A Critical Overview of Turkish Measures of Religiosity

Abstract

Turkish measures of religiosity are mainly developed in sociology and psychology of religion and trace back to the 1960s. The first attempts in measuring religiosity in Turkey are weak in terms of statistical analysis and scientific soundness. By the 1980s Turkish measures increase in quantity and quality but show poor originality. Most are adaptations of Western-Christianity religiosity scales and are based on multi-dimensionality of religiosity and religious orientation. Authentic religiosity measures, within a framework special to Turkish culture and religion, i.e. Islam, are underrepresented. Therefore, religiosity studies in Turkey indicate theoretical, methodological and authenticity problems. However, the latest studies are promising. After a brief introduction of the fields of psychology and sociology of religion in Turkey, this study provides a critical overview of religiosity measures in Turkey along with an introduction of some in detail, and gives insights into the challenges of conducting religiosity studies in the Turkish context.