In recent years, the number of foreign students studying at universities in Turkey has been increasing. Recent studies show that foreign students experience problems such as social exclusion and loneliness in city and university life. Loneliness is a concept that has a direct impact on psychosocial well-being. For this reason, it seems important to examine loneliness and religious coping skills in foreign students. The aim of this study is to reveal the loneliness and religious coping levels of foreign university students (...) in terms of socio-demographic variables. Correlational research method, one of the quantitative research designs, was used in the research. The sample of the study consists of 139 students, 121 of whom are Syrian nationals and 18 Africans. On the other hand, this research is important in that it is conducted in Kilis, one of the provinces where the Syrian population is the most dense, and mostly with Syrian university students. As a result of the research, it was determined that the positive religious coping levels of university students under the age of 20 were higher than those of students over the age of 20. It was found out that the prolongation of the residence period in Turkey positively increased the religious coping levels of the students, and the family types of the students (parents together, separate, loss of parents, etc.) did not have an effect on the levels of religious coping and loneliness. On the other hand, it was showed that there was no significant relationship between the number of siblings and religious coping and loneliness in foreign students, and lastly, the religious coping levels of the engineering faculty students were higher than the students studying in other departments. (shrink)

Modern dönemde iletişim ve ulaşımda teknolojinin gelişmesiyle birlikte dünya küçük bir köy haline gelmiştir. Bu dönemde Batı sistemi maneviyatı ve ahireti bırakıp maddiyat ve dünya için belli araç ve gereçleri üreterek modern medya alanına egemen olma gücünü elde etmiştir. Bu durum özellikle İslam’a saldıran söylemlerin tırmanması, dini gruplara saldırıların artması ve İslami içeriklerle savaşın büyümesiyle birlikte İslami medyayla uğraşanların hitap önceliklerini tekrar gözden geçirmelerini gerekli kılmıştır. Aslında bu meydan okumalar İslam medyasının daha önce sıkıntısını yaşadığı ve halen de devam eden (...) sorunlara dayanmaktadır. Medya alanında çalışılabilecek çok sayıda konu bulunmaktadır. Bunlar arasında en az tercih edilen konu ise makâsıd ya da evleviyyât bakış açısı ve makâsıd ictihâdı çerçevesinde medyaya bakma konusudur. Bu çalışmada bu konu araştırma konusu olarak seçilmiştir. Bu konunun seçimi, birtakım varsayımlara dayanmaktadır. En önemlisi de makâsıd ilminin ölçü olması ve evleviyyât fıkhıdır. Bu ölçü genel olarak medya ilminin öncüleri ve özel olarak da İslami medyanın öncüleri için makâsıd bakışını sunabilen bilişsel teorilerin ve yöntemsel imkânların amaçladığı önemli niteliklerden biridir. Böylece makalenin sorusu şu şekilde ifade edilebilir: Ümmetin kalkınmasını, liderliğini ve diğer milletler üzerindeki etkisini gerçekleştirmek amacıyla makasıdü’ş-şerî‘aya dayalı öncelikler fıkhının kuralları, çağdaş medya alanına nasıl uygulanabilir? Bu çalışma iki bölümde ele alınmıştır. Birinci bölümde medya alanındaki öncelikler fıkhı kavramı ve bu alandaki bu fıkhı dikkate almanın delilleri ele alınmıştır. İkinci bölümde öncelikler fıkhının kurallarını modern medya alanına tatbik etme konusu ele alınmıştır. Ayrıca makâsıd kuralları, nevazil fıkhının kuralları ve vesail kuralları olan üç kural çeşidine göre her bir mertebe için örnekler verilmiştir. Bu düşünceyi temellendirmenin birçok yönü bulunmaktadır. Fakat bu konu iki yönden ele alınmıştır. Birincisi medya yönündür. Burada öncelikleri modern medya ilminde düzenleme teorisi ele alınmıştır. İkincisi makâsıd yönüdür. Burada makâsıdü’ş-şeri‘a ilmine dayanan önceliklerin kuralları ele alınmıştır. Bu çalışmada biraz karşılaştırma yöntemi kullanmanın yanı sıra genel olarak niteleme, tahlil ve istinbât yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Bu çalışma neticesinde makâsıd ilmini medya alanıyla ilgili ictihâdî bakışta işletmenin zaruri olduğuna ve bunun bilimsel bir lüks olmayıp zorunlu olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. Ayrıca modern İslami düşünce medyasının genel olarak makâsıdü’ş-şeri‘a ölçüleri ve özel olarak da hitap ve medya makâsıdının ölçüleriyle yönlendirmesi gerektiği sonucu elde edilmiştir. Medyanın yakın, orta ve uzak stratejilerini geliştirerek evleviyyât fıkhını işler hale getirmenin zorunlu olduğunu öneriyoruz. Ayrıca medya ve makâsıdü’ş-şeri‘a alanlarında araştırma yapan ve bu ilimlerle meşgul olanların medyayı makâsıd fıkhıyla çerçeveleme ve medya alanında makâsıdı çalıştırma konusunda ortak ciddi çalışmalar yapmalarını öneriyoruz. (shrink)

