DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Dr. Zahra Khoshk Jan is a political sociologist and researcher specializing in the sociology of religion. Zahra’s research primarily focuses on “the political sociology of religion,” an interdisciplinary field that examines the mutual influences between religion and politics, including political religion and emerging forms of implicit religion, especially in the modern era. She has published multiple papers in Persian and English on the interaction of politics and religion.

As a social constructionist, Zahra is skilled in qualitative research methods, including discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis (CDA), phenomenology, content analysis, and grounded theory (GTM). With more than twelve years of teaching experience, she has taught courses in comparative politics, political psychology, the sociology of revolutions, and sociological theory in Iran. Since September 2023, she has been a visiting assistant professor at the University of Chicago, where she teaches courses such as political sociology of religion, sociology of revolution, sociology of political religion, and sociology of religion in everyday life. 

In addition to two books she has written on social constructionism and political religion, she is currently working on her third book on the politics of suffering and spirituality within Iranian Shia discourse, and secular religious styles of Iranian women as a political resistance, the interaction between language, religion, and politics for constructing identity and power, and the luxury aspect of political religion’s representation in Iran.

Some of Zahra's articles are as follows:
Khoshk Jan, Zahra. 2025. “Religiosity against Religiosity: Reflexive Religiosity in Iranian Women.” Social Compass 72(4): 592–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/00377686241234567

Khoshk Jan, Zahra. 2023. “Sacred Suffering and the Construction of Political Spirituality in Iranian Shiism Discourse.” Critical Research on Religion 11(2): 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/20503032231174205

Khoshk Jan, Zahra. 2022. “Salvation in the Palace: Luxurious Representation of Political Spirituality in Iran.” International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 10(3): 163–177. https://doi.org/10.21427/D7M59N

Khoshk Jan, Zahra. 2015. “Pilgrimage and Its Dual Functions in Iranian Shiism.” International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 4(5): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.21427/D7Q30F