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

Subject Areas : Woman and Society

RAYEHE Mozafarian ¹ , Fuat Güllüpınar ²

1 - Ph.D. of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Literature, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey
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.

References:

1.      Leeming, D. A., Madden, K., and Marlan, S. (2010), Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, Blanton-Peale Institute, Springer Link.

2.      Lofland, J., and Stark, R. (1965).  Becoming a world‐saver: A theory of conversion to a deviant perspective. American Sociological Review, Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 862–75.

3.      Greil, A. L., and Rudy, D. R. (1984). What Have We Learned from Process Models of Conversion? An Examination of Ten Case Studies. Sociological Focus, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 305–323.

4.      Rambo, L. R. (1999). Theories of conversion: understanding and interpreting religious change. Social Compass, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 259-271.

5.      James, W. (1917), The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, New York.

6.      Kilbourne, B., and Richardson, J. T. (1989). Paradigm Conflict, Types of Conversion, and Conversion Theories, Sociological Analysis, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 1-21.

7.      Richardson, J. T. (1985).  The Active vs. Passive Convert: Paradigm, Conflict in Conversion/Recruitment Research. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 24, pp. 163-179.

8.      Ansari, M., & Shojaei Zand, A. R. (2016). Religious Conversion from Islam to Christianity, Master thesis in sociology, Tehran, Tarbiat Modarres University.

9.      Gooren, H. (2006). The religious market model and conversion: Towards a new approach. Exchange, Vol. 35, Iss. 1, pp. 39–60.

10.  Gooren, H. (2007). Reassessing Conventional Approaches to Conversion: Toward a New Synthesis, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 46, Iss. 3, pp. 337-353.

11.  Gooren, H. (2010a). Religious Conversion and Disaffiliation: Tracing Patterns of Change in Faith Practices. Palgrave Macmillan.

12.  Gooren, H. (2010b). Conversion Careers and Culture Politics in Pentecostalism: Time, Space and Mobility in Four Continents. PentecoStudies: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Research on the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 7-28.
13.  Zock, H. (2006). Paradigms in Psychological Conversion Research: Between Social Science and Literary Analysis. In A. L. Molendijk, W. V. J.

14.  Hood, R., Hill, P. C., and Spilka, B. (2009). The Psychology of Religion, (4th Ed). New York & London: The Guilford Press.

15.  Imawati, R. (2018). The Contribution of Social Support and Religious History on Religious Conversion: A Quantitative Study in South Tangerang. Advances in Social Science, Education, and Humanities Research, Vol. 153, pp. 67-72.

16.  Koser Akcapar, S. (2006). Conversion as a migration strategy in a transit country: Iranian Shiites are becoming Christians in Turkey. International Migration Review, 40, 817-853. (Accessed 13/09/2021).

17.  Koser Akcapar. S. (2019). Religious conversions in forced migration: Comparative cases of Afghans in India and Iranians in Turkey. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 10(1) 61–74.

18.  Rambo, L. R. (1995). Understanding of Religious Conversion. New York: Yale University Press.

19.  Rambo, L. R. (2003).  Anthropology and the Study of Conversion. In S. D. Glazier AND A. Buckser (Eds.), The Anthropology of Religious Conversion, (16th Ed.), pp. 210–220. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.