Mohammad Bakhtiari; Mohammad Hossein Ayoubian
Abstract
Secularism and laicity are two concepts in political science that are usually used interchangeably. However, despite their similarities, these two have many differences. Secularism ...
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Secularism and laicity are two concepts in political science that are usually used interchangeably. However, despite their similarities, these two have many differences. Secularism is a philosophical worldview that looks at the world and explains natural, political and social affairs and phenomena, which of course is divided into branches; But laicity is a type of government in which the institution of religion and the institution of the state are separated from each other and the government is neutral in matters related to religion and belief. Considering this, this article analyzes and interprets the positions of the Fourth National Front in order to find the relationship between this political trend and these two discourses, in order to find a way to explain how it accompanies the spiritual-religious trend on the eve of the Islamic Revolution and to answer the question why the National Front, despite its secular and laicity policy, gave in to some of the religious components of the Islamic Republic.
The results of the article show that the Fourth National Front, like its predecessors, the so-called first to third fronts, has no affinity with the discourse of secularism, however, despite some exceptions, it has generally adhered to laicity. Both before and after the revolution, despite the reliance on religion in the analysis of social and political issues, this trend has been against the direct link between the institution of religion and the state, or the government of clerics and religious leaders. Despite this, due to this minimal closeness to religion on the one hand and the non-insistence of the religious leader of the movement on the rule of the clerics during the revolution on the other hand, the cooperation between the two currents was provided in that era.
