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An eclectic religious formation i̇n the modern period: The world brotherhood union Mevlana Supreme Foundation

2025
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Advisor: Prof. Dr. Bahset Karslı

Abstract (EN)

New Religious Movements (NRMs) are religious formations that emerge under the influence of sociocultural processes such as modernization, individualization, and detachment from traditional religious structures, often constructing an alternative sacred universe and cosmology. Unlike classical religious structures, NRMs redefine sacred texts, leadership models, ritual systems, and doctrinal beliefs, adopting an approach that places the individual's spiritual development at its core. These movements provide sociologically noteworthy examples through their ability to respond to new quests for meaning in a secularizing world and to integrate into diverse social and cultural codes. This study focuses on the World Brotherhood Union Mevlâna Supreme Foundation, an original NRM based in Turkey. The foundation's primary text, The Knowledge Book, not only contains metaphysical content but also integrates symbols and figures from Turkey's cultural memory into a universal consciousness system, thereby developing its own distinctive language of sacredness and organizational structure. Within the scope of this study, the doctrinal system, understanding of sacred texts, concept of God, view of the afterlife, organizational structure, and symbolic language of this movement have been examined and evaluated from a sociological perspective. The research was conducted within the framework of qualitative methodology, primarily through documentation review; the foundation's own publications – especially The Knowledge Book – were systematically analyzed. In addition, limited observations and interview attempts were carried out at the Mevlâna Supreme Foundation's branch in Antalya. However, since the institution does not define itself as a "religious structure" and expressed that participating in an academic study under the title of "New Religious Movement" does not align with its mission, no formal participant interviews were conducted. Therefore, direct participant data remained limited. Nevertheless, analyses based on written sources provided a meaningful basis for understanding the movement's core teachings and structural functioning.

Author

Dr. Zeliha Karademir

How to Cite

Zeliha Karademir (Master Thesis). An eclectic religious formation i̇n the modern period: The world brotherhood union Mevlana Supreme Foundation, 2025, Akdeniz University.

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