Freedom of religion in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is marked by Iranian culture, major religion and politics. The Constitution of Iran mandates that the official religion of Iran is the Twelver Ja'fari school of Shia Islam, and also mandates that other Islamic schools are to be accorded full respect, and their followers are free to act in accordance with their own jurisprudence in performing their religious rites. The Constitution of Iran stipulates that Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are the only recognized religious minorities. The continuous presence of the country's pre-Islamic non-Muslim communities, such as Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians, had accustomed the population to the participation of non-Muslims in society. However, despite official recognition of such minorities by the IRI government, the actions of the government create a "threatening atmosphere for some religious minorities". Groups reportedly "targeted and prosecuted" by the IRI include Baháʼís, Sufis, apostates from Islam (usually to Christianity), and Muslims who "challenge the prevailing interpretation of Islam". In 2020, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (ICRC) annual statement described the Islamic Republic as a country of particular concern under international law on religious freedom, and the US State Department included the Islamic Republic among the most egregious violators of religious freedom.
Religious demography
With a population of approximately 87 million, approximately 99.4% of Iran is classified as Muslim (as of 2022). US State Dept 2022 report Of these an estimated 90-95% were Shia and 5-10% Sunni (mostly Turkomen, Persians, Arabs, Balochs, and Kurds living in the southwest, southeast, and northwest); although there are no official statistics of the size of the Sufi Muslim population, some reports estimated several million people, while Baháʼís, Christians, Zoroastrians, Mandaeans, and Jews combined constitute approximately one percent of the population.
An independent survey in 2020 showed that Iranians defined themselves as follows; 32% as Shia, 5% Sunni Muslim and 3% Sufi Muslim, as well as 9% atheists, 8% Zoroastrians, 7% spiritual and 1.5% Christian. The Conversation website, article on GAAMAN survey dated September 10, 2020
Status of religious freedom The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that "the investigation of individuals' beliefs is forbidden" and that "no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief." Five seats in the parliament are reserved for the minority religions; two seats for Armenian Christians, one for Assyrian Christians, one for Jews, and one for Zoroastrians. Iran’s Penal Code has no provisions criminalizing apostasy, as of January 18, 2012.
However, the adherents of religions not specifically protected under the Constitution do not enjoy freedom of activity, nor do Muslims who convert to another religion. Constitutional protections of freedom of belief are tempered by the fact that the death penalty has been imposed on the basis of vague charges, such as “‘attempts against the security of the state,’ ‘outrage against high-ranking officials,’ and ‘insults against the memory of Imam Khomeini and against the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic,’” and has been imposed on the basis of crimes like "drug smuggling" that religious (and political) dissidents have no plausible connection with. While there is no specific law against apostasy, courts can hand down the death penalty for apostasy to ex-Muslims, and have done so in previous years, based on their interpretation of Sharia’a law and fatwas (legal opinions or decrees issued by Islamic religious leaders). There are laws against blasphemy and the punishment is death.
Sufis have been sentenced to prison terms for among other charges “establishing and membership in a deviant group.” Ex-Muslim atheists have been harassed. But limits on freedom of religion in the IRI most directly affects adherents of the Baháʼí Faith. The Government regards the Baháʼí community, whose faith originally arose from a movement within Islam, as a misguided or wayward "sect."
In 2004, the Expediency Council approved appending a note to Article 297 of the 1991 Islamic Punishments Act, authorizing collection of equal "blood money" (diyeh) for the death of Muslims and non-Muslims. All women and Baháʼí men were excluded from the equalization provisions of the bill. According to law, Baháʼí blood or anyone' who marries or helps a Baháʼí or gets involved with them is considered mobah, meaning it can be spilled with impunity.
The Government fuels anti-Baháʼí sentiment in the country. Government officials have stated that the Baháʼís are not a religious minority, but a political organization which was associated with the Shah's regime, is against the Iranian Revolution and engages in espionage activities. Nonetheless, government officials have reportedly stated that as individuals, all Baháʼís are entitled to their beliefs and are protected under other articles of the Constitution as citizens. In response to repeated attempts (between 1982 and 1984) by the Iranian representative to the United Nations to convince the United Nations diplomatic community that the Baháʼí Faith is a politicized organization with a record of criminal activism against the Iranian government, the United Nations has stated that there has been no evidence of Iran's claims and that the Baháʼí community in Iran professes its allegiance to the state. The United Nations pointed to the Baháʼí teaching of obedience to the government of one's country and stated that any involvement in any subversive acts against the government would be antithetical to precepts of the Baháʼí religion. The United Nations also stated that if the Iranian government did acknowledge that the Baháʼí Faith is a religion, it would be an admission that freedom of religion does not apply to all in Iran and that it is not abiding by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants on Human Rights to which it is a signatory.
