The Communitarianism Model: An Analysis and Examination of the Relationship Between Islamism and Secularism in Intellectual Currents After the Islamic Revolution

Abstract

Secularism and Islamism are among the socially constructed concepts that emerged under the influence of intellectual and political transformations and present theories concerning the relationship between religion and politics. These concepts possess the necessary capacities to become fundamental subjects within the political and religious literature and sphere of post–Islamic Revolution Iran. The method of this study is based on historical–social analysis, documentary research, and the application of the theoretical framework of communitarianism. The purpose of this research is to analyze and examine the relationship between Islamism and secularism in intellectual currents after the Islamic Revolution based on the communitarianism model. According to this model, in conducting our analysis, examination, and relational assessment, we must pay attention, on the one hand, to the historical context, circumstances, and social and intellectual foundations of Iranian society, and, on the other hand, to the plurality of intellectual groups that present viewpoints in this regard. The communitarian approach, through the epistemological and methodological capacities it provides for the analysis and examination of socially constructed concepts, can be highly applicable to many societies, particularly Iranian society. Furthermore, this approach avoids the pitfalls of the absolutism of modernism and the relativism of postmodernism, both of which, in certain cases, reduce the complexity of these concepts.