نقش و عملكرد دين در وضعيت انقلابي بررسي تطبيقي انقلاب فرانسه و ايران

The Role and Function of Religion in Revolutionary Situation: A Comparative Study of the Iranian and French Revolutions

This article attempts at a comparative study of religion in the contexts of the Iranian and French Revolutions. A quick survey of the background and formation processes of the French Revolution of 1789 and its consequences indicates that the Catholic Church and the Christian belief as major ingredients of the ruling system contributed to the maintenance of the status quo and thus were disregarded by the revolutionaries and later came under their assault. In other words, Christianity did not only lack a role in the revolutionary mobilization of France, but also it assumed some antimobilizing positions in the radicalization period of the Revolution. The same issue took quite different form and substance in the Iranian Revolution of 1979, where religion through taking ideological position, undertook the leadership and organized the revolutionary mobilization. This recorded a new experience in a chain of revolutions. The comparative survey of the Iranian and French Revolutions shows that the respective differences, aside from influencing structures, are due to two factors. First, Islamic and Christian teachings are distinct. The second factor must be sought in the historical performance and synchronic sociopolitical positions of custodians of these two religions .