Reviving the Social Communication System: A Pillar for Strengthening Religious Democracy

The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between “social communication” and “collective identity” as two fundamental pillars of the realization of religious democracy. Within this framework, the study seeks to demonstrate that the mere individual and quantitative presence of people in political and social arenas is insufficient for achieving religious democracy. Rather, what distinguishes this model of democracy from other democratic paradigms is its emphasis on the “collective identity” of the people as a meaningful and integrated whole. Accordingly, the ultimate objective of the study is to explain how the social communication system can be reconstructed and revitalized in such a way as to facilitate the formation of this collective identity and, ultimately, actualize
the theoretical capacities of religious democracy for state-building and system-building grounded in popular agency. More precisely, by focusing on the communicative dimension, the study seeks to propose an operational strategy for moving from the existing condition—characterized by a qualitative decline in social communication—to a desirable condition in which communication serves as a medium for producing shared meaning and collective solidarity. The central problem of this study arises from an apparent contradiction in the social context of contemporary Iran. On the one hand, the theory of religious democracy, as the foundation of the Islamic Republic, places strong emphasis on the role and collective will of the people in determining their own destiny and regards its realization as dependent upon the active participation of “the people with a collective identity.” On the other hand, empirical evidence indicates that the quality of social communication has declined, while people, despite their apparent engagement in extensive and numerous social networks, are increasingly moving toward individualism. This situation gives rise to the central question of the article: Under conditions in which the foundations of social communication have deteriorated in quality and become increasingly superficial, how can the capacity of the people, understood in its collective sense, be harnessed for system-building and state-building? In other words, the fundamental issue is whether a meaningful relationship exists between the existing system of social communication and the possibility of forming the collective identity required by religious democracy, or whether the two stand in opposition to one another; and, if this relationship has been disrupted, what strategies can be adopted to reconstruct it? This study seeks to provide a theoretical and practical response to this problem by identifying the factors underlying the decline of social communication—including modernity, industrialization, and the dominance of cyberspace—as well as the fundamental differences between patterns of communication in traditional and modern societies. This study adopts a qualitative approach and employs a descriptive-analytical method. First, the conceptual framework of the study was developed through a systematic review and examination of the relevant theoretical literature on religious democracy, collective identity, and social communication. At this stage, data were collected through documentary and library-based research, focusing on authoritative domestic and international sources. Second, drawing on Ferdinand Tönnies’s theory of “Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft” as its theoretical framework, the study analyzes transformations in the communication system of contemporary Iran. The theory was selected because Tönnies clearly distinguishes between two forms of human will—organic/natural will versus rational/arbitrary will—and between two forms of social bonds—community based on natural solidarity versus society based on contract and self-interest. These distinctions correspond closely to the research problem, particularly the differences between traditional and modern systems of communication. Third, using logical analysis and theoretical reasoning, the descriptive findings are interpreted within the framework of Tönnies’s theory. The study then derives and formulates strategies for revitalizing social communication, with emphasis on two principal dimensions: “the transition from a transmission-oriented approach to a ritual-oriented approach to communication” and “attention to state-building grounded in popular agency.” The findings of this study indicate that the system of social communication in contemporary Iran has undergone a fundamental transformation from the “community” model toward the “society” model. In other words, forms of communication grounded in organic will, shared emotions, kinship, neighborhood ties, and tradition-based friendship have gradually given way to forms of communication that are rational, contractual, superficial, and based on individual and instrumental interests. This transformation, driven primarily by processes of modernization, industrialization, urbanization, and, above all, the growing dominance of cyberspace with its networked and fluid characteristics, has resulted in Iranian individuals, despite having numerous and extensive connections across virtual social networks, operating at a more individualistic and isolated level than in the past. The consequence of this process is the loss of society’s capacity to generate a “shared message” and “collective meaning,” whereas religious democracy fundamentally requires such a shared message to realize itself—a message that must emerge from a living, dynamic system of social communication grounded in internal solidarity. In other words, although modern social networks have expanded communication quantitatively, they have not only failed
to contribute qualitatively to the formation of collective identity but, by reinforcing individualism and an instrumental, profit-oriented outlook, have also created conditions for the disruption of the social bonds required by religious democracy. Accordingly, the findings of the study indicate that there is a direct and meaningful relationship between the decline of solidarity-based social communication (the “community” model) and the inability to realize religious democracy. Based on the findings and analyses, this study concludes that revitalizing the system of social communication should not be regarded
as a secondary option, but rather as a fundamental and indispensable pillar for realizing religious democracy in contemporary Iran. To achieve this objective, two key strategies are proposed. First, there should be a shift from the transmission model of communication—which views communication merely as the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver—to the ritual model of communication, which understands communication as participation in a shared ritual and the reproduction of collective bonds. This shift can help redefine the role of media and communicative spaces, transforming them from instruments of information dissemination into platforms for strengthening social solidarity. Second, state-building should be reconceptualized on the basis of popular agency. This means that the process of system-building should not proceed solely from the top down through governing institutions; rather, it should be pursued by activating collective will and empowering social actors at both the local and national levels.