A Comparative Study of Cultural Policy-Making Models of the Vatican and Āstān Quds Rażavī Based on Strategic Documents and Cultural Activities

Abstract

The Catholic Church and Shi‘ism represent two historically rich currents within the great religions of Christianity and Islam. The Vatican, as the central authority of the Catholic Church, possesses the most extensive and organized religious structure in the world. Conversely, within the Shi‘ite tradition, Āstān Quds Rażavī (the Custodianship of the Shrine of Imam Riżā) can be regarded as the most dynamic and active religious center of Shi‘ism. From the Safavid period onward, Āstān Quds Rażavī developed into a vast and influential institution within both the Shi‘ite and broader Islamic world, and after the Islamic Revolution, it emerged as the most impactful religious and cultural organization at national and transnational levels of Shi‘ite life. The Vatican serves as the permanent seat of the Popes and functions as the administrative and spiritual headquarters of the Catholic Church, whereas Āstān Quds is an Islamic institution centered on the sacred shrine of Imam ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Riżā. Both institutions conceive their primary mission as cultural and have, in pursuit of this vocation, undertaken the formulation and codification of cultural policies and strategic orientations. The principal focus of this research is to comparatively analyze the models of cultural policy-making developed by these two institutions on the basis of their official strategic documents and cultural activities. The study first provides a comprehensive introduction to both institutions, with particular emphasis on their strategic documents, and then identifies their dominant approaches and policy-making models to conduct a comparative examination of their frameworks, structures, and guiding principles.