CAUSES OF BELIEF PROBLEMS IN YOUTH AND SUGGESTIONS FOR SOLUTIONS

Emine KESKİNER*

It is seen that the struggle between believers and non-believers, which we have read in the holy books since the first humans, continued over the conflict of religion and science, reason and belief with the Age of Enlightenment in the West. The struggle against the oppressive practices that the church followed in order to maintain its power in the Middle Ages extended to the claim by some thinkers that the only truth is matter (materialism) and that even the belief in God will disappear completely with the developments in science. The pursuits and challenges in the West, along with the Westernization adventure since the 18th century, have inevitably reflected on our country as well, and some Ottomans who were sent to Europe to save the country did not hesitate to take materialist ideas as they were without any change, and they did not see any harm in bringing them to the agenda as a recipe for salvation. The influence of these views in foreign schools and some newly opened schools has led to the spread of indifferent, ignoring or opposing [towards religion] thoughts among people with higher education levels. These ideas began to be defended as unquestionable and unthinkable facts by a certain group, after the religious education began to lose its effect due to the delays and uncertainties in the reformation of religious education institutions, and after the proclamation of the Republic, it was completely excluded from formal education. It would not be an exaggeration to argue that the approach of some of our people to religious beliefs in this process is no different from that of Western materialist intellectuals. The discourse of these people, who consider themselves to be the defenders of reason and science, that the era of religious beliefs is over and that modern people should continue on their way under the guidance of reason and science has formed the basis of a perception in some circles that religious beliefs are incompatible with reason and that these beliefs are the cause of backwardness. With the reopening of institutions providing religious education at secondary and higher education level and the gradual reintroduction of religion courses into primary and secondary school programs since 1949, the ideas that advocate that religious beliefs do not prevent progress and their importance for the individual and society have begun to be heard again. However, it is a fact that secularism (secularization) is also effective in our country, although not as much as in the West.

According to the results of recent research, number of non-believers around the world with a population around 500 million come just after Christians, Muslims and Hindus.(i). In our country, according to a study carried out in 2021, four (4) percent define themselves as "atheist" and 4.1 percent define themselves as "non-believer"(ii). These results are not surprising when we consider that the world has almost become a global village, and the communication and interaction between different societies has increased at a dizzying pace. The developments in communication have made it easier to see phenomena such as the rejection of all kinds of grand narratives and authority, the fragmentation of truth, the dominance of the desire for individual freedom, the weakening of religious and national identities, the differentiation of value preferences belonging to the postmodern period we live in, almost everywhere in the world.(iii). 

However, in order for us to evaluate the results we have mentioned in a healthy way, it should be taken into account that belief is an abstract concept, so people can attribute different meanings to this concept. This is not only true for a person's self-definition, but also for other people's perceptions of that person.

Someone who identifies as a believer may well be viewed by someone else as a non-believer. Here, we need to take into account the nature of the concept of religious belief. Because what is meant by the concept of faith is mostly religious beliefs. Being a member of a certain religious belief means having a certain perspective on life, especially existence, people and knowledge. However, when people describe other people as believers or non-believers, it is generally understood that they look at whether their beliefs are reflected in their actions or at the rate of reflection.

Today, the belief that schooling has a negative effect on religious beliefs is getting stronger. As a matter of fact, there are research results showing that the education received is mostly effective in the formation of religious doubts, especially in men, during adolescence.(iv). 

As it is known, with the Industrial Revolution, the education of the masses started. As we mentioned in the introductory part of our article, the perspective that positions itself against religious beliefs in this process has begun to have an impact on schooling so much so that, in the newly opened schools, either religion was not given any place in the name of impartiality or the religion lesson was turned into any other lesson. Although these two practices have been encountered in schools in our country from past to present, we think that the most important thing is that this course is not left alone (!) so to speak. The fact that the legitimacy of religion lessons is frequently discussed in different contexts such as secularism, progressiveness-reactionism, human rights, etc. supports our view. From time to time, in the name of being modern and scientific, by some teachers in schools, religion is unrealistic, pathological, punitive, exploitative, etc. It is known that opinions claiming to be against human nature to expect children and young people not to be affected by such discourses in schools, where they spend most of their days.

