A Study of the Acquaintance of Tollāb (Theology Students) in Different Levels of Seminary Schools with the Performance of Velāyat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist) During Four Decades of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The purpose of the present study is to review how much theology students in different levels of seminary schools in Iran are familiar with the performance of Velāyat-e Faqih (guardianship of the Islamic jurist) during the past four decades of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The method of study is survey research by which the functional indices of Velāyat-e Faqih were explored in terms of three distinguished categories of religious, judiciary, and executive guardianship of the Vali-e Faqih according to his duties and authorities in the constitution. Statistical population of the research consisted of male and female theology students aged 18 to 70 studying and doing scientific and missionary works within four levels (1, 2, 3 & 4) in seminary schools and centers in 1395 S.H. Research sample involved 1109 people and the data was analyzed using SPSS software. The results showed that 54/69% of Tollāb have had awareness of the performance of Velāyat-e Faqih in different positions during the past four decades that is evaluated as good in general. Besides, the results showed that some background variables such as Tollāb’s gender, nationality, and parents’ education have no effect on their acquaintance with the performance of Velāyat-e Faqih while some other variables including their marital status, place of living, age, years of education, education level, place of education, and parents’ job have a significant role in this regard.