Artificial intelligence and religiosity: A methodological approach to psychology of religion studies

According to experts, artificial intelligence is as important as reading and writing. Moreover, it is as important as the invention of electricity. As research progresses rapidly, the problem of the abundance of data and their interpretation arises. Data mining techniques have emerged to make meaningful predictions by classifying and categorising raw data. These techniques, which are based on mathematical formulas and algorithms, are in a situation where we can process with fast computers. Social sciences and psychology in particular have not yet shown sufficient interest in these methods. In our research, what artificial intelligence is, its importance, data mining techniques and the possibility of its application in religious psychology are emphasised. These techniques are currently widely used in fields such as medicine, engineering and computer science. There are a few studies in social sciences and interest is increasing day by day. Introducing these methods for the field of psychology of religion by comparing them with traditional methods and discussing what can be done in the field makes the research important. The research was conducted to examine the level of religiosity in Turkey and to understand the factors affecting this level. Thus, it observes the relationship between religiosity and belief with factors such as education level, gender, age and sample group. Religiosity is an important social phenomenon in Turkey where most of the population is Muslim and religion plays an important role in social and cultural life. The main hypothesis of the study is that religiosity in Turkey varies according to factors such as education level, gender, age and sample group. The research has developed some sub-hypotheses under this main hypothesis. For example, it is thought that the religiosity score of primary school graduates increases over time, while the religiosity score of high school graduates decreases. This study aims to obtain new information about the level of religiosity in Turkey and to contribute to the field of psychology of religion in terms of methodology by utilising artificial intelligence techniques. In this study, data were analysed by coding with artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic algorithms. The results of the research may help to better understand the factors affecting the level of religiosity in Turkey and to prepare the ground for new research in the field of psychology of religion. It may also contribute to policy development processes for relevant institutions by providing better information about Turkey's social, economic and cultural structure. The methodology of social sciences has been a controversial area for many years. Social scientists have different views between the positivist approach to studying the social world using the methodology of natural sciences and the hermeneutic approach, which believes that social sciences need a unique methodology. In summary, today, techniques such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning bring a new dimension to the methodological debates in social sciences.