Irreligion in Iran

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Irreligion in Iran has a long historical background, but is difficult to measure, as those who profess atheism are at risk of arbitrary detention, torture, and the death penalty. [1] Non-religious citizens are officially unrecognized by the Iranian government. In the official 2011 census, 265,899 persons did not state any religion (0.3% of total population). [2] Between 2017 and 2022, the World Values Survey found that 1.3% of Iranians identified as atheists, and a further 14.3% as not religious. In the 1999-2004 cycle, the WVS had found 1% identified as atheist and 3% as not religious. [3]

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However, a 2020 social media-based survey by Gamaan found a much larger percentage of Iranians identifying as atheist (8.8%), and a larger fraction (22.2%) identifying as not following any religion. [4] [5] The survey used self-selecting participants, reached through social media and chain referrals. [6] For comparison, the same survey put the number of Muslims in Iran at 40.4%, and Zoroastrians at 7.7%. [4] The Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America put the number of Zoroastrians in Iran at up to 25,271 in 2012, [7] equivalent to 0.03% of an 87.6 million population. [8]

Under Iranian law, apostasy from Islam is punishable by death. Non-religious Iranians are officially unrecognized by the government, and one must declare oneself as a member of one of the four recognized faiths in order to avail oneself of many of the rights of citizenship. [9] [10]

Citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran are officially divided into four categories: Muslims, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians. This official division ignores other religious minorities in Iran, notably the agnostics, atheists and Bahá'ís.

History

The oldest document referring to atheists in Iran, dates back to Zoroaster era where in Avesta, they are referred to as "Ashmoghs", which literally means heretics, apostates, or more precisely atheists. [11]

In Islamic Iran there were also instances of opposition to organised religion. In the 10th century AD, the famous Persian scientist Rhazes famously opposed religion and the divine revelation of prophets in his treatises Fī al-Nubuwwāt (On Prophecies) and Fī Ḥiyal al-Mutanabbīn (On the Tricks of False Prophets).

Further skepticism of the ideas of God could be seen in the quatrains of Omar Khayyam where the compassion of God and the ideas of afterlife are continuously questioned. This work was also written in the 10th century.

Under the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 until the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979, atheism was tolerated though not officially accepted. With the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (the northern neighbour of Iran), the Iranian communist Tudeh Party enjoyed considerable popularity among educated urban Iranians especially in the late 1940s and 1960s, and atheism (a tenet of Marxism–Leninism) grew in popularity. For example, Karo Derderian, the Armenian-Iranian poet and brother to the famous singer Viguen, famously wrote poetry rejecting both God and religion.

After the Islamic revolution

Even when atheism was tolerated by the Iranian governments, the vast majority of people in Iran have remained religious. However, with the Islamic revolution, irreligion became a political issue, and a disorder to be suppressed by Muslims.

Mehdi Bazargan wrote that "to view Islam as an opposition to Iranian nationalism is tantamount to destroying ourselves. To deny Iranian identity and consider nationalism irreligious is part and parcel of the anti-Iranian movement and is the work of the anti-revolutionaries". [12]

Contemporary

According to the Ali Reza Eshraghi, the problem with today's Iranian society is that few political or religious critics are willing to recognise or understand the “popular religion.” In other words, both the Islamic regime and its opposing elites are not fond of the manners in which the laymen practice religion. Therefore, instead of relying on empirical observation they prefer to simply speculate about the religiosity of this very complex society. Measuring religiosity is not a simple task. The criteria are different among the social scientists. In 2012 only, Iranian scholars held thirteen sessions in Tehran to discuss the criteria.The limited research on this matter suggests that Iranian society is still a religious one. A study in 2009, conducted by two Iranian sociologists – Abbas Kazemi and Mehdi Faraji – conclude that in comparison to 1975, four years before the revolution, Iranians are still considerably very religious. The number of Iranians who pray or participate in socio-religious rituals has remained relatively unchanged. The number of people who fast has even increased. At the same time, as another sociologist Amir Nikpey says, Iranians have become modern and secular “without becoming anti-religion.”. [13]

Some Iranian feminists have also been noted as being irreligious and atheistic. [14]

Patriotic Iranian youth who fought and died in the Iran-Iraq War were often lacking in Islamic religious zeal, government mythology notwithstanding, [15] and the Iranian youth are among the most politically active among the countries of the Islamic world. [16] As the most restive segment of Iranian society, the young also represent one of the greatest long-term threats to the current form of theocratic rule. [16] After the 2009 presidential election, youth was the biggest bloc involved in the region's first sustained “people power” movement for democratic change, creating a new political dynamic in the Middle East. [16] Iran is one of the most tech-savvy societies in the developing world, with an estimated 28 million Internet users, led by youth. [16] Most young Iranians are believed to want to be part of the international community and globalization. [16]

Persecution

Iran was reported by The Washington Post to be among the thirteen countries where atheism can attract capital punishment. [17] The last noted legal execution for apostasy in Iran was in 2014, when Mohsen Amir-Aslani was convicted and executed for making "innovations in religion" and insulting the Prophet Jonah. [18] Others, such as Youcef Nadarkhani, Saeed Abedini have been recently harassed, jailed and sentenced to death for apostasy.[ citation needed ]

