A Study of the Reaction of Religious Trends (1941-1961) to the Measures Taken by Reza Shah

The measures taken by Reza Shah on religious affairs are broadly divided into two categories: the measures directly opposing religion, and the measures that had anti-religious outcomes. The present article is attempt to study those measures in four sections: the measures taken in the field of religious institutions, those in the field of education, those in the field of rites and rituals and those in the field of relationship between religion and politics.Once Reza Shah abdicated from power, all the social forces erupted just like a volcano. The religious currents too showed their reaction which was not based on class, racial, or guild interests and hence their result was restoration and reconstruction of the religious identity of the society. The traditional Islamic trend, the dissident Islamic trend and the modernist Islamic trend through planned and resistance identities tried to reconstruct the religious identity of the society. The main objective of this article is to offer a typology of the reactions of the religious trends after 1941 based on the challenges posed to the religious identity of the society during the rule of Reza Shah.