Religiosity against religiosity: Iranian women’s approach to reflexive religiosity – Dimensions, reasons, and consequences

This qualitative study, employing the Grounded Theory Method, poses a crucial question: Do Iranian women, particularly those of the revolution’s first generation, still adhere to the official religion and its sanctioned religiosity style? The triple coding process of data from 16 semi-structured interviews with women aged 35–45 living in Kerman revealed a significant metamorphosis in their religious meaning system, leading to the construction of ‘reflexive religiosity’ as an alternative to official religiosity. Reflective religiosity, in this context, has been gradually constructed due to Iran’s patriarchal religious and political system and an overarching socio-religious disappointment. This core category represented the construction of a disenchanted worldview, secularized salvation, depoliticalized religion, individualized, self-referential, rationalized, and secular religiosity, emphasizing humanity as the religion. The formation of reflexive religiosity indicates the Islamic Republic’s failure to continue the socialization and meaning-construction process for controlling and keeping women’s bodies and minds docile and obedient.