Growing Up In a Mosque Garden: A Qualitative Research on Being a Religious Worker

Abstract

A profession is not only a job; it is influenced by the views of the members of the profession and their children, society and culture. In modern times, when this profession is religion, which is a very controversial field, very different meanings and viewpoints can be attributed. Sometimes this is positive, and sometimes it is negative. The research question of the study is “What are the individual, social, religious and emotional and so on consequences of being a child of a religious official?”. The research was designed according to narrative research, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group consists of 9 children of religious officials, four men and five women. Being a child of a religious official has important effects on an individual's life. These effects were examined under two main themes, namely advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include piety, leadership and socialization, trust and social privileges. Under the theme of disadvantages, there are deprivations-restrictions, emotions, inhibition of self, and religious indifference. Having religious knowledge and social judgment come as a condition for the emergence of these themes.