Although they are very effective in raising people, it would be wrong to say that schools are the only reason for the formation of indifferent, ignorant and opposing thoughts to religious beliefs. In particular, the effects of the social and virtual environment on the subject cannot be ignored. The collective transformation process of family members towards secularization, which started with the introduction of television into homes, has evolved into one-to-one transformation with mobile phones and tablets. Undoubtedly, children are the most vulnerable in social media channels, where even adults are caught in the wind. It is hardly surprising that most of the children and young people who are heavily exposed in these channels to its direct or indirect messages such as 'eat, drink, have fun, show/publish' etc. are rapidly secularized and therefore indifferent to religious beliefs. The effect of the virtual environment on children and young people is not limited to making them irrelevant. Because the distance between the stimuli that make people question about the existence, power, mercy, etc. of God, which constitutes the essence of belief in divine religions and the young people has been reduced to a click. Thus, it is possible that some of the young people who are caught unprepared for the aforementioned questions / interrogations and who cannot find enough support to cope with the same, move away from their parents' beliefs or take their place against them.

It is not appropriate to try to explain the indifferent, ignorant or negative attitudes towards religious belief solely for external reasons. It is possible for a person to doubt the propositions of the religion he was born into at a certain stage of his life. As Mr Mehmedoğlu stated, the individual may want to know whether the teachings and principles of belief of the religion to which he belongs mentally are absolutely correct. He may also question why he has to trust and surrender unconditionally to what is believed emotionally. This situation, which is called religious doubt, is likely to lead to a further stage of belief, as well as to constitute the first step of disbelief(v). Most people, however, tend to associate religious doubt with disbelief. Based on the researches on how religious doubt is formed and its types, Mr Hökelekli talks about six main types of doubt. The first of these is the suspicion of seeking to understand the reality and causes of religious knowledge and concepts, which is mostly seen in childhood, without the intention of criticism and objection. The second is the suspicion of selfishness stemming from the fact that those who adopt belief as a means to achieve what they want cannot receive the expected return. Third, loyalty doubt, which means doubting whether one's faith can fulfill its requirements, is a positive doubt from the point of view of faith. Fourth, scientific skepticism is based on the assumption that for belief to be accepted and validated, it must be scientifically explained and must not contradict the data of science. Fifth, it is the conceptual doubt that occurs in the form of questioning some concepts of religion among people with rational thought habits. The sixth is the disbelieving doubt found in people whose purpose is to justify their disbelief and who have no intention of attaining the truth in any way. Mr Mehmedoğlu adds perceptual doubt, which seems to come to the fore today, to these types of doubt. Perceptual doubt is a doubt that arises depending on the imagination of God, and questioning the existence or power of God based on the evils seen in the world is within the scope of this doubt(vi). 

These lines, which we have briefly summarized from the writings of the experts on the subject, show that it is not correct to associate doubt only with disbelief.

It would be appropriate to take into account the effects of the current developmental period in the religious doubts seen in young people. Mr Kayıklık states that the source of the suspicion seen in some adolescents is not the value believed, but the developmental stage of the individual, and says that this doubt can be referred to as "adolescence suspicion.(vii). It is stated that the topics that adolescents most doubt and question are: The problem of evil (unexpected deaths, disability, economic deprivation, individual suffering, harassment, rape, etc.), the issue of why good people cannot enter heaven even if they are atheists; Critical approach to metaphysical beings such as angels, jinn [demons], devils, the confusion between magical-mythical practices and scriptural religion, interests towards other religions and sects, criticisms of traditional religion, new religious and spiritual searches, the problem of the functionality of prayer, etc. Mr Yapici, who has carried out many researches on the subject, states that some of the criticisms of young people towards religion and religious people include doubt, some of them have deist and atheistic tendencies, but most of them either seek peace by taking shelter in traditional religion or they question their religious beliefs and practices and turn from imitative [taklidi] belief to a belief obtained after studying / research [tahkiki](viii). 

These findings and data are extremely important in terms of religious education.

