Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
BILIMNAME, cilt.44, sa.1, ss.49-82, 2021 (ESCI)
The individual is subject to continuous change from the moment of birth, which is also the case for all types of communities. With the effects of change, the identity of both the individual and the community in which the individual is located, and ultimately the society, is formed. Religion occupies an important place among many values in the formation and protection of individual and social identity. Among the theories dealing with the interaction between religion and identity, Hans Mol's identity theory is among the most important theories to examine religion-based communities. From this point of view, in this study, the identity formation of the Menzil Naqshbandi, which is a Sufi movement, is discussed in the context of Hans Mol's identity theory. According to Mol, religion, which is the sacralization of identity, contributes directly to the formation of an identity in which religious values prevail through four mechanisms whose functionality is observed in the process of sacralization. These mechanisms, called objectification, ritual, devotion, and myth, are the building blocks of identity formation.