Parents opinions on their contribution to the religious development of their adolescent children

Adolescence is one of the most important periods of human life in terms of development. In this process, which is a dynamic period of time, the foundations of the attitudes and behaviors of adulthood are laid. One of the most important factors in the child's development during this period is the family. An individual's mother and father are not only responsible for meeting the child's biological, psychological, social and emotional needs. The family is also responsible for satisfying the child's need to believe. Because of this function of parents, God has given parents the responsibility of transmitting and teaching religious values. In fulfilling this responsibility, conscious parents who can guide the religious development of the child have a great responsibility. This is very important for a healthy and effective religious education. The success of religious education depends on the child having a family built on love and trust, and on the parents' balanced and determined attitudes and a correct understanding of discipline. Otherwise, inconsistent behavior may cause the child to develop a negative attitude towards religion in the future. The aim of the research is to reveal the family institution, which has a significant impact on the education and religious education of the individual during adolescence, the competence of parents in religious education, and whether parents can fulfill this important responsibility. In addition, the precautions taken against the negative effects of their parents, friends, environment, teachers and social media on children's religious development were investigated. The sample of the research consists of 16 parents from different villages of İscehisar district of Afyonkarahisar province, with different income levels and different sociocultural levels. In this research, qualitative research model, interview technique, which is one of the types of interview techniques, was used. The findings reveal that parents who receive religious education at an early age can respond more effectively to the religious questions and needs of their teenage children, while the analysis reveals that mothers and fathers are more likely to refer them to a specialist. The results emphasize that parents' religious knowledge is insufficient, that they develop a sense of trust in the religious culture and ethics teacher for their children's abstract needs, and that the importance of increasing lesson hours and providing more support in this field is important.