19. McNair was a member of the Bahá’í Faith
The Bahá’í Faith is a religion that preaches the essential worth of all religions and the equality of all people. It dates back to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, who established it in Persia in 1863. Ronald was a committed member of the faith. He first encountered the Bahá’í faith in Lake City in the 1960s, where two local women taught him. Ronald became a lifelong member. He took his fellow astronauts to a prayer meeting the night before their death in January, 1986. When the Challenger exploded on that fateful day, Ronald had his book of Bahá’í prayers with him.
