Quarterly Journal of Social Development (Previously Human Development)

Quarterly Journal of Social Development (Previously Human Development)

Scientific Beliefs and Social Responsibility in the Corona Crisis: Analysis of the Relationship between Belief in Science and Participation in Crisis Management (Study of two Academic and Seminary Groups)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Mojgan Ghaffarzade Namazi 1
Mohammad Hossein Asadi Davoudabadi 2
Ali Roshanaei 3
1 PhD Student in Sociology, Ashtian Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ashtian, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Ashtian Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ashtian, Iran
3 PhD student in Sociology, Ashtian Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ashtian, Iran
10.22055/qjsd.2026.49822.3079
Abstract
scientific literacy, social trust, and collective action. This study aims to examine the relationship between belief in science and participation in crisis management, focusing on a comparative analysis of two groups in Iran: the academic (university) community and the religious (seminary) community. The research was conducted using a survey method with a sample of 400 participants (200 from each group) in 2020. A stratified sampling method with proportional allocation was employed, dividing the population into two strata (seminarians and academics), and a purposive sample was selected from each stratum. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.894. The theoretical framework of the study integrated Marx's sociology of knowledge, Parsons' structural functionalism, and Merton's scientific ethos to analyze the structural tensions between the two groups within Iranian society. Findings revealed that cultural capital among university participants promoted evidence-based behaviors, whereas seminarians, relying on religious symbolic capital, interpreted the crisis through the lens of “divine destiny”. The results also indicated a significant positive correlation between belief in science and participation in crisis management in both groups, although academics demonstrated a stronger commitment to scientific approaches. Meanwhile, religious insights among seminarians reinforced religious motivations (such as ethical values) as complementary factors in promoting social participation.
Keywords
COVID-19
Belief in Science
Social Responsibility
Crisis Management
Academic Community
Religious Seminary Community
Subjects
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Quarterly Journal of Social Development (Previously Human Development)
Volume 20, Issue 1 - Serial Number 77
Vol. 20, No. 1, Autumn 2025
Summer 2025
Pages 185-208