The Religious within the Secular: The Religion-Like as an Analytical Orientation

Abstract

The term religion-like refers to phenomena that appear secular yet share defining features of religion such as belief, ritual, and the sacred. The literature on this topic is remarkably rich, encompassing numerous related concepts. Among the best known are Robert Bellah’s civil religion and Edward Bailey’s implicit religion. Despite this abundance, the literature lacks a comprehensive study that systematically evaluates and compares these concepts within a unified analytical framework. This study addresses that gap through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Using 120 keywords across 40 academic databases, over 3,000 publications were identified, revealing both the scope and fragmentation of the field. The six selected concepts were examined with respect to their historical origins, theoretical background, the phenomena they address, explanatory capacity, and principal limitations. The analysis shows that while existing concepts offer valuable insights, none can adequately account for religion-like phenomena as a whole. The findings indicate the need for a new analytical model that defines the boundaries of religion-like phenomena, allows researchers to draw on different definitions of religion, and provides consistent analytical criteria for researchers. Such a model could help connect the dispersed literature and promote greater theoretical coherence. The study concludes by discussing the implications of the religion-like approach for the study of religion. This approach simultaneously expands the discipline and risks stretching the concept of religion to the point of losing its analytical clarity. Engaging critically with both potentials will allow scholars to study emerging religious forms with greater conceptual precision and theoretical balance.

Keywords

• Sociology of Religion
• Systematic Literature Review
• Religion-like
• Implicit Religion
• Civil Religion

Seküler Alanın Dinî Yüzü: Analitik Bir Yönelim Olarak Din-Benzeri Mefhumu

Abstract

Din-benzeri, görünüşte seküler olan ancak inanç, ritüel, kutsal gibi unsurlar açısından dinî olgulara benzeyen fenomenleri ifade eder. Bu konudaki literatürün zengin olduğu görülmektedir. Bellah’ın sivil din (civil religion) ve Bailey’nin içkin din (implicit religion) kavramları, yaklaşımın bilinen örnekleridir. Din-benzeri literatürünün genişliğine karşın, birikimi bütüncül biçimde değerlendiren ve kavramlar arası sistematik bir karşılaştırma yapan kapsamlı çalışma bulunmamaktadır. Bu makale, din-benzeri literatüründeki kavramsal yönelimleri belirlemeyi, öne çıkan kavramları karşılaştırmayı ve bulguların din bilimleri açısından sonuçlarını tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu doğrultuda sistematik literatür incelemesi (SLR) kullanılarak 120 anahtar kelimeyle 40 veri tabanında tarama yapılmıştır. Tarama sonucunda 3000’i aşkın akademik yayına ulaşılmış, literatürün kapsamı ve çeşitliliği ortaya konmuş, öne çıkan kavramlar tespit edilmiştir. Bunların içinden seçilen altı kavram tarihsel gelişimleri, teorik dayanakları, temel olgu alanları, sağladıkları analitik imkânlar ve başlıca sınırlılıkları bakımından karşılaştırılmıştır. Analizler, kavramların açıklama imkânlarına rağmen din-benzeri olguları bütüncül biçimde ele almakta yetersiz kaldığını göstermektedir. Bu nedenle din-benzeri olguların sınırlarını belirleyen, farklı din tanımlarını kullanmayı mümkün kılan ve araştırmacılara rehberlik sağlayan yeni bir analitik modele ihtiyaç olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. Yeni modelin farklı birikimler arasında bağlantı kurabileceği ve literatürü geliştirebileceği vurgulanmıştır. Araştırmanın son bölümünde din-benzeri yaklaşımının din bilimleri için önemi ve sonuçları tartışılmıştır. Yaklaşım, bir yandan alanı genişleterek seküler olguların dinî boyutlarını anlamaya katkı sağlamakta ve araştırmacılara yeni çalışma alanları sunmakta, diğer yandan din kavramını aşırı genişleterek disiplinin teorik temellerini zayıflatma riskini taşımaktadır. Din-benzeri yaklaşımının önümüzdeki yıllarda artarak din bilimlerini meşgul edeceğini öngörüyoruz. Araştırmacıların mevcut literatürü ve yaklaşımın kavramsal risklerini gözeterek bu yaklaşımı kullanmaları, modern dinî biçimlerin daha bilinçli ve tutarlı incelenmesini sağlayacaktır.

Keywords

• Din Sosyolojisi
• Sistematik Literatür İncelemesi
• Din-benzeri
• İçkin Din
• Sivil Din

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