The effect of belief and attitudes related to dream on behaviour

In this study, the effects of dreams on religious and non-religious behaviors of the individual as well as beliefs, behaviors and practices associated with dreams were examined. The aim of the study is to understand to what extent and how dreams affect the daily life, psychological state and religious life of the individual, and to try to explain how the dream phenomenon is perceived and interpreted today. In the study in which the qualitative research model was preferred, face-to-face interviews were conducted with convenience sampling, purposeful sampling and snowball sampling methods. Participants included in the study are 59 people living in Corum, aged 18 and over, with different socio-cultural and religious backgrounds, from various professions and with different income and education levels. The obtained data were interpreted with content analysis and descriptive analysis. As a result of the study, it was found that the participants dream frequently, think about the dreams they have, try to interpret the dream, and sometimes share it with people they trust for interpretation. However, it was determined that the effect of dreams is generally short-lived and does not affect the participants' daily life, routine, religious life, and any simple or important decisions about their life. Regarding the effect of dreams on decision making, it has been determined that the level of religiousness or education level is not a formative factor, but the person's approach to the dream. It has been concluded that the majority of the participants did not have any rituals performed after the dream. It has been stated that as the individual becomes secular, the importance given to dreams and the meaning they attach to dreams decrease. It has been observed that as these participants become secular, they try to provide more rational or scientific explanations for their dreams which they previously considered as messages from God. It has been determined that the religious value attributed to the dream for centuries has decreased. The belief and/or knowledge that the dream is independent of religion and supernatural forces and originates entirely from the person's unconscious becomes a common view. Despite this, the uncertainty, mystery and/or the inability to explain some dreams are among the conclusions reached as a factor that makes it difficult to deny the connection of dreams with the sacred.