Testing the Boundaries: Ritual Intensity and National Belonging in Turkey and Iran
 

Abstract

How do religious rituals shape national belonging in multiethnic societies? Recent theories argue that ritual intensity strengthens individuals’ identification with the nation. Yet this proposition has rarely been tested systematically. This article examines the relationship between ritual participation and national identity in two Muslim-majority countries with contrasting ritual traditions: Iran and Turkey. Using nationally representative data from the Iranian Values and Attitudes Surveys (2003, 2015) and the World Values Survey (1990–2018), I employ ordinal logistic regression to analyze two indicators of national attachment—national pride and willingness to defend the country. Results show that more frequent ritual participation is strongly and consistently associated with higher national attachment in both contexts. In Iran, emotionally intense Shi’i rituals increase pride and willingness to defend across ethnic groups, narrowing differences between Persians and non-Persians. In Turkey, by contrast, Sunni mosque attendance raises national attachment overall but leaves Kurds persistently less attached than Turks, even among the most frequent attenders. These findings confirm that ritual participation bolsters national identity, but its integrative power depends on the intensity of ritual practice, closing ethnic divides in some contexts while leaving them intact in others.