İranlı mülteci kadınların kimlik arama sürecinde din değiştirmeleri: Eskişehir'de bir saha araştırması

After the 1979 revolution, laws against "religious conversion" or leaving "Islam" are more strictly observed, and the propagation of other faiths is heavily punished. Despite these criticisms, the desire of Iranians to leave "Islam" and join other religions is significant. One of the religions that Iranians tend towards is "Christianity." The emotional effects on the new believers led many to leave Iran and follow their beliefs in another country. This research was conducted in the city of "Eskisehir." "Eskisehir" is one of several cities hosting refugees in "Turkey." In the study, different churches in this city were visited frequently between 2019-2022, observations were made, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 Iranian women from these other churches. This study presents some models for Iranian "Christianized" "refugee" women and indicates that most women are searching for a new identity. According to the model drawn, women tend to leave "Islam" along with the migration process due to the social pressures, harm, and painful experiences they have experienced in Iran. Due to the dominance of family members and the state's power in "Islam," women experience problems in their identity construction processes. Early marriage, domestic violence, lack of education, and many more prevented women from realizing their personal and social needs. As a result, the women interviewed in this study, considering all the problems they experienced, tended to move away from "Islam" and converted to "Christianity." These women emphasized that "Christianity" allows women to change their religion and name, testify, be cleansed of their sins, and finally be reborn.