All people who are concerned about this situation, especially parents, should think about what they should do so that young people's questioning can lead them to a definitive faith, instead of showing negative attitudes and behaviors such as panicking, shouting and despair. For many parents, it is obvious that it is difficult to deal with such a situation. For this reason, those who take part in formal and non-formal religious education should support them in this regard. It is only possible for religious education providers to support parents in a healthy and adequate way, if they have the necessary infrastructure, namely education. For this, it is vital to include the arguments used by the anti-religious currents, which young people are exposed to more easily today than in the past, and the ways to combat these arguments in institutions that train religious educators. A concern, which we have witnessed from time to time, that some students studying in these institutions may be adversely affected if the views of anti-religious movements in higher religious education are taught should not be allowed to hinder this requirement. The purpose of the Theology Faculties should not be to protect the faith of their students only because it is doubtful to what extent a protection in the form of not giving knowledge will be effective.

Today, it is frequently stated that knowing something is not enough to teach the other party and convey it effectively. In this context, the most frequently discussed issue regarding religion is the language used in the messages given. It is debatable to what extent the language, which is preferred by most of the people trying to spread the messages of religion, appeals to today's people. It is seen that tergib and terhib (encouragement and intimidation) are widely preferred today as in the past. However, it is misleading to think that trying to frighten those who have questions about belief and those who have problems, will work. Trying to persuade such people on the basis of reasonableness is a more effective way. The extent to which the messages we try to convey reach our target audience should be checked with feedback, and necessary corrections should be made in order to establish a healthy communication and interaction. In the different types of media that we are under siege, there are content that ignores religious beliefs and tries to devalue them, as well as content that defends religious beliefs. However, there is an urgent need to update the language and style used for content that tries to gain and protect religious beliefs to be effective on children and young people. It should be taken into account that the plain (!) [unprocessed] information in the shared religious content, without taking into account the expectations and needs of the target audience, is unlikely to appeal to most children and young people.

Finally, we need to point out that the people that the young person observes around him, starting with his family members, often need to make an account of how much and what kind of influence their beliefs have in their own lives. In a recent study by Mr Yapıcı, while describing some of today's Muslims, young people who do not practice their faith, do not perform their prayers regularly, are sometimes religious, sometimes secular, are "insincere", "hypothetical", "pretentious", "untrustworthy." It has been determined that they have negative qualifications such as selfish”, “beneficial” and “lost moral values.​​​​​​​(ix). No matter how correct and nice the discourses of the people depicted in this way are, it is obvious that the probability of having a positive effect on the belief of those around them is quite low. It is essential that adults try to organize their lives in accordance with their beliefs before giving direction to young people. As a result, the formation and preservation of a strong belief in Allah depends on the struggle of man both with himself and with others as long as he lives, and it is necessary to be constantly vigilant for this struggle. The most important thing is to have such a consciousness of struggle.    

i Kenan Sevinç, Psychology of Unbelief, İstanbul: Çamlıca Publ., 2017, p. 17

ii https://www.haber3.com/guncel/kondanin-dindarlik-anketi-aciklandi-haberi-6052237 [Research on Religion] (Accessed on: 15.04.2022)

iii Asım Yapıcı, “Youth and Religious Life in the Globalizing World”. Our Prophet and Youth, 83-97. Ankara: DIB, Presidency of Religious Affairs Publications, 2018.

iv Seher Şimşek, The Importance of Religious Education in Preventing Atheism and Deism Spreading Among Secondary School Students, (Unpublished Master's Thesis), Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University Institute of Social Sciences, Ağrı 2018, p. 37.

v Ali Ulvi Mehmedoğlu, Introduction to the Psychology of Belief, Istanbul: Camlica Pub. 2013, pp.113-114.

vi See. Hayati Hökelekli, Psychology of Religion, Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet Foundation Publications, 1993, p. 197-204; Mehmedoglu, p. 115-125.

vii Hasan Kayıklık, “Psychological Belief, Faith and Doubt”, Ankara University Faculty of Theology Journal, 2005, volume: XLVI, issue: 1, p. 152.

viii Asım Yapıcı, “Youth Perceptions of Religion and Religiosity in the Clamp of Doubt and Belief”, Theology Academy: Six-Month International Academic Research Journal, 2020, issue: 12, p. 2-4.

ix Asım Yapıcı, “…in the Clamp of Doubt and Belief”, p. 19.

* Assc. Prof. Dr., Marmara University, Faculty of Theology