The reflection of the relationship between culture and religion in daily life: The example of Shamanism and İslam

Religion and culture are two interrelated structures essential to the functioning and continuity of societies. In contemporary contexts, these structures interact with different social domains, producing new forms in everyday life. This interaction often blurs the boundaries between the sacred and the traditional, leading to the cultural reinterpretation of religious norms. Turkey serves as a prime example, as its geopolitical position and historical diversity have enabled it to host various religions and cultures. Shamanism, the ancient belief system of the Turks, transformed from a religious to a cultural form after the adoption of Islam, surviving through rituals, symbols, and folk practices. This study explores the relationship between Islam and Shamanic belief and culture through the lens of everyday life practices. Within the framework of the sociology of everyday life, it employs Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of field, habitus, and capital. The Qur'an and the Sunnah serve as the main references for Islam, while Kutadgu Bilig, the Tahtacı belief system, and historical sources inform the Shamanic perspective. Fieldwork was conducted in Başiskele, Kocaeli, through in-depth interviews with ten men and ten women aged 55–75, all self-identified Muslims selected via the snowball sampling method. Participants' knowledge of Islam, religious practices, and Shamanic-origin traditions were analyzed across themes such as food, birth and death rituals, holidays, cleanliness, neighborly relations, and hospitality. The main finding reveals that Shamanic-origin practices persist within Islamic daily life—sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously—reflecting a deep synthesis of religion and culture in Turkish society.