List of irreligious Iranians

Among the Iranian diaspora

Iranian Americans

A significant number of Iranian-Americans are irreligious. [9] [ failed verification ] According to Harvard University professor Robert D. Putnam, the average Iranian-American is slightly less religious than the average American. [19] In the book, Social Movements in 20th Century Iran: Culture, Ideology, and Mobilizing Frameworks, author Stephen C. Poulson adds that Western ideas are making Iranians irreligious. [20] [ page needed ]

A 2012 national telephone survey of a sample of 400 Iranian-Americans in the Los Angeles area, commissioned by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans and conducted by Zogby Research Services, asked the respondents what their religions were. The survey had a cooperation rate of 31.2%. Additionally, the number of Muslim Iranian-Americans decreased from 42% in 2008 to 31% in the 2012 survey. [21] [22]

European Iranians

The Central Committee for Ex-Muslims was founded by Dutch-Iranian Ehsan Jami with an aim to support apostates and to bring attention to women's rights violations. [23]

A British-Iranian organisation, Iranian Atheists Association, was established in 2013 to form a platform for Iranian atheists to start debate and question the current Islamic republic’s attitude towards atheists, apostasy and human rights. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, rationalism, and secularism. These perspectives can vary, with individuals who identify as irreligious holding a diverse array of specific beliefs about religion or its role in their lives.

Islam entered Iran with the Muslim conquest (637–651) and led to the end of the Sasanian Empire and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran (Persia). Since its establishment after the 7th-century conquest, Islam has remained the state religion of Iran except for during a short period after the Mongol invasions and subsequent establishment of the Ilkhanate in the 13th century. Following the Muslim conquest, there was a slow but steady movement of the population toward Islam, despite notable resistance, with nobility and city-dwellers being the first to convert, and the peasantry and the dehqans, or land-owning magnates slower to do so. By the 10th century, the majority of Persians had become Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoroastrianism in Iran</span> Overview of the Zoroastrian populace in Iran

Zoroastrianism is possibly the oldest religion in Iran. Founded around the middle of the second millennium BCE, the religion spread through the Iranian area through conversions and eventually became a state religion in the Achaemenian Empire in the 6th century BCE. The religion still survives to this day in small communities, mostly located in present Iran and India. The Zoroastrians in India are called Parsis.

Accurate demographics of atheism are difficult to obtain since conceptions of atheism vary considerably across different cultures and languages, ranging from an active concept to being unimportant or not developed. Also in some countries and regions atheism carries a strong stigma, making it harder to count atheists in these countries. In global studies, the number of people without a religion is usually higher than the number of people without a belief in a deity and the number of people who agree with statements on lacking a belief in a deity is usually higher than the number of people who self-identify as "atheists".

Discrimination against atheists, sometimes called atheophobia, atheistophobia, or anti-atheism, both at present and historically, includes persecution of and discrimination against people who are identified as atheists. Discrimination against atheists may be manifested by negative attitudes, prejudice, hostility, hatred, fear, or intolerance towards atheists and atheism or even the complete denial of atheists existence. It is often expressed in distrust regardless of its manifestation. Perceived atheist prevalence seems to be correlated with reduction in prejudice. There is global prevalence of mistrust in moral perceptions of atheists found in even secular countries and among atheists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secularism in Iran</span>

Secularism in Iran was established as state policy shortly after Rezā Shāh was crowned Shah in 1925. He made any public display or expression of religious faith, including the wearing of the headscarf (hijab) and chador by women and wearing of facial hair by men illegal. Public religious festivals and celebrations were banned, Shia clergy were forbidden to preach in extremist ideas.

Religion in Iran has been shaped by multiple religions and sects over the course of the country's history. Zoroastrianism was the main followed religion during the Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire. Another Iranian religion known as Manichaeanism was present in Iran during this period. Jewish and Christian communities thrived, especially in the territories of northwestern, western, and southern Iran—mainly Caucasian Albania, Asoristan, Persian Armenia, and Caucasian Iberia. A significant number of Iranian peoples also adhered to Buddhism in what was then eastern Iran, such as the regions of Bactria and Sogdia.

Irreligion is present among a minority of mainly young people in Pakistan. Atheists in Pakistan face discrimination, persecution, and prejudice in society. Pakistan is reported by some sources to be among the thirteen countries where atheism can attract capital punishment, but according to the Library of Congress of the United States, "there is no specific statutory law that criminalizes apostasy in Pakistan." On the other hand, the Pakistani government can impose the death penalty for blasphemy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Estonia</span>

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Irreligion in the Netherlands pertains to atheism, agnosticism, and other forms of irreligion in the Netherlands. Irreligion is the majority religious position in the country since around 2015, making the Netherlands one of the minority of mostly irreligious countries in the world. After that, there is still a very large and prominent Christian minority, plus a large irreligious but former Christian minority. Also, about a million, mostly Sunni Muslims make up about a 5% Islamic minority, making Islam the second biggest religion in the Netherlands – a new development through immigration, mostly since ca. 1970. Until World War II, the Netherlands had a small but influential Jewish minority for centuries. The Holocaust all but irradicated them, but not the Jewish influences in Dutch history and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Egypt</span> Lack of religious belief or religion by some of Egypts population

Irreligion in Egypt is controversial due to the prominence of conservative social traditions and the persecution by the religious institutions in the country. It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Egypt, as the stigma attached to being one makes it hard for irreligious Egyptians to publicly profess their views and beliefs.

