Women's religious group belonging

In order to create his own identity, the individual creates different groups with other people who have the same values, norms and behavioral patterns, for the same purpose. Religious groups have also formed due to differences in the practice of religion or in some parts of it that are open to interpretation. These groups shape their members through the bonds of belonging they form with their members and influence society through their members. Recently, content for women and the activity of women have increased in many religious groups. In this research, the approach of women belonging to religious groups to religious groups, their reasons for joining religious groups and the effects of religious groups on the individual were investigated. Qualitative research method was used as the research method. Participant observation and semi-structured interview techniques were used as data collection techniques. 30 women living in Konya and belonging to a religious group were selected as the research sample using the purposeful sampling technique. In order to ensure comprehensiveness of the results, 10 women between the ages of 18-25, 10 women between the ages of 25-50, and 10 women over the age of 50 were interviewed. The data obtained from these interviews was coded and analyzed with MAXQDA 2020, a qualitative data analysis program. As a result of this research, it was evaluated under 3 headings: women's general approach to religious groups, reasons for joining religious groups and the effects of religious groups on the individual. According to these data, women have positive approaches to religious groups, the perception of women in Islam and the presence of women in public life; It has been concluded that there are religious and social reasons for joining a religious group and that the religious group has many effects on religious and social life.