Examinig the perception of mother, father and family of religious individuals in generations X, Y and Z

The aim of this study is to determine the metaphorical perceptions of religious individuals in the X, Y and Z generation regarding the concepts of mother, father and family. Phenomenology, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in this study. In the determination of the participants, snowball (chain) sampling and criterion sampling were preferred among the purposeful sampling types. The research group consists of 600 people from X (43-57 years old), Y (23-42 years old) and Z (18-22 years old) generations living in Istanbul and Erzincan. In each generation, there are 200 people, 100 women and 100 men, who declare that they are religious. Research data were collected through a form such as "Mother/Father/Family… similar. Because…" containing sentences. The data obtained online due to the pandemic in 2021 were interpreted with content analysis. As a result of the research, while the metaphors of "heaven, sun and angel" were used the most for the perception of the mother, the metaphor of "mountain" was used the most for the perception of the father, and the metaphor of the "tree" was used the most for the perception of the family. In all generations, although the mother is defined as "Containing All the Beauties/Adding Value to Life, Protector, Indispensable Element of Life and Educator", it is also defined with its negative aspect in the X generation, and with its "Guide and Authoritarian" aspects in the Y and Z generations. The concept of "Father" has been defined as "Strong and Protective, Guiding, Determined and Hardworking, Indispensable Element of Life, Authoritarian". In addition, the Z generation is characterized by its negative aspect, while the Y generation is characterized by both "Containing All the Beauties/Adding Value to Life" and negative aspects. The concept of family, on the other hand, has been handled in all generations with its negative aspects as "An Inseparable Whole, Source of Peace, Fundamental Source of Life, Protector, Essence of Society", but it has not been characterized as the essence of society by the Z generation alone. Keywords: Family, Mother, Father, Religiosity, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z