Social Fragmentation in the Iight of Subjectivization: A Critical Analysis of the Exploitation of Individual Desires in Modern Era and Its Impact on New Spirituality

According to certain sociological perspectives on the transformation of religious life and spirituality, the emergence of contemporary forms of spirituality is rooted in a broader process of subjectivization in modern society. Having become a generalized cultural process in the West, subjectivization is increasingly diffusing into non-Western contexts, including Iran. Subjectivization entails expressing internal emotions and the orientation of individual life according to personally constructed expectations. This paper, employing a descriptive-analytical approach, seeks to examine the adverse consequences associated with the expansion of subjectivization across diverse spheres of human life. The findings suggest that centralizing inner desires as the basis of value and orientation has consistently rendered them susceptible to exploitation. Political and economic elites, rather than resisting the subjectivization of society, have actively embraced it, strategically manipulating and redirecting individual inclinations to serve their material interests and political agendas. Spiritual authorities, aligning themselves with the logic of subjectivization, have increasingly based the selection of spiritual elements and rituals on individual psychological profiles and inner preferences. As a result, personal desire has come to replace hierarchical, revelation-based systems as the primary source of values and belief structures. At its core, the proliferation of individualistic subjectivization undermines social cohesion, leading to the disintegration of collective existence. This study seeks to foster public awareness while urging cultural policymakers to critically engage with the socio-cultural harms posed by the deepening trajectory of subjectivization.