There is little doubt that the Zoroastrian community faces many serious challenges, some of which are deep-rooted and complex, with no easy fix or resolution. To understand the community at a deeper level, an independent research project – Gen Z and Beyond Survey – was proposed and is now underway. The project consists of a completely anonymous survey that is conducted, in a simple and straight-forward manner, with (Iranian / Parsi / Irani) Zoroastrians and their relatives.

The Gen Z and Beyond Survey was launched by the Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Zoroastrian Studies (SSPIZS) at SOAS, University of London, on 16 August, 2021, after obtaining the necessary approvals from SOAS’s Research and Ethics Panel (REP). SOAS is a highly respected academic institution with decades-long connections to Zoroastrian associations and organisations in the UK, India and Iran. SOAS provides a neutral platform for research. Its researchers do not support any particular outcome from the survey, nor could they influence the data being collected.

The Gen Z team is now publicising and distributing the survey questionnaire. This has caused some concern within community members about the eligibility criteria, the questions included, and the survey’s anonymity. We would like to allay those fears and clear up misunderstandings here.

The survey is open to people aged 18 and over who have:

• Two (Iranian / Parsi /Irani) Zoroastrian parents, or
• A (Iranian / Parsi /Irani) Zoroastrian father, or
• A (Iranian / Parsi /Irani) Zoroastrian mother, or
• At least one (Iranian / Parsi /Irani) Zoroastrian grandparent, or
• A (Iranian / Parsi /Irani) Zoroastrian spouse  

It is important to clarify that it is not within our purview to determine what constitutes identity and decide who is and who is not a Zoroastrian. We have chosen these categories so as to include multiple voices, even those who do not profess the Zoroastrian religion but are related to a (Iranian / Parsi /Irani) Zoroastrian in one of the ways outlined above. This is in the interests of research and should provide a useful resource both, for Zoroastrians and non-Zoroastrians, going forward. It is not intended to divide or cause controversy within the community. Data from the individual categories will be collated and analysed separately.

The survey questionnaire is wide-ranging and includes questions about domestic and family life, professional aspirations, religious observances and beliefs, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, immigration, community engagement and other issues of importance and relevance to the (Iranian / Parsi / Irani) Zoroastrian community. All responses are completely anonymous, with no way of linking individual responses to the details used to sign up for the survey. Each email address or mobile number can only be used to sign up for the survey once. If someone requests a new survey invitation, their previous invitation is deleted.

At the end of the survey, the Gen Z team will analyse the data and produce a report, with results being presented separately for each category. The report will not make judgements or recommendations, and it is hoped the findings will be useful to community leaders and researchers in the present and future. The scope of this survey goes beyond political viewpoints, aiming to understand all aspects of (Iranian / Parsi / Irani) Zoroastrian life today.

All data that is collected is subject to strict data protection regulations. The raw data, on which the findings will be based, will be stored in perpetuity in an archive such as the UK Data Archive and be made available for anyone with a genuine interest in the data.

For the survey to be a success, it needs the support of the wider community. We have had tremendous support thus far from our Ambassadors and Volunteers. For instance, over the Diwali holidays last year, a competition was organised between groups of children of the XYZ Foundation to see which team could collect the greatest number of completed survey responses. The competition was run and managed by the Foundation’s (adult) volunteers who helped the children answer questions about the survey and tallied the results, with the winning team receiving a prize from the Foundation.

We are currently looking for:

1. Volunteers from every Parsi Zoroastrian colony in Mumbai to promote the survey within their colonies. The volunteers are needed to spread the word about the survey and help those who don’t have knowledge of and access to technology. This will be done in a socially distanced manner while wearing masks. In the meantime, we will be leafleting each baug and colony to raise awareness of the survey, while keeping contact to a minimum;
2. Paid part-time or full-time assistants to join our research team in India helping to distribute the survey and organise publicity/events.

Before passing judgement on the survey, we ask you to sign up and take the survey.

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