Psikolojinin bir bilim dalı olarak ortaya çıktığı 19. yüzyıla kadar, insana dair sorunlar, felsefi bir yorumla ele alınmıştır. Zaman içinde pozitivizm, materyalizm gibi felsefe akımlarının yön vermesiyle psikoloji bilimi kendine ait kavram ve yöntemlere sahip olmuştur. Bu süreçte bilimde hâkim olan paradigmaların etkisiyle din, uzun bir dönem bilimsel araştırmaların dışında tutulmuştur. Bilim adamalarının dine karşı olumsuz tutumlarına rağmen, Hıristiyan din adamaları felsefe ve psikoloji gibi alanlardaki bilimsel gelişmeleri yakından takip etmişlerdir. Kilise hizmetleri çerçevesinde geleneksel olarak sürdürülen “pastoral care” faaliyetlerinin psikoloji (...) ve psikoterapi alanlarındaki gelişmelerden etkilenmesiyle bugünkü dini danışma ve rehberliğin temeli olan “pastoral care and counseling” kavramları ve yöntemleri ortaya çıkmıştır. 1960’lardan sonra dünya genelinde bir yayılma eğilimi gösteren dini danışma ve rehberlik konusu, son yıllarda Türkiye’deki dini kurum ve akademik çevrelerin de ilgi odağı haline gelmiştir. Bu makalede, konunun İslam kültürü içindeki realizasyonu ile ilgili çalışmalara katkı vermek amacıyla dini danışma ve rehberliğin temel kavramları ve tarihi arka planına odaklanılmıştır. Modern yaşam biçimi toplumsal değişimi hızlandırmakla kalmamış bireysel ihtiyaçları da bir hayli değiştirmiştir. Yaşanan hızlı değişim ve farklılaşan ihtiyaçlar bir takım psikolojik problemleri beraberinde getirmiştir. Buna bağlı olarak insanı olumsuz etkileyen ve hastalanmasına yol açan psikolojik süreçler incelenmeye başlanmıştır. Öte yandan değişimden hayatın değer ve inanç sistemleri de etkilenmiş, kurumsal dini yapılarda ve din hizmeti anlayışlarında önemli değişme ve gelişmeler meydana gelmiştir. Bu sebeple bir taraftan yeni ortaya çıkan olay ve durumlar karşısında dinin bakış açısını ve tutumunu öğrenme ihtiyacı, diğer taraftan yaşanan acı ve krizler karşısında psikolojik yardım ve manevi destek gereksinimleri giderek artmıştır. Kısacası din, insanların kendi başlarına hareket etmekte zorlandığı, rehberliğe ihtiyaç duyduğu bir alan olmuştur. Dini danışma ve rehberlik alandaki ilk çalışmalar, tamamen bir Hıristiyanlık faaliyeti olarak ortaya çıkmış olduğu için bu alana ait ilk kavramlar da Hıristiyan kültürü ile yakından ilgilidir. Dini danışma ve rehberliğin temel kavramlarından olan “pastoral care” genellikle rahip ya da papazların özellikle kilise dışında yürüttükleri dini danışmanlık ve rehberlik hizmetlerini ifade etmektedir. Günümüzdeki dini danışma ve rehberlik hizmetlerinin temelini, Hıristiyan din adamlarının verdiği manevi destek, öğüt ve tavsiye anlamındaki pastoral care faaliyetleri oluşturmaktadır. Ayrıca kavramların, Mesih ve teslis inancı; günahsızlık ve günahların kefareti, lütuf yoluyla kurtuluş öğretileri; papazların yanılmazlığı ve ruhbanlık anlayışı; itiraf müessesesi ve kilisenin statüsü gibi Hıristiyan teolojisine ait kökenleri bulunmaktadır. Pastoral care ve pastoral counseling birbirlerinden bir dereceye kadar ayırt edilebilen yardım şekilleridir. Aralarındaki farklılık, papazların insanlarla çalışırken, ilgili psikolojik dinamikler yerine kendilerinin ahlaki duruş mesafelerinden kaynaklanır. Bu nedenle ikisi arasında en geniş ve kapsayıcı pastoral faaliyet, kesinlikle pastoral care çalışmalarıdır. Bu çalışmalar, resmi ve gayrı resmi konuşmalar, diyaloglar ve diğer iletişim etkileşimleri ile gençler, çiftler, yetişkinler ve çeşitli diğer gruplarla daha fazla ya da az yapılandırılmış genel ilişkilerdir. Pastoral counseling olarak adlandırılan yardım ilişkileri ise pastoral care faaliyetlerinin genel ve her yerde uygulanabilirliğinden farklı şekilde, bireylerin belirli bir yerde ve belirli bir süre tahdidi çerçevesinde yapılandırılmış olan yardım faaliyetlerini içerir ki, böyle bir yardım sürecinde papazın dikkatini ve zamanını gerektiren durumlar söz konusudur. Burada ayırt edici nokta, bireyin psikolojik durumu ve sorunlarının daha fazla olmasıdır. Dini danışma ve rehberliğin kurumsal bir hizmet alanı olarak ortaya çıkışı, reform hareketleri ve sanayi devriminin Batı Avrupa ülkelerinin sosyal dokusu ve dini kurumların yapılanması üzerinde yaptığı değişimle doğrudan alakalıdır. Nitekim Katolikler ve özellikle Ortodokslar yeni gelişen psikolojik danışma faaliyetlerinde daha temkinli bir tutum takınırken Protestanlar dini destek ve yardım hizmetlerinde yeni psikolojik teori ve teknikleri kucaklama eğilimi göstermişlerdir. 15. yüzyıldan itibaren oluşan, insana, Tanrı’ya ve âleme bakıştaki farklılaşmanın gerçekleştiği süreç, 18. yüzyılda “aydınlanma” olarak adlandırılan köklü bir değişimi beraberinde getirmiştir. Doğaüstünün doğayla, dinin bilimle, tanrısal buyruğun doğa yasasıyla, din adamlarının filozoflarla yer değiştirmesi ve dini inanca toleransın azalması ile karakterize edilen bu dönemde, din ve maneviyat konusu, psikolojik araştırmalar ve klinik deneyler dışında tutulması gerektiğine inanılan, kişilere özgü, bilim dışı, bilinmez bir özel alan olarak görülmüştür. Psikolojinin bir bilim dalı olarak ortaya çıktığı dönemde bilimsel sahada hâkim olan paradigmanın etkisiyle bilim adamaları her ne kadar din ile sağlıklı bir ilişki kuramadıysa da; özellikle Amerika ve Avrupa’da kilise hizmetleri çerçevesinde “pastoral care” faaliyetlerini yürüten din adamları, modern psikiyatri ve psikoterapi birikiminden etkili bir şekilde yararlanmışlardır. Kilise faaliyetlerinin psikoloji alanındaki gelişmelerden etkilenmesiyle papaz ve rahiplerin dini konulardaki yardım çalışmaları hem kilise içinde hem kilise dışında daha profesyonelce yürütülen faklı bir boyut kazanmaya başlamıştır. Papazların yetiştirilmesinde danışma psikolojisi ve klinik psikolojinin yöntem ve kurallarının kullanılmaya başlamasıyla “pastoral counseling” alanı gelişme göstermeye başlamıştır. Abraham Maslow’un “kendini gerçekleştiren kişiler” hakkındaki araştırmasına kadar (1962) ilgiye layık görülmeyen din ve maneviyat, bu araştırma sonucunda, karşılanması gereken nihai bir ihtiyaç ve önemli bir motivasyon olarak fark edilmiştir. Alanda son yapılan araştırmalar, din ile ruh ve beden sağlığı arasında önemli ilişkilerin olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Danışmanlarca, danışanların dini inançlarının danışma sürecine dâhil edilmemesi; danışanın kimliğinin işe yarayan önemli bir bölümünü yok saymakla eş anlamlı kabul edilmektedir. Bu gelişmelerin sonucu olarak bugün başta ABD ve diğer gelişmiş ülkelerde birçok Tıp Fakültesi ve Psikoloji bölümleri, programlarına dini danışmanlıkla ilgili dersler koymaktadır. 