men and women are equal, and that equality of the sexes is a spiritual and moral standard that is essential for the unification of the planet and the unfoldment of peace. Bahá'í teachings note the importance of implementing this principle in individual, family, and community life.
  In the Bahá'í view, women have always been equal to men, and the reason why women have not achieved this equality yet is because of the lack of adequate educational and social opportunities. Thus Bahá'í teachings stress the need for women's education, not only as a means to increase opportunity for women to help achieve equality, but also since the education of mothers is essential to the proper upbringing of children. Because of the importance of the education of women, the education of daughters takes precedence over that of sons when financial resources do not exist to educate all of the children of a family. Despite the linkage between motherhood and education, `Abdu'l-Bahá encouraged women to excel in arts and sciences, and stated that women's participation in the political sphere would be a prerequisite for peace

However, this is where it all becomes a bit iffy:

• Sexual intercourse is only permitted between a husband and wife, and thus premarital, extramarital, or homosexual intercourse are forbidden.

Oh no. Just when Bahá'í was starting to look like the religion that had all the answers, it seems that, as with many religions, homosexuality, or defining yourself as anything other than a man or a woman, is not allowable.
(I am a heterosexual proud dad and husband, but to me, love happens in lots of ways, who is to say what is right or wrong? Who is to say that someone having the courage to reassign their gender to that which they have always known in their hearts to be truest?)

Well, upon reading a little deeper, it seems that you can, as long as you don't shout about it, or cause The Bahá'í Faith to be pulled into disrepute because of your personal life.

However, the best part is still to come...

Ok, Bahá'í, I think we should explore you a little more.

I am still intrigued.