01
Sociology of Religion
How religious belief and practice relate to social structure, institutions and everyday life.
The sociology of religion treats religion not only as a belief system but as a phenomenon that orders social relations, shapes identity and is reproduced through institutions. In this work religion is studied in interaction with family, politics and public services. The focus is on how religious values are reflected in people's choices and social positions, and how those values are reinterpreted under changing conditions.
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02
Sociology of the Family
The social dynamics of marriage, spouse selection and changing family structures.
The family is the institution where social values are first transmitted and most intensely lived. Work in this area looks sociologically at criteria of equivalence in spouse selection, current trends such as rising marriage age and delayed marriage, the sharing of roles and responsibilities within the family, and the family's role in facing problems such as addiction.
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03
Religion and Society
How religious institutions and services resonate in social life.
The relationship between religion and society becomes visible across a wide range, from institutional religious services to individual forms of religiosity. This heading covers the social reception of religious guidance and education, the place of religious values in the public sphere, and religion's role as a source of social solidarity and spiritual support.
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04
Islamic Family Values
A sociological reading of concepts such as kafa'ah, mahr and qiwamah.
Family-related concepts in Islamic law and ethics — kafa'ah (equivalence), mahr, qiwamah, iddah, hidanah and divorce as a last resort — are not only normative rulings but also social practices. This work uses sociological methods to examine how these values are perceived today across social groups, to what extent they are maintained, and how they blend with modern living conditions.
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05
Habitus and Bourdieusian Sociology
Habitus, field and economic, cultural, social and symbolic capital.
Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus refers to durable dispositions acquired through one's social history that often steer choices without conscious reflection. Combined with the concepts of field and capital (economic, cultural, social, symbolic), habitus helps explain the social roots of decisions ranging from spouse selection to political preferences. The notion of a "hybridising habitus" focuses on the mixed dispositions that emerge where traditional values and modern conditions coexist.
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06
Religious Services
The social effects of preaching, religious education and guidance.
Religious services include preaching and guidance, Qur'an courses, family and youth counselling, and spiritual support offered to institutions. Research in this area aims to measure the psychological and social effects of these services on their audiences, to produce findings that improve their quality, and to bring practical field experience together with academic knowledge.
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07
Social Change
Attitudes and choices transforming between tradition and modernity.
Urbanisation, rising education levels and economic transformation are changing attitudes in many areas, from age at marriage to political participation. A social-change perspective treats these shifts not as one-directional "modernisation" but as a multi-layered process in which traditional values are reinterpreted, preserved or take on new forms.
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08
Social Values
Shared values such as courtesy, responsibility and trusteeship.
Social values are a community's shared understandings of what is good, right and desirable. Under this heading, values such as courtesy, responsibility, trust in God and the awareness of trusteeship are discussed with a values-education perspective, both in academic work and in writing for a general readership.
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09
Spiritual Care in Penal Institutions
Psycho-social effects of religious services for inmates.
Religious services and spiritual care in penal institutions can be an important support for inmates in processes of remorse, hope, belonging and social reintegration. The 2015 master's thesis examines the psycho-social effects of these services through field research with 420 participants in Çanakkale's prisons.
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