20. yüzyılın başından beri Hıristiyan Batı dünyasında uygulanmakta olan pastoral care and counseling faaliyetleri, toplumsal değişmenin küresel etkileri ve gittikçe benimsenen modern yaşamın farklılaşan ihtiyaçlarına bağlı olarak son yıllarda Türkiye’deki akademik çevrelerin ve ilgili kurumların ilgi odağı haline gelmiştir. Dini danışma ve rehberlik, kültürümüzde henüz yabancı bir kavram ve kurumsallaşmamış bir hizmet alanı olarak kabul edilse de; Hz. Peygamber’den (s.a.v) bu yana sürdürülen din hizmetlerinin en önemli bölümünü, özü dini rehberlik olan irşat faaliyetleri oluşturmaktadır. Ancak günümüzde modern psikolojik yardım disiplinlerinin ilke ve yaklaşımlarından destek alan yeni irşat modellerine ihtiyaç vardır. Dini danışma ve rehberlik, amaç, ilke, yöntem ve yaklaşımları ile toplumda oluşan yeni ihtiyaç ve beklentileri karşılamaya yönelik sürdürülen çabalara önemli katkılar sağlayacaktır. (shrink)

This study aims to examine the perspectives of healers who specialize in jinx hit, evil eye touch, and the recitation of sacred verses or prayers for individuals experiencing mental health issues, and whether they collaborate with mental health experts. Using the qualitative research method, data were collected from 20 healers with depth interviews and observation techniques. The data obtained were analyzed by descriptive analysis in the 2022 Qualitative Data Analysis Program in Maxquda. According to the results of the research; it (...) was determined that the participants are interested in individuals who come for mental and spiritual-based problems and the effects of the spiritual treatment methods they apply and how reversal processes of the applicant’s progress. In addition, it was revealed that the participants generally have a positive attitude to mental health experts. In line with the data obtained as a result of the research, it is thought that spiritual practices can be included in mental health studies. Furthermore, the research reveals that spiritual support services have a historical long history, and today it is an area that developed under the name of "Pastoral Care" and "Pastoral Counseling" in the West and our country. Considering that this clinical-religious consultancy movement includes various segments of our country, it was concluded that the area needs more development and more research. The findings of the research contribute to the studies carried out in the field of mental health by emphasizing the importance of spiritual support services. (shrink)

İslam'daki manevi hayatın ve ahlaki değerlerin ismi olan tasavvuf, İslam düşünce tarihinde önemli bir yere sahiptir. Yerel ve evrensel birçok unsuru içinde barındıran bu akım, dinin maneviyat boyutunu ön olanda tutar. İslam toplumu, ruhi ve manevi değerlerin birçoğunu tasavvufa ve onun kurumsal ifadesi olan tarikatlara borçlu olduğu görülmektedir. Tasavvufun en önemli özelliklerinde birisi, bireyin gündelik hayatının akışına müdahil olmasıdır. Dinin bireyin dünyasına nüfuzu anlamına gelen dindarlık ise bireyin günlük dünyasının duygusal yönlerinde Sufizmin etkisiyle güçlü değişiklikler meydana getirmektedir. Bununla beraber tasavvuf, (...) bireysel dinginliğin yanı sıra toplumsal alanda kendini gerçekleştiren bir maneviyat hareketi olma özelliği taşır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, kendini dindar olarak tanımlayan öğrencilerin dine tasavvufa, tarikatlara ve rabıta olgusuna bakışını sosyolojik olarak analiz etmektir. Bundan dolayı, kendini dindar olarak tanımlayan bireylerin tasavvuf, tarikat ve rabıta olgularına yaklaşımlarına odaklanılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın temel tezi hem tasavvufun bireyin hayatını değiştirdiği hem de bazı olumsuzluklarına rağmen dindar öğrencilerin tasavvufa olumlu yaklaştıklarıdır. Tasavvuf, bireyin dünyasında dinin derinleşmesine katkı sunmaktadır. Nitel verilere dayanarak yapılan, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi’nde okuyan ve kendini dindar olarak tanımlayan öğrencilerle gerçekleştirilen mülakat verilerinin analizine dayanan bu makale, tasavvufun gündelik hayat içindeki varlığını tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. İki ana bölümden oluşan bu makalenin ilk bölümünde toplumsal bir aktör olarak tasavvuf ile beraber gündelik hayatın sosyolojisine, ikinci bölümde de Tekirdağ Namık Kemal Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi dördüncü sınıfta okuyan dindar öğrencilerle yapılan mülakat verilerine odaklanılmıştır. Sonuç bölümünde ise tasavvuf, tarikat, rabıta ile beraber tasavvufi yaşamın gündelik hayata etkisi değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuç olarak yerel ve evrensel unsurları içinde barındıran tasavvuf, hem dinin etkisini artırarak bireyin dindarlaşmasına hem de ahlaklı bir toplumun oluşmasına katkı sunmaktadır. Tasavvuf kökenli dini grupların bazı ritüellerine karşı çıkmakla beraber tasavvuf olgusuna olumlu yaklaşan öğrencilere göre tasavvufun bireyin gündelik hayatında sağlamış olduğu temel katkı, dinin pratik ve ritüel boyutunu da içeren ahlak alanındadır. Bundan dolayı tasavvuf, ahlaki eylemler üzerinden toplumsal ve bireysel hayata etki etmekte ve bireyin eylem dünyasını biçimlendirmektedir. Bu bağlamda öğrencilerin nazarında tasavvuf merkezli dini grupların etkili ve meşru olmalarının sebebi, ahlakın merkezde olduğu bir dinselliği görünür kılmalarıdır. Bunun yanı sıra hem eğitim-öğretim sistemi hem de İlahiyat fakültelerindeki eğitim, sadece öğretimi esas aldığı ve pratiği dışarıda bıraktığı için eleştirilmektedir. Bu bağlamda bilgi ile eylemi harmanlayan yeni bir eğitim anlayışına olan ihtiyacın varlığı ortaya çıkmıştır. