Syrian immigrants' experience of religious education in Turkey: The case of Ankara Ulubey-Onder District

Migration is a social phenomenon which is felt by various effects throughout human history and has been a reality in every era. Although Turkey also was never a stranger to migration, the one which started to affect the country after 2011 has been one of the largest migration events of the 21st century. As a result, it is possible to speak of many effects of this event to Turkey. In line with that, the topic of this research relates to the question of how Syrians who have migrated to Turkey experience religious education in terms of its formal or non-formal aspects. The aim of the thesis is to understand the way the migrants experience religious education, and to explore what does religious education refer to in terms of their meaning worlds. In this regard, phenomenological method is chosen as an appropriate method to deeply understand the experiences of the people who have been through war and migration, and to address certain exigencies. Moreover, this study examines religious education in Turkey from the perspective of the migrants and aims to present both problems and suggestions of solutions related to the migration event or the religious education itself to contribute to the literature. The data used in this study is based on in-depth interviews with 24 Syrian migrants. The data is analyzed in terms of 4 main themes and brings forth 19 sub-theme codes. The study is conducted in Altındağ district' s Ulubey and Onder neighborhoods in Ankara, where the migrant population is so dense that the area is called "little Aleppo". From the results of the analysis, it is established that the religious education received by Syrian migrants has a positive impact in their adaptation to Turkey. While some encounters during religious education have been a turning point in the positive sense for some of the migrants, it is also observed that migrants who are exposed to biased and insincere religious education show increasing dispositions of rejecting social cohesion. The results also show that it is crucial for both formal and non-formal religious education to understand the conditions of the Syrian children, youth, and adults and to acknowledge the severity of their losses. Keywords: Migration, Religious education, Syrian, Phenomenology