Comparison of group religiosity and individual religiosity in the context of mental health: Anexample of depression

The main purpose of the study is to investigale the relationship between indvidual and group/community religiosity and depression. Another aim of the study is to investigate whether these variables show significant differences in terms of demographic variables such as gender, age and education level. The study was realized in accordance with the relational survey model. The sample of this study conducted in 2018 consists of 494 adults who aged 18-65 and living in Istanbul. In order to determine the demographic characteristics of the participants, personal information form was used as a measurement tool. In addition, the 20-item Religious Orientation Scale, developed by Allport and Ross and adapted to Turkish by Kaylık, was used to measure religious tendency levels. And the 21- itemed Beck Depression Scale, was used to determine the participants tendency to depression. In addition, we used the "Scale of Attachment to Community" which was developed by Horozcu and Kalkan to determine the level of attachment to community. As the result of the study, it was found that there was a negative relationship between depression and individual and community religiosity. However, no significant difference was found between individual religiosity and community religiosity in terms of depression levels. On the othe hand, it was found that there were significant relationships between individual and community religiosity and age, education level and economic status variables. There findings were discussed in the light of the data and recommendations were made for future research. Key Words: Religion, İndividual Piety, Group- Community Piety, Depression