The Effectiveness of Participating in the Ceremonies of the First Ten Days of Muharram on the Degree of Religiosity of the Mournful (a Case Study on the Students of Nazarabad Azad University, Karaj)

Muharram mourning ceremonies which are common among Muslims, particularly Shi’as, are intended to revive ‘Ashura uprising and promote the spirit of freedom and chivalrousness. These ceremonies are regarded as a kind of cultural behavior which affects other behaviors, including religiosity as a social phenomenon. The present paper seeks to investigate the extent of effectiveness of these mourning ceremonies on the degree of religiosity of the students (male and female) who study at Nazarabad Azad Islamic University in the academic year of 2012-2013 (1391-1392 solar), using a semi-experimental method. The sample includes 90 students (including 52 male students and 38 female students) who were chosen through random sampling. This research used Azerbaijani’s questionnaire on religious orientation, which was conducted in two stages at monthly intervals. The data were analyzed by independent and dependent and one way ANOWA. The results show that the students’ degree of religiosity after the test was significantly higher than that before the test. This significant difference was also detected in the subtests on section orientation. Furthermore, the scores which the female subjects have got are higher than those of the male subjects. It can be said that religious rituals affect students’ religiosity, particularly female students.