Investigating the effect of cultural factors (religious orientation) on social indifference and critical thinking in educational institutions (Case study of student-teachers of Farhangian University of Isfahan)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between religious orientation as an important part of the cultural system in society with social indifference and critical thinking among students and teachers of Farhangian University. The research method is survey and the statistical population of all students is the teachers of Farhangian University of Isfahan who are studying on campuses and higher education centers and have spent at least one semester. IBM SPSS Sample Power software as well as Cochran's formula were used to determine the sample size of 331 people. The sampling method is stratified random. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire based on the Glock and Stark Religious Orientation Questionnaire, Ricketts Critical Thinking, and Cooper-Smith Social Indifference. Using Amos software, the model was fitted (with a two-step approach of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation analysis) and then the hypotheses were analyzed. The results according to previous research and theories of scientists and the present study indicate a significant relationship between the level of students' religious orientation with social indifference and critical thinking of student teachers at Farhangian University of Isfahan. The standardized impact factor for the hypotheses was -0.686 and 0.377, respectively. The value of 0.001 for P indicates the confirmation of these hypotheses. In other words, religious orientation is inversely related to social indifference and directly related to critical thinking. Therefore, 95% of the research hypotheses are confirmed with confidence.