Unlike the Baháʼí Faith, Judaism is a recognized religion in Iran. Despite Iran's official distrust of the country of Israel, the government does not directly attack Judaism itself.
The central feature of the country's Islamic republican system is rule by a "religious jurisconsult." The Supreme Leader of Islamic Republic controls the most important levers of power; he is chosen by a group of 86 religious scholars. All acts of the Majles (legislative body) must be reviewed for conformity with Islamic law and principles by the Council of Guardians, which is composed of six clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader and six Muslim jurists (legal scholars) nominated by the Head of the Judiciary and elected by parliament.
Religious activity is monitored closely by the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance and by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). Adherents of recognized religious minorities are not required to register individually with the Government; however, their community, religious, and cultural events and organizations, including schools, are monitored closely. Registration of Baháʼís is a police function. Evangelical Christian groups have been pressured by government authorities to compile and submit membership lists for their congregations, but evangelicals have resisted this demand. In the early 2000s, non-Muslim owners of grocery shops were required to indicate their religious affiliation on the fronts of their shops.
Restrictions on religious freedom Politics By law and practice, religious minorities can be elected to a representative body or to hold senior government or military positions, and have 5 of a total 270 seats in the majlis reserved for religious minorities. Three of these seats are reserved for members of the Christian faith, including two seats for the country's Armenian Christians, and one for Assyrians. There is also one seat for a member of the Jewish faith, and one for a member of the Zoroastrian faith. While members of the Sunni Muslim minority do not have reserved seats in the majlis, they are allowed to serve in the body. Sunni members tend to come from the larger Sunni communities. Members of religious minorities are allowed to vote. All of the minority religious groups, including Sunni, are barred from being elected president.
Employment Members of religious minorities, are supported in their pursuit of serving in the judiciary and security services. All applicants for public sector employment are screened, irrespective of their faith, for their adherence to and knowledge of Islam, and members of religious minorities can serve in lower ranks of government employment. The constitution states that the country's army must be administered by individuals who are committed to the objectives of the Iranian constitution, regardless of faith. No religious minorities are exempt from military service. Members of religious minorities with a college education could serve as an officer during their mandatory military service but could not be a career military officer.
Education University applicants are required to pass an examination in Islamic theology, which limits the access of most religious minorities to higher education, although all public school students, including non-Muslims, must study Shia Islam. Applicants for public sector employment similarly are screened for their knowledge of Islam.
The Ministry of Education sets the religious curricula of public schools. All schools must teach a course on Shia Islamic teachings and all pupils must pass this course to progress to the next stage of study. Applicants to university must pass an exam on Islamic, Christian, or Jewish theology, based on their official religious affiliation.
Ministry of Education
The condition imposed began from 1981 and were reiterated in the fall of 1983 - the Ministry of Education and Training ordered that religious education must be done in Persian, a text written by the MET must be taught in all registered religious minority schools, schools must seek special permission for any ceremonies, and in keeping with society-wide restrictions, female teachers and students must observe Islamic dress code including Hijab when necessary (this last was re-inforced in 1985.) Even most of the time and occasions, all female citizens, including non-Muslims, are required to wear Hijab as Iran is currently an Islamic republic. There have been other requirements of citizens as well. In 1984 the government began to request religious affiliation on questionnaires for passports. Events held for religious groups were broken into and if the meetings were mixed sexed and or women were not wearing headscarves, arrests were made and meetings canceled. It was prohibited that Muslims attend these meetings of minority groups - some groups restricted events so only their own religious members could attend. There were restrictions on music at events. Many of these restrictions moderated in time or were applied to or affected one religion more vs others (see below) and the government has occasionally also taken steps to bring attention to issues important to a religion - in 1982 the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs printed a stamp commemorating the birth of Jesus.