An Essay on Religious Value Evolution in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone, Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor of Department of Sociology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Tehran Center, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Oil and gas industry development has been one of the most consequential drivers of social and cultural changes in the south of Iran in recent decades. Industrialization led to different kinds of socialization and brought new values to traditional societies. Religious values are one of the most important cultural values that societies have strong resistance to change. This research aims to shed light on industrial socialization's impact on religious values in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ). Rapid industrial growth in PSEEZ led to pervasive intergenerational cultural changes that reshaped the religious values of these generations, bringing a shift from religious to secular views. We gathered data from a survey between residents (aged 18-65 years old). We divide the sample into three groups (who socialize before; during and after oil and gas industries development in this region). We use SPSS to compare religious values means between groups (ANOVA). The results show that religious values are less common across those below 25 years old. This group was born and socialized after industrial development in the field. The differences between the experiences of the post-industrial birth cohorts and all older cohorts produced significant differences in their religious value priorities and, respondents who grow in the industrial space have more secular beliefs. Simultaneous with value changes between generations that confirm the socialization hypothesis of Inglehart; some changes in older generations' values and some resistances of younger people's religious beliefs both emphasize on modification of Inglehart's socialization theory.

Keywords


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Inglehart, R. F. (2018). Cultural Evolution: People’s Motivations are Changing, and Reshaping the World. New York: Cambridge University Press.

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Parsi, H., Kiaei, H. (2016). “The Impact of Industrial Development on Asalouyeh Residents, Social Status and the Role of Media in Community Participation”, Quarterly of Social Studies and Research in Iran, 5(2), 233-253. Doi: 10.22059/jisr. 2016.59241. (Persian).

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Sedaqatifard, M. (2020). Sociology. Tehren: Arasbaran Press.

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Strulik, H. (2016). “Secularization and Long-Run Economic Growth”, Economic Inquiry, 54(1):177–200. Doi: 10.1111/ ecin.12242.

Voas, D. and Chaves, M. (2016). “Is the United States a Counterexample to the Secularization Thesis?”, American Journal of Sociology, 121(5):1517–56. Doi: 10.1086/684202.

Voas, D. and Chaves, M. (2018). “Even Intense Religiosity is Declining in the United States”, Sociological Science, 5:694–710. Doi: 10.15195/v5.a29.

Weidman, J. C., DeAngelo, L., and Bethea, K. A. (2014). “Understanding Student Identity from a Socialization Perspective”, New Direction for Higher Education, 166:43–51. DOI:10.1002/he.20094.

Wilkins-Laflamme, S. (2016). “Secularization and the Wider Gap in Values and Personal Religiosity between the Religious and Nonreligious”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 55(4):717–36.

Yeganeh, H. (2021). “A cross-national investigation into the effects of religion on gender equality”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, DOI 10.1108/IJSSP-10-2020-0479

