An examination of the religious education needs of women working in public institutions

With the increasing participation of women in working life outside the home, it is observed that significant changes have occurred in various aspects of their daily lives, habits, and social roles and responsibilities. One of these changes is the transformation in women's religious lives and in the ways they acquire religious knowledge. Considering that individuals have a need to gain religious knowledge and to fulfill religious practices at every stage of life, it can be argued that these needs do not disappear during adulthood, even though life conditions may change. Therefore, this study was prepared based on the aim of obtaining information about the religious lives, sources of religious knowledge, needs, and expectations of women who actively participate in professional life and work within a public institution on a full-time basis. Within this framework, the purpose of the research is to determine the needs and expectations of women working in public institutions regarding religious knowledge acquisition, to identify their expectations from religious education institutions, and to contribute to solution proposals that may respond to these educational needs. The research was conducted using a qualitative method and was designed as a phenomenological research design. A semi-structured interview technique was employed as the data collection tool. The qualitative data analysis software MAXQDA (2020) was used to analyze the data. The data were analyzed through descriptive analysis based on the codes derived from participants' statements and the themes generated from these codes. The study group consisted of 20 women working in public institutions in Düzce province. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, paying attention to maximum variation. The findings revealed that the participants attached great importance to their religious development; however, they could not attend institutional religious education activities due to factors such as work life, family responsibilities, and lack of personal time. It was found that participants mainly tried to meet their religious knowledge needs through digital resources and individual reading. The barriers preventing participation in religious education were categorized at individual, familial, socio-cultural, and institutional levels, and it was observed that institutional services were particularly insufficient for working women.