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool for determining students' spiritual health and life orientation. For this purpose, the Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM) inventory developed by Fisher (2010) is adapted to Turkish. The adaptation study was carried out on 1591 high school students in three study groups studying in Ankara and Muş. The original English measure consisting of four dimensions and twenty items was translated into Turkish, factor analysis, validity and reliability (...) tests were conducted on the sampling data. As a result of the study, the Turkish-adapted inventory consists of four dimensions (personal, social, environmental and transcendental) which resemble the original inventory. In addition, internal consistency coefficients of the inventory dimensions were in perfect harmony with the original inventory and served the purpose of the scale. In Conclusion The Turkish adaptation of the SHALOM Inventory can be used in different disciplines of psychology, educational sciences, and social sciences. Summary: The concept of religion, which is an important dynamic and carrier of the social field, has gone into a double distinction since the second half of the 18th century; the concept of spirituality has begun to be refined from the concept of religion. The concepts of religion and spirituality are very difficult to define; While the concept of religion focuses ideology and rules of belief, spirituality centers on individual experiences and interrelationships that extend religion. For this reason, different spirituality and religion definitions are made from different perspectives and different spirituality scales were developed within this framework. However, the results of these studies differ significantly from each other; this means that spirituality was defined and conceptualized based on the scale that was used. Early period studies on spirituality mostly focus on religion, health, psychology and work life. In these studies, after defining the concept of spirituality; the relationship between the concept and health, religion, psychology and business life or necessity for human life is discussed. In the West, until the 1950s, the concepts of religion and spirituality were used interrelated. However, today these two concepts are almost completely separated from each other.Literature consists of numerous inventory development studies to measure spirituality. The fact that the inventory works based on different conceptual foundations makes it difficult to draw a general, meaningful and consistent conclusion about spiritual health and life orientation. Furthermore, spirituality measurements reflecting the religion and values ​​of a particular culture cannot be comprehensive or universal. At this point, Fisher criticizes the measurement tools developed for the purpose of measuring spirituality: in terms of "mixing religion and spirituality", "relying on the world of values", "not taking into account cultural differences", "and questioning only the mystical/spiritual experience". As a result, it can be said that no measurement developed in the conceptual structure of the West does not take into account the cultural flexibility and accept its spiritual values as universal or prevalent.The SHALOM inventory developed by Fisher, which adapted to the Turkish culture in present study, is based on four basic (individual, social, environmental and transcendent) areas that constitute the world of interpersonal relationship. In this study, spirituality, as in Fisher's work, emphasizes the interaction with certain concepts of different intensities that are considered as independent from religion and above religions. In this context, the concept of spirituality communicates with one's personal space, social position, nature, and transcendental power. This adaptation study will provide useful information and comments on the students' spiritual health levels. This is the most important motive behind the idea of adapting the SHALOM inventory developed by Fisher to the Turkish culture. In addition, by adapting the SHALOM inventory, which is emphasized to have cultural flexibility and adapted to different languages, a new and different measurement tool will be available to understand the nature of the concept of spirituality.This research was carried out to adapt the inventory of Spiritual Health and Life Orientation scale developed for students to Turkish culture. This inventory adaptation study was performed with the data collected from three working groups in Ankara and Muş provinces and 1591 high school students. The first study group was carried out with 414, the second study group with 788, and the third group with 389 high school students. While the data collected from 414 students were used for Exploratory Factor Analysis (AFA) analysis, data collected from 788 students were used for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). In addition, 389 students were used to determine the criterion validity of the inventory. The original language of the SHALOM inventory, which is intended to be adapted into Turkish, is English, and translation studies are conducted separately by three linguistic experts who know the grammar and semantic characteristics of both languages. After the translation studies, the scale was applied to the sampling group and AFA was performed on the sample data. The AFA results showed that a factor roof resembling the original inventory was formed. Determining factors are given appropriate names (personal, enviromental, social and transcendental) by taking into consideration the