Actor Rainn Wilson claimed he did not visit AU to do stand-up comedy, but he still had the audience laughing throughout his speech about the Bahá'í faith May 24 in the Kay Spiritual Life Center.
Wilson is best known for his portrayal of paper salesman Dwight Schrute in the NBC comedy TV series "The Office."
At the beginning of his talk to AU students and members of the D.C. Bahá'í community, Wilson stressed that he would not focus on his acting career or perform a comedic routine.
"That's a little weird, maybe even a little creepy," Wilson said to a roomful of laughs.
He outlined some of the basic tenets of the Bahá'í faith, including the belief that all of the major religions are part of a higher power's "lesson plan" for humanity, and that each religion has its value in the process of "gradually unfolding a message to humankind."
"Does that mean that the third grade teacher knows less or is worse than the ninth grade teacher? No," Wilson said.
He is also the co-author of “SoulPancake,” a book and website about teaching people to find their own religious path. The website features forums for discussion of major philosophical and religious questions, and the book uses art, questions and exercises to challenge religious norms.
"Ultimately, SoulPancake is a community of people who are digging DEEPER to figure out what it means to be human and to experience this rich, strange, difficult, and awesome journey called life," Wilson says on SoulPancake's website.
He had already been planning a May trip to Washington to work with the Tahirih Justice Center when he reached out to the local Bahá'í community to see if there was a venue where he could speak about the Bahá'í faith. Members of the Bahá'í community at AU worked with other followers in D.C. to put on Tuesday’s speaking event.
Wilson told the audience his spiritual journey began while working as an actor. He felt "unhappy" and "unfulfilled," even though he had finally broken into acting.
He began to read the holy books of the major world religions and found that he could relate to the Bahá'í religion.
"It made the most sense on a practical level," Wilson said.
He was convinced he wanted a religion that had something similar to the Great Spirit of Wonka Tonka, a deity of Native Americans. While watching a Mets game, Wilson and a friend prayed to Wonka Tonka that former Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry would hit a home run to win the game.
And he did.
"True story. Not making it up," Wilson said.
He said he believes the Bahá'í concept that every act is spiritual, especially the creation of art, affirms what he does for a living. Bahá'í teaches that its followers should pursue their talents.
"That is service to God,” he said. “I believe this is my God's purpose. It is to make people laugh, to be an entertainer.”
The Bahá'í faith has something to teach the global community, Wilson said. He stressed that the world, though "colossally broken," could be fixed if people practiced love and service to others.
"We need a spiritual transformation in humankind in order to fix the problems of the world," Wilson said.
Wilson also shared his own advice for AU. He thought the name of the university should be less "boring," preferring "Firework Vomit."
"Something with a lot of, you know, razzle-dazzle in it," he said.
