Religion and society in literary journalism: The case of Mavera magazine

In this study, in general, "how were religious and social elements handled in Mavera Magazine? From which point of view are the religious elements processed? How were the concepts of social change and modernization handled?" The answers to the questions were sought by using qualitative research method and discourse analysis technique. Publishing in a period of accelerated social change in Turkey as of the period, Mavera Magazine defined itself as a "conservative journal of ideas and literature". Continuing its publication life throughout the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the journal made various religious and social issues its own agenda and presented it to its readers. The study started with information about Mavera Magazine as an introduction. Subsequently, the phenomenon of religion was covered in Mavera Magazine. Then, the four foundations that make up the main approaches of Mavera Magazine are explained. Finally, social change and modernization were discussed in Mavera Magazine and the study was concluded in general. As a result, Mavera Magazine evaluated religion from a functional perspective and revealed its good aspects for the society and the individual. Behind these functionalist approaches of the journal are panislamism and islamic mysticism. In the social sense, they put both social change and modernization on their agenda and rejected the change originating from the west. They stated that they are not the opposite of alteration or modernization and argued that alteration and modernization can only be possible with Islam and Islamic civilization.