Iranian Journal of Sociology

Abstract Rites of passage consist of three stages: the beginning, the middle, and the end. These rites involve the roles of a mentor and spectators, and the inability to complete them leads to frustration and social stigma. There is no return to the previous stage in rites of passage. A similar situation can be observed in migration, where a specific decision marks the start of the rite of passage. Individuals go through hard stages like legal and regulatory preparations and soft stages like changing habits and lifestyles. Preparing for migration can be seen as a kind of rite of passage, where the mentors, rituals, and rules gradually become defined and recognized. Entering the rites of migration involves a suspension of life that can be brief or prolonged. Migration without any changes in lifestyle is rare

Abstract Fereydunkenar County, as one of the most important wetland habitats and migratory bird routes, has long faced widespread illegal hunting. The present study aimed to explain illegal bird hunting in this county based on the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory. The research method was a survey, and the data collection tool was a questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of individuals over 15 years of age in the urban areas of Fereydunkenar. Using Cochran’s formula and stratified sampling, a sample of 403 respondents was selected. The findings revealed that environmental values had a positive but weak effect on beliefs (β = 0.14), beliefs had a positive and moderate effect on personal norms (β = 0.32), and personal norms had a strong negative effect on illegal bird hunting (β = -0.50). The independent variables explained approximately 25% of the variance in illegal hunting.

Abstract Elections, beyond selecting decision-makers and holders of political power, provide an arena for interactions among political actors. This study aims to identify the issues of contention and explain the pattern of interaction among political actors during Iran’s Ninth Presidential Election. Using a qualitative approach and content analysis of documents and newspapers, the study examines political positions and actions during the first three months of 2005. The findings show that disputes emerged at four levels: fundamental and ideological issues; power and institutional authority; institutional and functional issues; and social and cultural issues. Although competition for political power provided the main framework for electoral interactions, many disputes went beyond electoral competition and developed into political, discursive, and institutional confrontation. Accordingly, conflict was the dominant pattern of interaction. Disagreements over the goals and values of the political system and the boundaries and distribution of power were the main factors underlying this pattern.

Abstract  A song is a poetic-musical format that has been in line with people's requests and interests throughout history. These songs belong to the mass of people and as a result They have the most influence from popular culture. In the 1950s, coinciding with the end of Pahlavi rule, a kind of religious belief was formed among the intellectuals, which was defined exclusively in the face of tyranny; As a result, dealing with sacred images and religious myths became a kind of protest. Therefore, the main focus of this research is document analysis of the dominance of religious beliefs among modern songwriters and how these songwriters deal with sacred images and analysis of prominent songs with the theme of religious myths. The result of this research shows that the interest in depicting religious images in the songs of the second Pahlavi era has an apocalyptic aspect, and the singer seeks to find similarities between his era and the era of the saints with an allegorical view.  

Abstract After the Islamic revolution, a religious discipline became dominant. This question appeared whether in postrevolutionary society people are more religious. In previous researches, it is mentioned that there is a gap in religiosity data. The gap is between religious believes, experiences, and emotions on one side and collective rituals on the other side. Also, the gap is between individual religious behaviors on one hand and collective rituals on the other hand. It is rarely discussed the gap inside the collective rituals. However, it is an important gap that enables us to analyze the religiosity in contemporary Iran through concepts other than secularization and privatization of religiosity. According to secondary analysis of data from two national surveys in 1390 and 1395, secondary rituals like pilgrimage were considerably popular. People turn to these rituals relying on their emotions. Besides, self-referential religiosity that is based on emotions has become important. Based on this, religious crowds have been formed which could be an important base to reproduce the dominant ideological apparatus. The duality of religious crowds and formal religiosity does not give us a realistic depiction. Nor does the duality of formal and individual religiosity. Furthermore, although the centrality of emotions and desires can lead to the formation of creative subject- as Alain Touraine said- but looking at the policies of government on secondary collective rituals, it is more probable that it will lead to the merge of the individual into the crowd. In this way, the ideological apparatus of the state will be reproduced and authoritarianism will be strengthened. The study of religious literature in Iran indicates a change in the ideological apparatus of the state from emphasizing individual worship such as prayer and fasting to collective rituals and sacred spaces.
 

Abstract The widespread and sudden emergence of Generation Z in recent protests and movements in Iran, particularly in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, has drawn the attention of policymakers and researchers to this generation. The characteristics and distinctions of Generation Z compared to other generations in Iran have become a key question for scholars, intellectuals, and even politicians.
Using the meta-synthesis method, this study examines, analyzes, and integrates various findings from credible scientific articles on Generation Z published over the past decade (2011–2024) to present a clear and well-founded picture of the differences and similarities of this generation in terms of values and perspectives.
The study’s findings, based on categorization and extraction of codes and concepts, identify distinct characteristics of Generation Z in four areas: family, religion, workplace, and politics. These findings form the central theme of this study: Decline of Compliance / Reduction of Submission, referring to the diminishing respect for authority across all four domains—family, religion, politics, and professional environments.
In the family domain, the decline in respect for authority is reflected in critiques of patriarchy and a stronger sense of identity independence. In politics and the workplace, it manifests as distrust of institutions. In the religious sphere, disenchantment and rejection of tradition are the key concepts that best describe the characteristics and distinctions of Generation Z in contemporary Iran.
Based on the analysis of existing research on Generation Z’s generational relations with preceding generations, two perspectives—continuity and disillusionment—can be considered. This suggests a relationship with parents that is both conciliatory and distinct, while tensions exist with the ideological and revolutionary generation that shaped the dominant discourse.
 

