Strategic Studies of Culture

Strategic Studies of Culture

Qualitative Study of the Causes and Consequences of the Erosion of Religious and National Identity in Students

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Seyed Ahmad Mir Mohammad Tabar 1
Mojtaba Mohammadi Jalali Farahani 2
1 َAssistant Professor, Department of sociology, Arak University, Arak, Iran. Email: a-mirmohamadtabar@araku.ac.ir. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0440-7011
2 Assistant professor, Counseling department, Farhangian university, Tehran, Iran. Email: m.mohamadijalali@cfu.ac.ir. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4395-0172
10.22083/scsj.2025.515756.1270
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the erosion of religious and national identity has emerged as a major concern in Iran, particularly among younger generations. Empirical studies have reported declining levels of social and national belonging among students and adolescents, attributing this trend to factors such as widespread media use, expanding communication networks, declining social trust, and the limited effectiveness of schools in transmitting cultural and national values. These concerns appear particularly significant in transitional and industrial cities such as Arak, where the social identity index has been reported to be below the national average (Strategic Research Center of the Presidential Office, 2016). Theoretically, globalization and the expansion of digital media have transformed processes of identity formation. Giddens’s (2007) structuration theory emphasizes the changing relationship between social structures and individual agency, while Castells (2010) highlights the role of networked communication in reshaping cultural and national identities. Inglehart’s (2021) theory of cultural change further points to the growing importance of self-expression and individualization. Drawing on these perspectives, this study examines the major causes and consequences of religious and national identity erosion among students in Arak, with particular attention to the changing roles of family, school, cultural institutions, media, and peer groups.
Methods: This research employed a qualitative approach using thematic analysis. The method was selected because of the exploratory nature of the topic and the need to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences and perspectives of experts and educational practitioners regarding religious and national identity. The study population consisted of specialists in the humanities and social sciences, as well as school principals, counselors, and moral education instructors in Arak. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, with interviews continuing until theoretical saturation was reached, that is, until no substantially new information or concepts emerged from the data. In total, 35 in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interview questions focused on participants’ perceptions of religious and national identity, the factors contributing to its erosion, and the potential consequences of this erosion among students. All interviews were recorded with informed consent and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis and a coding process based on the model proposed by Strauss and Corbin (2012), which comprises three stages: open coding (identifying initial concepts in the data), axial coding (establishing relationships among related concepts), and selective coding (integrating the categories into a final conceptual model).
Findings: The participants included 35 individuals: 11 experts in sociology, education, theology, psychology, and the philosophy of Islamic education; 10 school counselors; 8 school principals; and 6 moral education instructors. The qualitative analysis of the semi-structured interviews identified the causes and consequences of the erosion of religious and national identity, which were organized into two overarching themes and sixteen organizing subthemes. In interviews addressing the causes of identity erosion, 53 basic themes were extracted and grouped into nine organizing categories: borderless media and cultural disintegration; peer dominance and informal role modeling; parental absence in identity formation; the “digital corona” and the acceleration of identity change; the crisis of meaning in adolescence; soulless schools and identity-free education; outdated structures and formalistic approaches to upbringing; social dissatisfaction and a weakened sense of belonging; and religious disengagement and the rupture between belief and behavior. In interviews addressing the consequences of identity erosion, 48 basic themes were identified and classified into seven organizing categories: weakening of moral and religious boundaries; social deviance and adolescent vulnerability; civic indifference and social isolation; consumerist and marketized identities; emotional divergence within the family; meaninglessness and motivational exhaustion; and psychological fragmentation and disintegration.
Conclusion: Drawing on Giddens’s (2007) structuration theory and Castells’s (2010) concept of the network society, the findings indicate that the weakening of family, school, and cultural institutions has reduced their capacity to shape religious and national identity, while media, peer groups, and consumer culture have emerged as alternative sources of meaning. Adolescents in Arak increasingly navigate between local and transnational identity fields, contributing to tensions in their beliefs, values, and lifestyles. The erosion of identity therefore reflects not merely media influence or educational weaknesses, but a broader disconnection between meaning-producing institutions and young people’s lived experiences. Reconstructing religious and national identity requires revitalizing intergenerational and institutional dialogue and transforming education from memory-based instruction toward meaning-oriented education.
Keywords
Religious and national identity
reasons
consequences
students
thematic analysis
Subjects
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Strategic Studies of Culture
Volume 6, Issue 3 - Serial Number 23
Summer 2026
Pages 179-212