Religious and social life in old age

Aging is a naturalprocess of human life andbeginswithbirth. Withthedevelopment of technologyandmedicine, theextendedhumanlifespan has led to an increase in thenumber of elderlyindividualsworldwide, especially in modern societies. Thisnumericalincrease has broughtmanyproblemswith it. Thechangingfamilysrtucturewiththechange of society can alsocauseproblemsforelderlyindividuals. Theelderlyindividual, who is a valuedandrespectedindividual of thepast, mayhavedifficulty in finding a socialposition in today's modern societies. Elderlyindividuals, whoareawarethat they areclosetodeatharedrawntotheirownworldwiththenegativities they encounter in thesociety, andindividualswithreligiousbackgrounds, especially in theiryouthandadulthood, turntoreligionmore in theirold age. Olderindividualswhoareretiredandtakenawayfrombusiness life haveplenty of free time.Olderindividualswhoareretiredandremovedfrombusiness life haveplenty of free time. Theelderly, whoareawarethat they are on thebrink of death, mostlydevotetheirfree time toreligiousworkshiporturntoinstitutionsthatprovidereligiouseducationtolearntheQuranandreligiousinformation. Intheinstitutions they goto, they not onlyreceivereligiouseducation, but alsosocializewiththeirpeersandspend time withthem. Inlinewiththisinformation, theaim of thisstudy is todeterminetheplaceandimportance of religion in thesociallives of theelderlyindividuals in theinterviewsmadewiththe in depthinterviewtechniquewithindividualsovertheage of 65 residing in the Sincan district of Ankara. Religionplays a majör role in theleisure time of theelderlyandengaging in religiousactivitiesgivespeople a sense of satisfaction, bothsociallyandspiritually.