Ahadi, B., Seyyed Ameri, M.H., & Rasoolazar, G. (2016). “Vision of Organizational Sociability Components based on Servant Leadership Traits (Case Study; Youth and Sports Department of West Azarbaijan Province)”, Journal of Applied research in sport management, 8 (1), 33-42. (Persian).
Alaqehbqnd, A. (2020). Sociology of education. Tehran: Ravan Press.
Amininejad, G. (2015). “An analysis of socio- economic and cultural effects of southern pars projects & installataions on the villages in Busheher Province”, Spatial Planning, 5(1), 101-122. (Persian).
Amuchástegui, A., Cruz, G., Aldaz, E., & Mejía, M. C. (2010). “Politics, Religion and Gender Equality in Contemporary Mexico: women's sexuality and reproductive rights in a contested secular state”, Third World Quarterly, 31(6): 989-1005, DOI:10.1080/01436597.2010.502733
Becker, S. O., Nagler, M. and Woessmann, L. (2017). “Education and Religious Participation: City-Level Evidence from Germany’s Secularization Period 1890–1930”, Journal of Economic Growth, 22 (3): 273–311. Doi: 10.1007/s10887-017-9142-2.
Cohen, B. (2019). Sociology. Tehran: Samt. (Persian).
Evans, G. and Northmore-Ball, K. (2012). “The Limits of Secularization? The Resurgence of Orthodoxy in Post-Soviet Russia”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(4):795–808. Doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01684.x.
Foster, G. M. (1973). Traditional societies and technological change. HarperCollins Publishers.
Giddens, A. (2020). Sociology. Tehran: Ney. (Persian).
Gorski, P. S. (2000). “Historicizing the Secularization Debate: Church, State, and Society in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, ca. 1300 to 1700”, American Sociological Review 65(1):138–67, Doi: 10.2307/2657295.
Halman, L. and Draulans, V. (2006). “How Secular is Europe?”, The British Journal of Sociology, 57(2):263–88. Doi: 10.1111/j.1468-4446.2006.00109.x.
Hekmatpour, P. (2020). “Inequality and Religiosity in a Global Context: Different Secularization Paths for Developed and Developing Nations”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, DOI:10.1080/00207659.2020.1771013.
Inglehart, R. F. (2018). Cultural Evolution: People’s Motivations are Changing, and Reshaping the World. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kosakowska-Berezecka, N., Besta, T., Adamska, K., Jaoekiewicz, M., Jurek, P., & Vandello, J. A. (2016). “If my masculinity is threatened I won’t support gender equality? The role of agentic self-stereotyping in restoration of manhood and perception of gender relations”, Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 17: 274–284. DOI:10.1037/ men0000016.
Norris, P., and Inglehart, R. (2004). Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Parsi, H., Kiaei, H. (2016). “The Impact of Industrial Development on Asalouyeh Residents, Social Status and the Role of Media in Community Participation”, Quarterly of Social Studies and Research in Iran, 5(2), 233-253. Doi: 10.22059/jisr. 2016.59241. (Persian).
Pollack, D. (2016). “Religious Pluralism: Undermining or Reinforcing Religiosity?”, Society. 53(2):131–6. Doi: 10.1007/s12115-016-9988-5.
Richards, K.A.R., Templin, T.J. & Graber, K. (2014). “The socialization of teachers in physical education: Review and recommendations for future works”, Kinesiology Review, 3(2): 113–134. DOI:10.1123/kr.2013-0006.
Schnabel, L. and Bock, S. (2017). “The Persistent and Exceptional Intensity of American Religion: A Response to Recent Research”, Sociological Science, 4:686–700. doi: 10.15195/v4.a28.
Sedaqatifard, M. (2020). Sociology. Tehren: Arasbaran Press.
Stark, R. (1999). “Secularization, R.I.P”, Sociology of Religion, 60(3):249–73. Doi: 10.2307/3711936.
Strulik, H. (2016). “Secularization and Long-Run Economic Growth”, Economic Inquiry, 54(1):177–200. Doi: 10.1111/ ecin.12242.
Voas, D. and Chaves, M. (2016). “Is the United States a Counterexample to the Secularization Thesis?”, American Journal of Sociology, 121(5):1517–56. Doi: 10.1086/684202.
Voas, D. and Chaves, M. (2018). “Even Intense Religiosity is Declining in the United States”, Sociological Science, 5:694–710. Doi: 10.15195/v5.a29.
Weidman, J. C., DeAngelo, L., and Bethea, K. A. (2014). “Understanding Student Identity from a Socialization Perspective”, New Direction for Higher Education, 166:43–51. DOI:10.1002/he.20094.
Wilkins-Laflamme, S. (2016). “Secularization and the Wider Gap in Values and Personal Religiosity between the Religious and Nonreligious”, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 55(4):717–36.
Yeganeh, H. (2021). “A cross-national investigation into the effects of religion on gender equality”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, DOI 10.1108/IJSSP-10-2020-0479