Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

The present paper seeks to propose a model based on Islamic sources for assessing religiosity among Muslims. In recent decades, researchers have conducted some research projects on empirical assessment of the conditions of religiosity in Iran. However, these projects have some defects, the most important of which are: no attempts were made to propose a native model for assessing religiosity and using western and Christian models instead. No doubt, some researchers have tried to develop and apply some native models, but these attempts were not very successful. Admitting that for more than fifty years empirical and field studies were made on the kinds, scale and changes of religiosity, and pointing to Hill and Hood's typology of the kinds of western scales for assessing religiosity, the present paper discusses the most important criticisms directed against these scales. Then it casts light on and criticizes some of the native models for assessing religiosity. Finally, it proposes a native model for empirical assessment of religiosity based on Islamic sources.