theoretical names and the dimension names in the original form of the SHALOM. The structure was confirmed by DFA, and as a result of the DFA, X2/sd (1.72) ratio and IFI (0.96) fit indicator was found to be the appropiate fit for the model tested. As a result, it is understood that the Spiritual Health and Life Orientation Inventory consists of four dimensions as in the original inventory, the internal consistency coefficients of the inventory dimensions are in harmony with the original inventory and serve the purpose of the scale. In conclusion the Turkish adaptation of the SHALOM Inventory can be used in different disciplines of psychology, educational sciences, and social sciences. Spirituality should not only be defined within the framework of Western theories, but the nature and likelihood of the spirituality predicted by Islam should be discussed. Moreover, the types and dimensions of Islamic spirituality should be determined by taking into account the cultural subjectivity of an Islamic character. In the study of spirituality, the human model which modernity presents universally should not be accepted as the only truth. It should be tried to develop human models that come from Islamic culture and history and which are specific to us and define us. This should be taken into account not only in mental health / religious studies, but also in psychology of religion in general. In addition, culture-specificity should be given importance, and the experience gained from the cultural accumulation developed by the Turkish civilization with the Islamic doctrine should lead to the studies of spirituality. In this respect, this study aims to adapt the value and spiritual orientation of a different culture to Turkish culture, but it is problematic to construct the concept with Western values. Although Western values are similar to Islamic values and principles, it is envisaged that it may be difficult to measure the concept of spirituality in practice. (shrink)

A great deal of research has been done on the origin of belief and its effects on human beings. In recent years, these researches are not only limited to the theological field, but also continued by various branches of science. Scientific disciplines that investigate different dimensions of belief have made some explanations about the origins of belief under titles such as cognitive science, mental science, evolutionary theory and genetics, but these results have been someti-mes discussed and criticized. Studies on this (...) subject have not yet achieved a general consis-tency so far. In the last century, there has been a great increase in the number of such studies. Before the 1970s, there was an understanding that tried to explain the issue from an evolutio-nary perspective. The interest in the source of human belief started especially in the field of biology and has been supported by many systematic scientific studies. These types of studies tried to understand and explain the biological origins of belief, but did not go beyond labora-tory experiences. These studies associated belief with certain diseases, attempted to explain biologically different versions of belief, tried to explain the relationship between brain mobi-lity and religious experience, and searched for a separate God Gene and God Field. This article focuses on the psychological basis of the subject, and then the biological basis of the subject. Studies on consciousness, unconsciousness, death, diseases, and many psychological disorders handled in different ways the relation with belief. Such basic human processes are tried to be explained in relation to many areas such as health, spirituality and culture. Socio-biology, evo-lutionary psychology, and contemporary cognitive sciences have carried out a series of studies on this subject, especially looking for the foundations of belief. Since the 1970s, there have been some attempts in biology, especially depending on the developments in science and tech-nology. These studies mostly claim that “the ability to believe” is innate in humans and is parti-ally supported by some scientific discussions. Scientists who seek the source of belief directly in biology follow the hypothesis that the temporal lobe of the brain is the source of religious and mystical experience. Neurologists have focused on the prefrontal cortex of the brain and suggested that this region of the brain may be related to religion and belief. These studies are the continuation of other research that started earlier and searched for belief, spirituality, and God in a certain region of the brain. In these studies, conceptualizations such as “the God spot” and “the God module” have been made instead of the concept of the “God gene.” As a result, studies on religion and brain will increasingly come to the fore. Studies on this subject have opened a new door in terms of showing the relationship between religious belief, attitudes and behaviors and the brain. However, more studies are needed in this area in order to understand more accurately and fully the relationship between religious beliefs or experiences and physi-cal processes because most of the studies on this subject have focused on Christians and Budd-hists. Although a serious relationship has not been established between religion and biology until now, it is likely that these issues will come to the fore more frequently from now on. These studies which investigate whether there is a relationship between believing and the brain are called neurotheology. In this study, the developmental process of neurotheology as a science and the studies in this field were examined by literature and document review. Studies conducted in the last hundred years were systematically examined and the current situation was discussed. (shrink)

