Testing the Boundaries: Ritual Intensity and National Belonging in Turkey and Iran

• In Event: Conflict and Belonging Across Borders

Abstract

How do religious rituals shape national belonging in multiethnic societies? Recent theories argue that ritual intensity strengthens individuals’ identification with the nation, yet this proposition has rarely been tested empirically. This article examines the relationship between ritual participation and national identity in two Muslim-majority countries with contrasting ritual traditions: Iran and Turkey. Using nationally representative data from the Iranian Values and Attitudes Surveys (2003, 2015) and the World Values Survey (1990–2018), I employ ordinal logistic regression to analyze two indicators of attachment to the nation-state: national pride and willingness to defend the country. Results show that more frequent ritual participation is strongly and consistently associated with higher attachment to the nation-state in both contexts. However, differences in the intensity of ritual practice lead to distinct outcomes. In Iran, intense Shi‘i rituals increase pride and willingness to defend the nation-state across ethnic groups, narrowing differences between Persians and non-Persians. In Turkey, Sunni mosque attendance raises national attachment overall but leaves Kurds persistently less attached than Turks, even among the most frequent attenders. These findings suggest that ritual participation strengthens national identity, and that its integrative power varies with the intensity of ritual practices: intense rituals bridge ethnic divides, whereas less intense ones leave them intact.

Author

• Ramin Jabbarli, University of Washington