Investigating the Role of the Traditional Religious Association in Strengthening the Civil Society (Case Study: The Traditional Religious Association’s Actives in Yazd)

Although tradition religious association in traditional Iranian society had specific and well-established religious and social functions, with the extensive changes in Iranian society and its increasing modernization, the relationship of these tradition religious association with the characteristics of the new society has been "Problematic". This means that although on the one hand, all tradition religious association, as "Intermediary Institutions" that provide an opportunity for people to interact and collaborate, play an effective role in strengthening the characteristics of civil society, but on the other hand, not all of them act in the same way. In this study, the three "Ideal Types" of the tradition religious association, reflexivity, Identity-oriented and Movement-oriented, were separated and their relationship with some components of civil society was examined. The type of reflexivity moves towards strengthening civil society by striving for "Civic Education" of members of society and spreading civic messages. By focusing on strengthening the "Shiite Identity", the Identity-oriented type moves more towards the creation of "Traditionalist Societies", and Movement-oriented type, focusing on strengthening the "Jihadi organization", pursues the ideal of "Wilaii society".