The perception of the tariqa and Mahdi: A study on the students of the Faculty of Theology

Messianism is known to exist in many cultures and belief systems around the world. This belief is strongly observed in religious groups such as sect and tariqa in the religion of Islam, and it is estimated that especially Sufism was effective in the formation of popular faith. The religious perceptions of students studying at theology faculties where religious education is systematically given in Turkey differ from the popular belief at some points. A survey was developed to measure how the education of the faculty of theology affects students' perception of the tariqa and the Mahdi. The survey was conducted online with 467 students studying in the preparatory, first, second, third and fourth classes of Istanbul University Faculty of Theology, Marmara University Faculty of Theology, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Faculty of Theology and Uşak University Faculty of Islamic Sciences. As a result of the research, it was observed that theology education weakened the Mahdi faith, and it was found that the students' approach to the tariqas changed positively as the grade level increased. Keywords: Mahdi, Messianism, tariqa, religious groups