Coexistence of modernity and religiosity: Relationship between religion and economy at the 2000's Turkey

In Turkey, during the process of social changes after the 1980s, the relationship between religion and economy differentiates. This study aims to evaluate these changes and the conflict areas, legitimization efforts consonant with modern structures and their resources. It is observed that because of modernity and secularization, the effect of religion on people and society is differentiating. This differentiation is interpreted as the effect of religion in social life increasing, while some argue that the overall increase in the visibility of the religious is paradoxically diminishing the effect of religion in social life. This process also reflects on the economic activities of a religious individual. People who have certain principles and attitudes that stem from religious devotion, experience conflicts and dilemmas while operating in the economic field. Whether the decisions of an individual in the economic field should be shaped by their religious devotion or rational principles of economic field reflect this dilemma. While modernity and secularization lead people to act according to rules of modern structures, basic features and assumptions of the economic field which is the center of social life also shape the minds of people and the social sphere. This leads people to act according to the economic field that is perceived as an entity of autonomous nature and function. At the same time, the spreading influence of individualization that is also the main tendency of religious and economic field complicates the solutions to social problems by causing individuals to gradually withdraw from the social field while also leading individuals to accommodate themselves to current structures of modern life. Discussions about modernity, individualization, secularization, economy, history of economy, Islamic economy constitutes the theoretical framework of the dissertation. Besides, the field works about the religion-economy relationship supports the interpretation of the individual perspectives. Consequently, it is observed thatreligious people often end up adapting to modern institutions and the economic life to solve their conflicts and dilemmas about economic field.