China has the world's largest irreligious population, and the Chinese government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are officially atheist. Despite limitations on certain forms of religious expression and assembly, religion is not banned, and religious freedom is nominally protected under the Chinese constitution. Among the general Chinese population, there are a wide variety of religious practices. The Chinese government's attitude to religion is one of skepticism and non-promotion.

Irreligion, atheism and agnosticism are present among Albanians, along with the predominant faiths of Islam and Christianity. The majority of Albanians lead a secular life and reject religious considerations to shape or condition their way of life.

Irreligion in Yemen is uncommon among Yemenis, as Islam is the predominant faith. It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists in Yemen, as they are not officially counted in the census of the country. There is a great stigma attached to being an atheist in Yemen, so many Yemeni atheists communicate with each other via the internet.

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Irreligion in Latin America refers to various types of irreligion, including atheism, agnosticism, deism, secular humanism, secularism and non-religious. According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2014, 8% of the population is not affiliated with a religion. According to Latinobarómetro, the share of irreligious people in Latin America quadrupled between 1996 and 2020, from 4% to 16%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Croatia</span>

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Irreligion in Latvia pertains to atheism, agnosticism, and lack of religious affiliation in Latvia. Irreligious thought in Latvian history is associated with national identity and a period of Communist rule. The irreligious make up a significant minority group in Latvia today, with 29% of Latvians identifying as irreligious.

Malaysia, a primarily Muslim country located in peninsular and insular regions of Southeast Asia, has a government heavily influenced by Islamic law, which expresses anti-heretical and anti-atheist views. Notably, in 2017, the official Shahidan Kassim faced backlash for threatening to "hunt down" atheists in response to a meeting of members of Atheist Republic.

References

  1. ↑ "2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran". United States Department of State . Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  2. ↑ SCI (2011). Selected Findings of National Population and Housing Census Archived 2013-05-31 at the Wayback Machine . Tehran: Statistical Centre of Iran, p. 26, ISBN   978-964-365-848-9.
  3. ↑ "WVS Database". World Values Survey . Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  4. 1 2 "Iranians' Attitudes Toward Religion: A 2020 Survey Report". Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN). Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  5. ↑ Maleki, Ammar; Arab, Pooyan Tamimi (10 September 2020). "Iran's secular shift: new survey reveals huge changes in religious beliefs". The Conversation. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Maleki, Ammar; Arab, Pooyan Tamimi (August 2020). "Iranian's attitudes toward religion - A 2020 survey report" (PDF). GAMAAN.
  7. ↑ Rivetna, Roshan. "The Zarathushti World, a 2012 Demographic Picture" (PDF). Fezana.org.
  8. ↑ "Iran", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2024-03-13, retrieved 2024-03-24
  9. 1 2 Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans. Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA)/Zogby, December 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Disparaging Islam and the Iranian-American Identity: To Snuggle or to Struggle". payvand.com. 21 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2022-03-26.
  11. ↑ "Atheism in Ancient Iran" . Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Iranian identity iv. 19TH-20th centuries at Encyclopædia Iranica
  13. ↑ "Iranians under the Islamic regime: more or less religious?". aljazeera.com. August 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ Making History in Iran: Education, Nationalism, and Print Culture. Stanford University Press. 2015. ISBN   9780804791533.
  15. ↑ "A different view of Iran's soldiers". Los Angeles Times . September 14, 2008.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Youth". usip.org. 6 October 2010.
  17. ↑ Fisher, Max (10 Dec 2012). "The seven countries where the state can execute you for being atheist". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 December 2012. Though that list includes some dictatorships, the country that appears to most frequently condemn atheists to death for their beliefs is actually a democracy, if a frail one: Pakistan. Others include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, the West African state of Mauritania, and the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean.
  18. ↑ "Iran executes man for heresy". The Guardian. September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Losing Our Religion: The Growth Of The 'Nones'". NPR. 13 January 2013.
  20. ↑ Social Movements in 20th Century Iran: Culture, Ideology, and Mobilizing Frameworks. Lexington Books. 2005. ISBN   9780739117576.
  21. ↑ "2012 NATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY of IRANIAN AMERICANS regarding Potential Military Strike Against Iran" (PDF). paaia.org. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
  22. ↑ "Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans" (PDF). PAAIA. December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Reacties stromen binnen bij Comité voor Ex-moslims" [Reactions flows within the Committee for Ex-Muslims], NU.nl (in Dutch), 2 June 2007
  24. ↑ "Iranian Atheists Association: About Us". Iranian Atheists Association. Archived from the original on 2015-09-17. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
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