"Spiritual well-being" was coined in 1971 and has since become a popular concept in modern psychology studies. Multidimensional investigations covering the concept's structure, theoretical foundations, interaction areas, and development, on the other hand, have been limited. In response to this scarcity, the research aims to examine the concept of "spiritual well-being" from all of these perspectives. It also seeks to provide a new definition of "spiritual well-being." Another contribution of the study to the "spiritual well-being" literature is that it attempts (...) to explain the framework and theoretical basis of the term. This study was mostly based on an analysis of relevant literature. Literature data on how the thought began and developed were gathered for this purpose. The semantical relationship between "well-being" and "spirituality" is investigated. Following that, the concept's content, areas of interaction, approaches, and theoretical foundations with which it is closely associated were defined as well as the concept's relationship with spirituality was stressed. Some works in the subject's literature have also been analytically evaluated, with a particular emphasis on their contributions to the enhanced relationship of "spiritual well-being" with other domains, as well as the conceptualization process of it. The research findings characterize spiritual well-being as the acquisition of well-being from spiritual areas to which individuals related. The contributions of spirituality to "well-being" underline the significance of "spiritual well-being" in the Psychology of Religion. "Spiritual well-being" is a concept used to determine the original reflections and good effects of these contributions on individuals, as well as to measure various types of "well-being.". (shrink)

Researchers have concluded that religious beliefs and spirituality develop the ability to deal with negative feelings and behaviours. Religious beliefs give hope and self-esteem while reducing anger, guilt, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, mental healthcare professionals deal with combining religious and spiritual beliefs into various therapy processes. One of them; In cognitive behavioural therapy, it is accepted that people perceive the events as negative because of their negative beliefs about themselves and their environment. Thinking badly about your own like that “I (...) am not a good person”, “I am a worthless person”, “I don’t pass this exam because I am too inadequate” and thinking badly about their environment like that “people can hurt me”, “people always lie to me”, “nobody can love me”, these harmful and dysfunctional thoughts may have begun to develop in childhood. Negative life experiences might also lead to the development of negative personal perceptions. Negative core beliefs fed by negative events for many years may become permanent in the mind of the person. It is used alternative positive thinking instead of these negative thoughts in the therapy process. Religions are believed useful as an alternative thinking source. Many religious approaches and Islamic belief have alternative sources to change dysfunctional and maladaptive thoughts by some: such as prayer, hope, moderation, self-esteem, patience, repentance, justice, tolerance, wisdom, gratitude, kindness, respect, courtesy and contentment. These values are thought useful for cognitive behavioural therapy process to restructure dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs. With this study, we aim to examine and give some samples how Islamic belief integrates into cognitive behavioural therapy. (shrink)

This research seeks an answer to the question of why spirituality is needed in social service. Providing spiritual support resources to the client in overcoming the problems that people face, coping with these problems, making sense of them, and reaching spiritual peace is called spiritually sensitive social service. It can be said that the history of social work is equivalent to the history of humanity. Therefore, especially in the West, the problems experienced in the modernization process, or the dominant paradigm (...) of the period (science-church conflict, rationalization and positivist approach to knowledge) brought a social service discipline and intervention, which was far from spirituality. It can be said that, in the last quarter of the 20th century, the lack of this approach was felt in the West and the studies on this field are accumulating today. In Turkey, there is an obvious gap in this literature. The problem of the present study is why there is a need for spiritually sensitive social service. The gap in the literature on this subject in Turkey indicates the importance of the study. The present study is of a descriptive method based on literature review. Social service is a career that aims to increase the functionality of individuals, families, groups, and societies at micro, mezzo, and macro levels and to strengthen them in overcoming their problems. Therefore, social service helps individuals to overcome problems arising from the individual issues and external factors and to meet resources with opportunities. It is obvious that it is difficult for a social service approach, which is distant from spiritual values, to find satisfactory answers to some of the questions and problems faced by individuals. It is clear that the understanding and practices of social service sensitive to spirituality will play an important role in