The Individualization Process of Religiosity in Iran A Study on the Youth of Shiraz

The study of religiosity is a sociological field in need of special attention. The determining role of religion in private and public aspects of the lives of the Iranians throughout the history in general, and the establishment of an Islamic State in 1979, in particular, point to the importance of the topic of transformations in the religious domain. This article, through the analysis of some religious representations, rituals and a few behaviors, which are supposed to be regulated essentially by religious values and norms, propose to study the religious attitude of young people in Shiraz. This research is conducted via open interview among the youth, aged 18 to 32, in different localities. A field observation of two ceremonies, in which the young take part actively, completes the study. The results show that the increasing phenomenon of individualization at three levels is engaged: belief, ritual and daily behaviors. Since the individuals live in a plural world, conveying its values, the religious subjectivity takes on an increasing fluidity and, as the process of individualization carried out in the context of social life, the individual tendencies become more apparent.