Overt and Covert Functions of Holy Shrines in Ilam before and after Islamic Revolution (1320-1390)

In religious societies the history of villages, towns and regions has a close relationship with the history of the religious and pilgrimage centers. Such places have overt and covert functions affecting different aspects of social life and are always in evolution. Some significant events such as revolutions have a leading role in this evolution. In this research based on "Merton's Theory", overt and covert functions of Ilam shrines (in the northern part of the province) are compared in two periods; namely before and after the Islamic Revolution. The method of collecting data is exchanging the qualitative data to the quantitative one by using the comparative approach. The data indicated that compared with the period before the Islamic Revolution, there is an increase in overt and covert functions in all of the economic, cultural, political and social backgrounds.