Evaluation of the 2023 friday sermons of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in the context of the art of rhetoric in classical logic

This master's thesis examines the art of rhetoric within a classical logic framework, evaluating the validity of knowledge in the 2023 Friday sermons of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. Friday sermons ("hutbes") are weekly addresses delivered to the Muslim community at Friday prayers, serving as both religious communication and educational content. These sermons typically contain admonitions and moral guidance. From a classical logic perspective, the value of rhetoric depends on logical consistency; the literature emphasizes that rhetoric gains value through logic and that rhetoric based on logical foundations maintains its validity. Aristotle also noted that rhetoric framed by the rules of logic holds epistemic validity. In this study, all Friday sermon texts published by Diyanet in 2023 were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Sermons were classified by topic and theme, and the rhetorical strategies employed in each sermon were examined in detail. The structure of arguments, examples used, and premises presented were evaluated within the framework of logical rules. The analysis was conducted in light of the Aristotelian and İslamic tradition of logic, referencing classical definitions of logic and rhetoric. Findings indicate that the rhetorical elements in the examined sermons largely comply with logical principles. Religious arguments and quotations are presented in a way that strengthens the consistency and persuasiveness of the message. For example, sermons employ analogies and scriptural citations in a logically coherent manner. Rhetoric based on logic has high epistemic value, and our results show that persuasive language in these sermons is supported by logical flow. Literature also emphasizes that rhetoric and logic are inseparable, and that logic-based rhetoric continues to gain validity.