what religion is iran

Iran’s official state religion is Islam, specifically the Twelver Shia branch, and the vast majority of Iranians are Shia Muslims, with a smaller Sunni minority and several small non-Muslim communities.

Quick Scoop: What religion is Iran?

• Official state religion : Twelver Shia Islam (a branch of Shia Islam).

• Majority of population : Around 85–95% of Iranians are Shia Muslims, depending on the source.

• Sunni minority : Roughly 5–10% of Muslims in Iran are Sunni, including many Kurds, Baluchis, some Arabs, Turkmens, and others.

• Recognized non-Muslim minorities :
  • Christians
  • Jews
  • Zoroastrians
    These three are recognized in Iran’s constitution and have reserved parliamentary seats.

• Other religious groups (not officially recognized) : Baháʼís, Mandaeans, Yarsanis, some Hindu and other small communities; these exist but lack the same legal recognition and often face restrictions.

A bit of context

• Iran is officially called the Islamic Republic of Iran , and its political system is built around Shia Islamic law and clerical authority.

• Twelver Shia Islam in Iran emphasizes the line of twelve imams descending from Ali, the cousin and son‑in‑law of the Prophet Muhammad, whose authority Shias see as divinely guided.

• Despite the official label, recent independent surveys suggest a more diverse and changing landscape of personal belief, including some people who identify as non-religious or spiritually inclined outside formal Islam, even if this is not reflected in official statistics.

Simple takeaway

If you’re asking “what religion is Iran?”, the cleanest short answer is:

Iran is a predominantly Shia Muslim country, with Twelver Shia Islam as the official state religion, alongside Sunni Muslims and small Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian minorities.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.