helping clients overcome problems, make sense of them, and strengthen the individual. This study addresses the necessity of spiritually sensitive social service in four items: First, modern societies are under more threat and fear in comparison with the ones in the past. Therefore, they experience more anxiety, stress, and distrust. While the developments in technology and science offer great opportunities and conveniences to people, they have also manifested some problems that have not been experienced until today. Social service sensitive to spirituality will contribute to the separation of individuals, groups, and communities from the climate of fear they have experienced by activating their current cultural structure and world of belief. Second, modern lifestyle and individualization have isolated people by weakening people's social support systems. Modern lifestyle makes people to experience loneliness. The individualistic and self-centered lifestyle has alienated the individual from social ties and created a perception that one does not need anyone else. Social service that is sensitive to spirituality will increase the quality of life and joy of the individual by eliminating one’s loneliness and will help one to look to the future with hope and to overcome one’s loneliness. Third, human beings want to make sense of the events and problems they encounter. It would not be wrong to call the modern age "the age of the crisis of meaning". Today's people are experiencing serious crises in terms of making sense of the problems they face. Especially when faced with existential life-threatening factors such as severe illnesses, disability, and death, spirituality has a great impact on overcoming these problems and making sense of life. The efforts of individuals to rebuild the meaning they have lost can only be possible with the provision of social services sensitive to spirituality. Fourth, since the modern social service understanding is human-centered, holistic, and rights-based, the idea that people should be evaluated holistically highlights the necessity of spiritually sensitive social service. Experiencing a dizzying, diverse and, rapid change, today's people live in a complex network of relationships. The inaccuracy of the one-dimensional evaluation of human behavior is better understood today. The individual differences of the clients and their approaches to the problems make it necessary to evaluate the applications for these with a holistic and encompassing perspective. Therefore, the holistic evaluation of human also reveals the necessity of evaluating the spiritual social service within the framework of the rights arising from being human, not as a treat offered to individuals. (shrink)

Since the emergence of psychology, its relation with religion has been inconsistent. Their different sources and methodologies but common aims made them close or distanced. Today these disciplines acknowledged and learned to benefit from each other. The affect of religion/spirituality on human’s lives raised the attention of psychology and required the integration of these into psychotherapy. In order to approach the psychology-religion relation via the traces of religion within psychotherapy the paper deals with the necessity, the knowledge needed, the principles (...) when integrating religious/spiritual principles and practices into psychotherapy; finally the religious traces in psychotherapy. The paper comprises few Turkish examples together with the huge body of theoretical and practical examples on the topic. These theories and practices should be important examples for Turkey. By addressing the religious traces in psychotherapy the aim of the paper is to show that the cliff between psychology and religion is in fact not that deep.SummaryIt can be argued that psychology and religion have common interests relating the well-being of individuals. There is a huge body of research that emphasizes the implementation and necessity of cultural, religious, spiritual principles in professional psychology. The proprium of these models is to integrate the client’s religious/spiritual sources into therapy. Especially religious clients benefit from therapies that define their treatment goals around their religious views. However, it must be considered that if the disorder has a biological dimension and/or is severe psychopathologic pure religious interventions will not be sufficient. This paper traces the religious/spiritual principles within psychotherapies and shows that the cliff between religion and psychology is not that deep.At different places in the world therapy is done according to western standards. However, determining mental health or disorders according to western criteria might be problematic. In societies in which religious/spiritual life is an essential part of culture, religion plays a crucial role in people’s perception of disease and treatment. In mental health, spirituality is an important and primary source for coping. Empirical studies reveal the positive outcomes of religious practices such as personal prayer, repentance, meditation, and dhikir on mental and physical health. In light of this data it becomes clear that psychotherapies should be revised socio-culturally and culturally sensitive psychotherapies that cover belief and religious practices should be developed. Another need for the integration of religion, belief, and spirituality with psychotherapy is the significant effect of these experiences on individual’s lives. With regard to the broad impact of religion, psychological interventions solely might not be sufficient to fulfill human psychological needs. As