Globalization and religious identity Emphasizing Gender Differences

This research aims at studying the effects globalization had on religious identity on women and men residing in Tehran in the year of 2011. Today we witness the fact that globalization intensifies social relations worldwide, develops communications, and increases cultural coexistence and interactions through the prominent means (the internet, satellite, etc.). On the other hand, with the increase of cultural interactions, the phenomenon of cultural imperialism happens, and a culture overcomes the other ones. The result would be the appearance of values like relativism, hedonism, and consumerism. The appearance of these values affects the religious identity of the society. This article using Friedman, George Gerbner, Mazryv, and Michael Banduras’ theories is trying to study the globalization effect on religious identity of women and men in Tehran. This is a survey-method research, and the data is gathered via the questionnaire for information related to the statistical society. In general, empirical findings show that as the usage of global means (the internet, satellite) by men and women increases, their religious identity is reduced.