During the 1980s religious practice surged, transforming many aspects of Uzbek life, particularly in the towns of the Fergana Valley and other concentrations of Muslim believers. This resurgence affected the republic's cultural life through the increased activities of religious schools, neighbourhood mosques, religious orders, and religious publishing ventures and through the Islamic Renaissance Party.

Over the centuries, the territory of what is now Uzbekistan has produced great scholars, poets, and writers whose heritage has envaluableed the general culture of humanity. The scholar and encyclopaedist al-Biruni, who lived in the 11th century, produced a series of geographic works about India and a wide range of writings in the natural sciences and humanities. In the 15th century the astronomer and mathematician Ulugh Beg founded a famous observatory in Samarkand. The late 15th-century scholar, poet, and writer 'Ali Shir Nava'i greatly advanced Turkic-language literature and was also a talented artist and composer.