studies show, religious clients expect religious practices in treatment as well as a therapist who is open and respectful to religious principles, ready to talk about own religious beliefs, willing to integrate religious matters into therapy. To fulfill these expectations therapists, need to be trained and educated in religious/spiritual matters. Additionally, the therapist must acknowledge and be conscious about her/his own worldview, religious commitment, and spiritual life. However, the therapist needs not to be religious him/herself or share the same religion as the client. It is sufficient that the therapist is open and receptive to the client’s beliefs so that these can be used as effective sources in therapy. Spiritual psychotherapy considers spirituality as one of the main sources of clients. Thus, it might be critical when the therapist has poor knowledge about religion when the client considers it as significant. This source might be helpful for the client in coping with his/her problems and limitations. Having knowledge about the client’s religion and culture might also be important to acknowledge his/her perceptions and beliefs. Because individuals’ understanding of disease, their beliefs about reasons for mental disorders, their expectations from the health system are important factors in seeking help and choosing therapy.Therapists who decide to integrate spiritual/religious principles into psychotherapy have to adhere to some ethical principles. The source and the degree of the psychological disorder are important, too. Even though the efficacy of religious rituals and spiritual interventions are extensive in each case it has to be investigated whether religiosity/spirituality is part of the problem or the solution. Certain aspects will guide the therapist in deciding whether to integrate religiosity/spirituality into the therapy process or not. Additionally, he/she has to gather information about the client’s religious/spiritual life (spiritual anamneses) in order to choose the most appropriate religious method and intervention. Today psychotherapy deals with coping, questions about the meaning, purpose, and way of life. Actually, these are issues with which religious traditions has dealt and proposed solutions for thousands of years ago. For example, ethical principles for mental health professionals correspond to those of religious teachings. The attitudes and the type of relationship recommended by the client-centered approach are also commended by religious teachings for all human relations. Beginning with the 1960’s an increasing interest in Buddhist teachings is observable among psychotherapists. Mental exercises (especially meditation) cause transformations in the self-perception and lead to enduring changes in consciousness. Religions such as Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism recommend meditation technics like contemplation, dhikr, and yoga. Confession in the Catholic Church has similarities with psychotherapeutic catharsis. Many cultures own one kind of forgiveness rituals of confessions. As studies report people benefit from these rituals. Forgiveness is a multifaceted issue with psychological and spiritual dimensions and involves cognitive, emotional, relational, and spiritual processes. Research indicates the religious and psychological functions of forgiveness. Many subjects such as personal prayer, hope, empathy, love, and tolerance are common issues of both, psychotherapy and religion/spirituality. Different psychotherapeutic approaches and especially positive psychology integrate these values that are valued by religion/spirituality into their theories and practices.In conclusion, the cliff between psychology and religion/spirituality is not that deep at it seems at first sight. They have many subjects in common. Individuals turn to religion and spirituality in times of crises. This makes it inevitable to include religion and spirituality into the therapeutic process. Because religions provide ways of coping, hope, and meaning in difficult times. This fact is recognized and accepted abroad and lead to the religious/spiritual psychotherapy movement, which will hopefully an inspiration for Turkish psychology as well. (shrink)

The overall objective of this research is to determine the religious perceptions and its levels of university youth and to interpret the findings from the point of view of their psychological features. This research consists of four chapter. These are: introduction, first chapter consist of discussions of the basic concepts such as religiosity, spirituality, second chapter that the data obtained from the survey was assessed the relationships with hypotheses and conclusions in which the findings were interpreted. The study’s population consists (...) of the students at the undergraduate level in faculties of the Erciyes University in 2011-2012. A questionnaire was administered on 553 students, chosen randomly in this population. The survey contains descriptive and Likert style items. As independent variables in this study, branches of science, faculty, department, class, age, gender, living environment for the longest time before coming to university, graduated high school, mother's and father's education level and the accommodation place during training have been taken. When analyzing the data, percentages, frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) and T-Tests and Chi-Square (x²) techniques were used. As a result of this research hypotheses associated with gender, age, branches of science, faculty and department were confirmed on the other hand the others were rejected. (shrink)