Multi-dimensional Aspects of Religious Conversion Process from the Experience of Christianized Iranian Asylum-seeking Women in Eskişehir/Turkey

Subject Areas : Quarterly Journal of Woman and Society

RAYEHE Mozafarian ¹ (Ph.D. of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Literature, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey)
Fuat Güllüpınar ² (Ph.D. of Sociology, Professor of Department of Sociology, Faculty of Literature, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey)

Received: 2023-09-25 Accepted : 2024-04-26 Published : 2024-04-20

Keywords: ", Religious Conversion", Iranian Women", . ", Islam", Christianity", Religion", Iran",

Abstract :

Many theorists have addressed the issue of religious conversion. These theorists can be divided into two classical and modern groups. They separated converters into passive and active groups based on the type of their acts at the moment of their belief. One of the complete and classified theories that have dealt with the issue of religious conversion is the theory of Kilborn and Richardson, which is a combination of active and passive actions of converters.

With the help of the semi-structured interviews that were conducted with 27 Christianized Iranian asylum-seeking women, the active-passive dual view of the converters’ actions is reviewed.

This article presents an analysis of how the constantly dynamic process of religious conversion is presented so that a multi-dimensional view of this issue can be taken. Both, the active and passive actions of these women were related to the initial moment of a religious conversion or happening during the process of becoming a Christian.

Consequently, 1. Religious conversion is an always dynamic process 2. Religious conversion can be active in some aspects and passive in some parts simultaneously, and this fluidity will happen forever, even after the establishment of the new religion 3. Religious conversion in active and passive terms has different types, which can be a combination of each of them according to the circumstances of each case.

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