Basic results of empirical study of religious orientations of Shiite Muslims, which forms part of a larger comparative mass survey of religious orientations of present-day citizens of the Russian Federation (Suni and Shiite Muslims, Russian Orthodox Christians, and Judaists), are presented. 111 respondents, male and female, both aged and young, Shiite Muslims, dwellers of the city of Derbent, Daghestan Republic, Russian Federation, were interviewed with the help of three standard questionnaires, two of which were elaborated by local researchers, and one was a Russian version of the famous Allport-Ross intrinsic/extrinsic religiosity inventory. As a result of the data analysis, rather high level of general religiosity, proper for the whole of the group, regardless of age or sex, was demonstrated. Men, both aged and young, tended to demonstrate higher levels of extrinsic religiosity than women as a whole. The corresponding index was maximal in the case of aged men, although young men also rated quite high. This result was corroborated by an independent measurement of outer religiosity, which turned out to be much higher by men of any age, than by women of any age. Women tended to demonstrate higher level of intrinsic religiosity, than men. The corresponding index reached its maximal level by young women, although aged women also rated rather high. Levels of both intrinsic correlation and the extrinsic one, were linked by strong reverse correlation by women of any age, which made their religiosity especially consistent. Men of any age seemed to follow the same tendency, although much less consistently, in terms of statistic relevance. Thus our earlier conclusions were corroborated, consisting in the thesis that young people, tended to form a new locus of Shiite religiosity, in addition to the older one, proper for aged people. Speaking in general terms, a set of peculiarities proper for Shiite Muslims of different age or sex, was detected, which might be quite useful for the sake of planning structured interfaith / intercultural dialogue with their religious community.
See the article published in the International Journal of Cultural Research.
