Transformations in Religiosity and the Future of Religious Governance

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

PhD in Political Science and graduate of Qom Seminary, Qom, Iran.

10.22081/psq.2025.69782.2904

Abstract

Continuous examination of transformations in the sphere of religiosity or religious commitment and their potential impacts on religious governance is of great importance for contemporary Iran. This is because in a religious government, a significant aspect of legitimacy is founded on the people's beliefs and attachments, and any shift in religious conceptions can profoundly affect public perceptions of the system’s legitimacy. Accordingly, this article aims to explore the relationship between changes in religious observance and the foundations and trends of religious governance. Like any social phenomenon, religiosity has evolved over time, influenced by multiple factors, losing its former shape among segments of society and adopting new forms and expressions. The fundamental question is: What kinds of impacts will transformations in religiosity have on the future of religious governance in Iran? To answer this, the article also examines how the social significance of religion has changed over the past four decades and how religious individuals express their religiosity in terms of style and behavior. By analyzing the trends of religious commitment over the past twenty years across five dimensions—beliefs, styles of religiosity, rituals, social religion, and religious sentiment—this study seeks to contribute to the theoretical literature on this transformation. The claim is that religious observance over the past two decades has been moving toward greater individualization, a trend that could pose challenges and concerns for a religious government that grounds its legitimacy in the teachings of political Islam. To investigate this hypothesis, a trend analysis of strategic studies conducted on the subject has been employed. The findings indicate that over the past twenty years, beliefs have remained the strongest dimension of religiosity among Iranians. Meanwhile, the emergence of secondary collective rituals, alongside a decline in adherence to primary rituals and a sharp decrease in traditional collective practices (such as congregational and Friday prayers), as well as the increasing prominence of emotional aspects, have convinced many scholars to see these developments as a departure from, or transition beyond, the traditional jurisprudential and theological models toward mystical and ethical/emotional models. During the period studied, the proportion of individuals who define religiosity as having a "pure heart," regardless of performing religious acts, more than doubled. Similarly, a growing segment of religious individuals has moved away from strict adherence to juristic prescriptions and obligatory emulation of a marjaʿ (religious authority). According to the social religion indicators presented in the article, approximately 62% of respondents opposed the use of religious criteria in employment decisions, and many respondents in the most recent survey expressed the view that religion should be separated from politics. Despite the continued presence of heartfelt and inherited beliefs among portions of the populace, the study finds a marked decline in adherence to primary rituals, particularly those with political-religious dimensions. Moreover, a segment of the population shows little sensitivity to violations of divine laws in the social sphere and in some areas they rely on their own reasoning, which, in my view, constitutes a threat to the stability and continuity of the Islamic Republic no less serious than other external threats.

Keywords

References

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