Changes in religious attitudes and behaviors of Euro-Turk students with theology education
Teaching Theology and Religion, vol.26, no.1, pp.29-43, 2023 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 26 Issue: 1
- Publication Date: 2023
- Doi Number: 10.1111/teth.12634
- Journal Name: Teaching Theology and Religion
- Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ATLA Religion Database, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Index Islamicus
- Page Numbers: pp.29-43
- Keywords: attitude change, Euro-Turk, Islam, religious education, religious tolerance
- Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This paper studied a new dimension of international students, who are citizens of another country but came back to Turkey for religious education where their parents or grandparents are citizens. Did a five-year religious education process based on the main sources of Islam lead to a change in these students' religious attitudes and behaviors, and if yes to what extent did these changes occur? A panel survey is conducted on these students in pre-education and post-education periods to answer this question. Without ignoring the effect of the social environment outside of education on religious attitudes, we found that students exhibit a more tolerant, nonstrict attitude toward both their coreligionists and those who have negative attitudes toward their religion. Additionally, in parallel with the deepening of religious knowledge, a questioning and critical perspective was formed with a decrease in superstitions. We found that the attitude change in female students was generally higher than that of male students.