Study of the Inter-generational Gap of Contemporary Shiites of Afghanistan

Abstract

The expansion of modern cultural and communication institutions in Afghanistan has caused new values, norms, and beliefs, among the new Shiites. Since the values formed among the youth do not have much compatibility with the accepted norms of tradition, the systems of religious identity, tendency, emotions, and feelings have become the center of instability and crisis among generations and it has caused a deep gap between them. This conflict has led to the multiplicity of belief values, cultural erosion, identity crisis, and moral decline of the Shiite society. All these can lead to the destruction of the authentic Shiite culture of Afghanistan. This research studies the inter-generational gap (parents and children) of contemporary Afghan Shiites in Kabul Province, who settled there from different provinces of Afghanistan from 1964 to 2002. This research is applied in terms of objective (problem-oriented), in terms of the type of quantitative-documentary data, and in terms of explanatory and analytical methods. In terms of tools, it is a questionnaire that is used based on a five-point Likert scale to achieve the intergenerational gap (parents and children) of contemporary Afghan Shiites. The findings obtained from the inferential analysis, T-test with two independent samples, indicate that the intergenerational gap has occurred in different parts of beliefs, values, interests, tastes, emotions, feelings, behaviors, and tendencies. Out of the total of 6 hypotheses, only one of them, which is related to symbols, has not been rejected or confirmed.