Meaning Making in the face of a Negative Life Event: Responses in a Muslim Culture to the Eastern Anatolia Earthquake (2020)

Abstract

Aim: The problem of theodicy -a philosophical and theological issue concerning the coexistence of divine goodness and human suffering- also presents psychological significance. Such questions involve ambiguity and cognitive tension, prompting individuals to search for meaning. The present study aimed to investigate how individuals in a Muslim cultural context made sense of a major negative life event by examining their emotional responses toward God following the Eastern Anatolia earthquake in Turkey (January 2020). Method: A total of 306 Muslim adults (women and men) participated in the study. Participants completed measures assessing two dimensions of religious emotional experience: feeling comforted by God (e.g., feeling protected, loved, supported, nurtured) and anger at God (e.g., feelings of abandonment, betrayal, or unkind treatment). Quantitative analyses compared levels of comfort and anger to explore patterns of religious meaning making. Results: Findings revealed substantial differences between feelings of comfort and anger toward God. Consistent with previous international studies, negative perceptions of God were rare among participants. Most respondents reported high levels of perceived divine comfort and protection, indicating a generally positive relationship with God even in the aftermath of disaster. Conclusion: The results align with psychological theories of meaning making and support cross-cultural findings that humans seek to maintain coherent global meaning systems in the face of suffering and ambiguity. The study contributes to understanding how individuals in Muslim contexts construct meaning, sustain faith, and reconcile adverse life events within a religious worldview. Originality: What makes this study original is its examination of the problem of theodicy and meaning making processes within a Muslim cultural context. In the existing literature, these topics have predominantly been investigated among Western Christian samples, leaving emotional responses to God and their reflections in Islamic settings largely unexplored. This study addresses that gap by revealing how Muslim individuals who experienced a traumatic event such as the Eastern Anatolia earthquake constructed meaning in their relationship with God. The findings demonstrate how religious meaning making is shaped by culture and offer a cross-cultural perspective on the psychological dimension of the problem of theodicy.

Keywords

• Attributions to God
• earthquake reactions
• meaning making
• negative life event
• theodicy

Project Number

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Olumsuz Bir Yaşam Olayı Karşısında Anlam Oluşturma: Müslüman Bir Kültürde Doğu Anadolu Depremine (2020) Yönelik Yaklaşımlar

Abstract

Amaç: Tanrı’nın iyiliği ile dünyadaki acı ve kötülüğün bir arada var oluşuna dair felsefi ve teolojik bir tartışmayı içeren teodise problemi, psikoloji açısından da önemli bir konudur. Teodise kapsamında yer alan sorular, bireyin bilişsel sisteminde belirsizliklere ve gerilimlere neden olup anlam arayışını tetikler. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Müslüman bir kültürel bağlamda bireylerin olumsuz bir yaşam olayıyla (Doğu Anadolu depremi, Ocak 2020) karşılaştıktan sonra Tanrı’ya yönelik duygularını nasıl anlamlandırdıklarını incelemektir. Yöntem: Araştırmaya toplam 306 Müslüman yetişkin (kadın ve erkek) katılmıştır. Katılımcılara, dini duygusal deneyimin iki boyutunu ölçen ölçekler uygulanmıştır: Tanrı tarafından teselli edilme (korunmuş, sevilmiş, desteklenmiş, şefkat görmüş hissetme) ve Tanrı’ya öfke duyma (terk edilmişlik, hayal kırıklığı, haksız muamele algısı). Nicel analizlerle bu iki duygu boyutu karşılaştırılarak dini anlam oluşturma örüntüleri incelenmiştir. Bulgular: Katılımcıların Tanrı’ya yönelik teselli ve öfke duyguları arasında belirgin farklar bulunmuştur. Önceki uluslararası araştırmalarla tutarlı biçimde, Tanrı’ya yönelik olumsuz algılar oldukça nadir görülmüştür. Katılımcıların büyük çoğunluğu, felaket sonrası dönemde Tanrı’nın koruyucu ve destekleyici yönünü güçlü biçimde hissettiklerini bildirmiştir. Sonuç: Bulgular, anlam oluşturma (meaning making) konusundaki psikolojik kuramlarla uyumludur ve insanların acı ve belirsizlik karşısında küresel anlam sistemlerini sürdürme eğiliminde olduklarını göstermektedir. Çalışma, Müslüman bir kültürel bağlamda bireylerin olumsuz yaşam olaylarını dini inançlarıyla nasıl uzlaştırdıklarını ve bu süreçte inançlarını nasıl koruduklarını ortaya koymaktadır. Özgünlük: Bu çalışmayı özgün kılan nokta onun teodise problemi ve anlam oluşturma süreçlerini Müslüman kültürel bağlamda ele almasıdır. Alanyazında bu konular genellikle Batı’daki Hristiyan örneklemler üzerinde gerçekleşmiştir. Dolayısıyla Tanrı’ya yönelik duygusal tepkilerin ve bu konudaki yansımaların incelenmesi büyük ölçüde göz ardı edilmiştir. Bu çalışma, Doğu Anadolu depremi gibi travmatik bir olayı deneyimleyen Müslüman bireylerin Tanrı ile ilişkilerindeki anlam oluşturma süreçlerini ortaya koyarak bu boşluğu doldurmaktadır. Bulgular, dinî anlam üretiminin kültürel olarak nasıl şekillendiğini göstermekte ve teodise probleminin psikolojik boyutuna kültürlerarası bir bakış açısı kazandırmaktadır.

Keywords

• Tanrı’ya atıflar
• deprem tepkileri
• anlam oluşturma
• olumsuz yaşam olayı
• teodise.

Project Number

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