Social identity and religion in the context of intergroup relations: The case of Ankara önder neighbourhood

Religion, with its beliefs, practices, values and mentality-forming aspects, is an important component of individual and social identity. While the groups to which people belong construct their social identities, their religious affiliation is included in this process. However, this should not lead to the conclusion that religion determines individual and social identity in an absolute sense. There is an interaction between religion and social identity. Social identity can be analysed more clearly in ethnically differentiated groups. In this sense, it can be said that the two groups in our country where ethnic boundaries are clearly separated are Syrian refugees and Turks. This paper has tried to understand the relationship between social identity and religion through the views of Syrian and Turkish participants on social identity. With the group of participants living in Ankara, the focus was on how they construct their social identities through ingroup belonging, outgroup awareness, forms of mutual contact and the obstacles that arise, and how they position religion in this process. In this way, the effect of religion on intergroup conflict or harmony will be revealed. In the thesis, a qualitative research design was preferred and in-depth interviews were conducted with 44 participants. The interviews were coded and analysed using MAXQDA 24 software. The data obtained was subjected to content analysis. In addition to the data coded under different themes, field observations were taken into account. As a result, the study identified the strengths and weaknesses of religious influence in the construction of social identity. The strong influence of religion is evident in the desire of the disadvantaged group to resemble the dominant group. However, in the discourses directed from the dominant group to the disadvantaged group, religion does not show a strong effect in reducing the social distance between the groups. This suggests that religion is not the absolute determining factor in social identity construction. This study was supported by TUBITAK 2211-A General Domestic Doctoral Fellowship Programme