Document Type : .

Author

• Ahmad Tayyebi

Faculty Member, Department of Islamic Studies, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Religious authority in Islam, particularly within the Shi'a tradition, has historically played a central role in guiding the religious, legal, and social life of Muslim communities. With the expansion of globalization—especially in its cultural, communicative, and epistemological dimensions—the traditional structure of religious authority has faced profound challenges. These include the rise of new communication technologies, increasing epistemic individualism, rapid information circulation, and the weakening of hierarchical structures of knowledge.This study focuses on the institution of religious authority and examines how globalization has reshaped its legitimacy, function, and influence within the framework of Islamic philosophical and theological thought. The central hypothesis is that globalization, by creating a gap between traditional models of authority and contemporary epistemic demands, has led to the redefinition of religious legitimacy and the emergence of new religious actors.The research follows a qualitative methodology based on content analysis of scholarly literature, with a purposive sample of 15 academic books and articles. The findings reveal that Shi'a religious authority, in particular, oscillates between adaptation and resistance in the face of globalization, and is actively engaged in reconstructing its meaning and relevance in the contemporary world.

Keywords

• Religious Authority
• Islamic Theology
• Globalization
• Ijtihad
• Religious Legitimacy
• Theological Challenge