A Research on the Effect of Religion on the Meaning of Life in Ado-lescents

Almost everyone emphasizes that we live in an age of crisis. The deepest symptoms of the crisis are also observed in adolescents. It is an important task to analyze the crises experienced correctly and to put forward possible solutions to live in a better world. To fulfil this task, it is necessary to analyze our age and the conditions affecting it properly. Young people/adolescents make up about a third of the world’s population. Adolescence is a bridge between our yesterday and our tomorrow, the point where our past and our future connect. Adolescence is the peak of efforts to give meaning to life. In adolescence, many problems such as alienation, suicide, unhappiness and insecurity are based on a sense of meaninglessness. Finding a real meaning for life is the main feature of adolescence. Adolescence is the process of forming an identity. The identity formed in this period affects the whole life. In this process, adolescents begin to question their culture, social values, beliefs and legal rules. The purpose of this question is to reach the basic values and a basic source of meaning that will make life positive. The thought of questioning the life of adolescents and their efforts for a better and happier life are the most important indicators of the search for meaning. The content of the concept of meaning is difficult to determine, but there is no other concept to replace meaning. Meaning is about whether life is worth living or not, living humanely, living for supreme purposes. Understanding means that to grasp the essence of something in it and to be aware of the things what it is related to. Understanding something is finding something from ourselves and discovering ourselves outside of ourselves. The Meaning of Life refers to having a life goal that enables people to make sense of their lives. People who reach meaning can develop their potential, find solutions to their problems, and establish healthy relationships with others. In this way, they maintain their lives in integrity. Religion is a phenomenon that prevents meaninglessness, adds meaning to life, helps all dimensions of life and existence, and it is very important for adolescences. Religious principles and religious values provide alternatives that will make life meaningful and happy for adolescents. Because meaning is the most basic fact of life and religion is the most basic fact of meaning. Life has individual and social goals in the meaning map of religion. Religiosity is a personality trait that gives purpose to life, provides a perspective that will make the problems experienced meaningful, and allows coping with shocking life events. Research has shown that there is a positive relationship between religiosity and well-being, psychological health, happiness and meaningful life. Our research focuses on the contributions of religion on search for meaning and leading a meaningful life in adolescents. In this research, it has been proven that the opinions of the adolescents participating in the interview about meaning and meaninglessness were compatible with previous researches and other research results in the literature. The research was based on the grounded theory approach of qualitative research methods. In this context, half-structured interview with 28 adolescence, aged between 18 and 24, reached by purposive sampling method was carried out. UNESCO which is United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Turkey Statistical Institute TÜİK make research on youth. Both institutions define the age of 16-25 as adolescence or youth. In this research, taking into account the data of two institutions, the age range of 18-24 has been centred. Many scientific studies related to adolescence take this age range into account. Content analysis and descriptive analysis were carried out in the study. The NVivo 12 programme is utilized for alyzingthe data. The findings was discussed based on the relevant literature and recommendations were made for further studies. Almost no research studies are investigating the relationship between meaning, adolescence and religiosity in the field of both psychology and psychology of religion in Turkey. This situation shows the importance of our study. It is possible to use the results of this study to develop main policies in the social, cultural and educational field regarding adolescents