Media and Religion Studies in Religious Education Literature in Turkey

Mass media and its relation with the religious domain have become one of the key topics in Turkish academia since the dawn of the new millennium. Sooner than later, scholar discussions related to the use of media for religious purposes as well as to the creation of a new media-centered pedagogical environment outside the formal settings gained a significant momentum in the field of religious education. Nevertheless, despite this strong current neither have the main research concerns nor the researchers’ main academic tendencies in these works been systematically researched yet. Accordingly, this paper aims to explore the main research trends in media and religion studies and to pursue answers to the following inquiry: Which research questions are prioritized in Turkish religious education literature? Thereupon, it suggests a generic framework for exploring the specifics in the relevant literature. The paper is divided into three main chapters in accordance with the most common research questions in the academic works, i.e. the ones about users’ perception of media, media effects and media use. Thus, the author aspires to introduce and promote some novel ideas for future religious education research