Mustafa Asım Köksal's perception of religion and religious practices

The field of psychology of religion, which seeks to understand individuals' relationship with the sacred and their religious experiences, focuses on the formation, development processes, and consequences of an individual's religious life. In our research, we explored the belief system, perception of religion, and religious experiences of M. Asım Köksal through information obtained from family members and his own writings. We aimed to identify Köksal's mental, emotional, and behavioral structure, as well as the underlying reasons. Köksal is known for his extreme dedication to reading. He dedicated a significant part of his life to scholarly activities, producing works on religious, moral, and historical subjects. His writings not only met the needs of his time but also contributed to the intellectual and spiritual world of the Turkish people, and this contribution continues. After providing information about his life and personality, we delved into his poems to examine his thoughts and perceptions regarding religious beliefs. The transformation of his religious beliefs into practice and other influences that nourished his religious life were also analyzed from a religious psychological perspective. During the thesis writing process, we initially examined the books written by his grandson A. Cüneyd Köksal about his grandfather's life. We then studied his prose and poetic works, followed by various written works such as books, theses, articles, newspaper columns, and interviews, as well as visual records such as panels, documentary programs, videos uploaded to social platforms, and recorded home conversations, including a twenty-five-page autobiography written by him. We collected data by conducting interviews with his wife, children, grandchildren, close relatives, and students to gather information about M. Asım Köksal's life, religious experiences, and their vital effects. Observations on contemporary human needs were attempted to be identified through his own descriptions, behaviors, expressions, and attitudes, establishing connections with his inner world.