The relationship between understanding of religion and consumption tendencies in university youth

It is of great importance to conduct research on university youth and to reveal their thoughts, opinions, expectations, attitudes and behaviours from different perspectives. It is also important to better understand both the current situation and the future perspective of the society in which life is sustained. In this study, the relationship between the understanding of religion and consumption tendencies of university students studying in Sakarya at undergraduate level was investigated. The study consists of two parts: theoretical phase and field research. In the theoretical part where the conceptual framework is discussed, the concepts of religion, religious understanding, religiosity, consumption, consumption culture, consumer culture, show society, sustainable consumption, as well as the concepts of youth and religion, religious understanding and sustainable consumption behaviour are examined in terms of their relevance to the study. In the field research part of the study, the understanding of religion was carried out using the 'Religious Understanding Scale' consisting of 23 questions and 4 dimensions developed for the purpose of understanding and interpreting religion, and consumption tendencies were carried out using the 'Sustainable Consumption Behaviour Scale', a 17-question and 4-dimensional measurement tool. This study was conducted on the basis of quantitative research method. The data of the study were obtained through the answers given to the questionnaire questions applied in the interactive environment by sharing the link of the questionnaire prepared online to the sample group. The research was completed by analyzing the relationship graphs and difference tests between variables and scale dimensions, and correlation analysis between scale dimensions. This study was conducted on undergraduate students studying at SAU and SUBU. In the study in which quantitative research approach was adopted, scientific findings obtained according to the variables of gender, field of study, class of study, number of family members, place of residence, parental education levels, size of settlement (rural-urban centre) and family income status of a total of 1855 university students who contributed to the research by participating in the survey were presented. In the literature review conducted in the field of religious sciences, it was seen that there are some studies aiming to determine the place of religion in human life and social life, but these studies are aimed at examining certain subjects and focus on some limited subjects. The majority of the studies in the sociology of religion and psychology of religion focus on the level of religiosity. When we look at the studies on the understanding of religion, we come across a field that has been less studied. Again, the sample analysed in the same literature consists of different sample groups. The results of this study provide unique data in terms of revealing the understanding of religion and religious attitudes prevalent among university students and their relationship with sustainable consumption behaviours and consumption tendencies. In this way, the study aims to contribute to the existing scholarly accumulation in the field.