Fiqh education and its problems in higher religious education institutions

Fiqh courses, which are included in the field of Basic Islamic Sciences in higher religious education institutions, are one of the symbol courses of theological education. Fiqh courses are courses in which individuals are taught the religious-practical responsibilities and rights they have as a Muslim. These courses are taught in higher religious education institutions under the names of Fiqh/Islamic Law and Fiqh Procedure/Islamic Legal Procedure. This study aims to determine how the fiqh education provided in higher religious education institutions and the problems encountered during this education and to propose appropriate solutions to these problems. Students selected by random sampling method among the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students of Afyon Kocatepe University Faculty of Theology and Uşak University Faculty of Islamic Sciences participated in this research. The reliability of the five-point Likert-type survey used as a data collection tool was found to be 0.936. The obtained data were examined as frequency and percentage distribution and interpreted based on these data. As a result of the research, it was seen that even though there were some problems, fiqh courses were among the most important and popular courses in the eyes of the students. The measurement and evaluation approach applied in fiqh courses is mostly test-oriented and does not include questions that require interpretation; technological tools were not used during the lessons; It was determined that students were not directed to do research related to the course. Regarding the style and understandability of the fiqh textbooks taught in classes; Regarding the democratic attitude towards including different views and inter-sectarian differences in lessons; It has been observed that there are problems about whether the topics covered in the course reflect the Islamic religion correctly. As a result, suggestions have been made in terms of the science of religious education in order to eliminate the problems identified in the teaching of an important course such as fiqh, to scientificize the teaching of this course and to make it a lesson that can be transferred to life rather than remaining in theory. Keywords: fiqh, fiqh education, religious education, science of religious education, higher religious education.