Abstract Focusing on the representation of "the people" in key cinematic works of the second Pahlavi period, this article investigates how the populace was represented in Iranian New Wave cinema during the 1940s and 1950s [the 1340s and 1350s SH decades]. Grounded in the dual theoretical framework of representation/reflection and shaping within the sociology of art, and employing a qualitative content analysis of fifteen landmark films by five defining directors of the Iranian New Wave, the paper examines a wide spectrum of theoretical readings regarding Iranian people's agency through these cinematic representations. Regardless of the breadth of these representations—spanning a continuum from "self-conscious and creative people" to "alienated and passive people"—the study demonstrates that the reflection of the populace in these cinematic works has been constructed primarily around two central identities of class and religion. Most films depict the people as alienated, unawakened, and passive.

Abstract Lefebvre considers space as a fundamental component in the functioning and organization of society within the framework of historical models of production. In his point of view, capitalism has produced a kind of abstract space that is a reflection of the trading world. In the current research, an attempt has been made to study the formation of abstract space in Tehran and its conditions of the possibility. In Iran, the encounter with the abstract space of capitalism has occured during the Naseri Era, but due to the absence of mediators such as Law and the State, the conditions for the formation of an abstract space have not provided. Due to the Constitutional Revolution and the resulting law, as well as the formation of the modern government, these conditions have been provided, the city has dominated the rural, and capitalism begins to create its own space.
 

Abstract Marriage under the age of 15 is called early marriage or child marriage, which is a sign of discrimination and violence against women. This phenomenon is a global problem and it is increasing in developing countries due to economic and cultural factors The paper aims at discovering the relationship between macroeconomic indicators and early marriage during .2010-2013 based on the data provided by Iran Statistical Centre. This is a "secondary analysis" based on previously collected data. The statistical population of the study are all 31 provinces of the country and the time interval between 2011 to 2021 have been studied. Excel and SPSS 25 data analysis tools and Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regressions were used. Pearson's test shows that provinces with higher unemployment rate (r=0.366) and higher fertility rate (r=-0.363) had the highest rate of early marriage. Finally, the regression model indicates that the macroeconomic index variables (coefficient Gini = 0.334, unemployment rate = 0.321, changes in inflation rate = 0.297, and changes in the Gini coefficient = 0.282 have a significant effect on the rate of early marriage in all provinces respectively. As a result, it can be said that increase in the rate of inflation and unemployment as well as Gini coefficient between 2012 and 2021 are significant factors in explaining increase the proportion of marriages under 15 in all provinces of the country

Abstract This research examines the role of social organization among rural migrants in the city and its impact on local development, focusing on the perspectives of Portes and Boomsma within the Tehran-Vila neighborhood in Tehran's District Two. The study employed a qualitative approach with a grounded theory strategy. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and narratives from 40 individuals (comprising three generations of migrants, including 13 women and 27 men) in Tehran-Vila (destination) and Bidok Yazd (origin), along with insights from 6 key informants, focus group sessions, field observations, and analysis of secondary statistical data. The resulting analysis identified the core category as "Migrant Social Organizations as Facilitators of Local Development." The findings indicate that the social organizations of rural migrants have acted as democratic institutions; by creating support networks and strengthening a sense of belonging to the neighborhood, they have contributed to improving the quality of life, enhancing social solidarity, and facilitating residents' participation in local development processes.

Abstract The current research aims to analyze the mechanisms of capital preservation by non-institutional actors and how to deal with Kolbary through the description of Kolbary field. In order to achieve this goal, the Structuration theory of Anthony Giddens was used to formulate concepts. The research method is critical ethnography with Karspeakan approach and the study field of Baneh border region, 25 informed and involved people were selected for semi-structured interview by purposeful and snowball sampling method. Based on the results, Kolbari field has the characteristics of authoritarian-exploitative relations, one-sided planning of the Kolbary process, absence of collective agency, unfair distribution of profit and risk, and the priority of goods over Kolbar. Actors beyond the appropriate and natural channels of situation, invisibility, breaking camouflage; The creeping advance is trying to stabilize the position and continuity of Kolbary.Through the mediation of Kolbary, as the main survival tactic, in various ways, by rebuilding a kind of moral life, and through mechanisms such as compromising acceptance, accepting the dangers of Kolbary, justification, and negative struggle, they accept and perpetuate Kolbary. In the end, the existing inequalities in the field of border trade between the inferior groups and other groups should be evaluated in their weakness in mobilizing resources and non-participation in the dialectic of control, in other words, the lack of agency.