Rural Development from Within Carpet-Weavers Approaches of Kashan County Villages; Sucesses and Failures

It would be of a particular importance to establish a relationship between "religion" and "labor" in Iranian society. It might be revealed that the Iranian socity would definitely have lots of religious features; it would be even more interesting, however, to extract these religious features in their relations to "labor" phenomenon. German sociologist Max Weber argues that the kind of "work ethics"existing among the Protestants is absent in other religions including Islam. Through a field study, this paper tries to illustrate the features indicating a faithful person tends to be encouraged by religious learnings to earn his/her living. Indeed, an understanding of human communities involves an extraction of cultural attributes. Since every society consists of certain types of roles, statuses, and institutions, starting any study or presenting any suggestions require a study and reflection on these elements as well as understanding their existing relationship. It could be realized that the "religion" phenomenon has a crucial importance in the lives of residents in Kashan county and its nearby villages. This element renders a required power to the people, including carpet-weavers. In a village where the religious roles and institutions are prominent, the residents have succeeded in their economic activities too; in contrast, where the religious institutions are less distinguishable, weaved carpets are sold cheap. A society will be prosperous if its cultural attributes are reasonably noticed without any adverse intervention. The "religion" phenomenon, as a powerful component of the society , can support social development from within.