An anthology of diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to new spiritualities, this volume brings together interdisciplinary case studies from literature, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and religious studies. It focuses on a range of figures, movements, concepts, and practices associated with non-traditional spiritualities in contemporary Türkiye, examining how novel, eclectic, quasi-desacralized, and self-oriented forms of spirituality are increasingly favored over traditional ones. Grounded in the current cultural context, the contributors explore how spiritualities originally inspired by Southeast Asian traditions, Shamanic practices, and other sources are first transformed into Western forms, then adapted into Muslim-Turkish settings. The term alternative highlights the creative, eclectic, non-traditional, or even anti-religious nature of such practices. As the first volume of its kind, this book is an essential resource for scholars of new religious movements and alternative spiritualities in Türkiye.
Chapter
1. Introduction: Alternative Spiritualities in Modern Türkiye
(Avc and Albayrak).
Chapter
2. Pick and Mix Spirituality in Türkiye
(Altnl-Maci).
Chapter
3. From Rumi to Buddha: Crossing Spiritualities in
the Transition from the Ottoman to the Republican Era (Özel).
Chapter
4.
From Tale to Transformation: Modern Storytelling as Spiritual Therapy in
Türkiye (Günyüz).
Chapter
5. Empowered by Spirit: Womens Existential
Struggles in Latife Tekins Novels (erefolu-Dan and Yonar-iman).-
Chapter
6. Exploring New Spiritualities: Ritual Experiences of Religious
Women in Türkiye (Acar and Albayrak).
Chapter
7. Veganism as a Non-religious
Spiritual Practice in Türkiye (Eren-Cengiz and Albayrak).
Chapter
8. A
Discursive Analysis of Q&As on Alternative Spiritualities in Turkish Online
Forums (Erkoē-Baydar and Altuncu-Kaan).
Chapter
9. Deistic Orientation of
Adolescents in Türkiye: A Study on Faith Development (Dikba).
Betül Avc is Associate Professor and Chair of both Cultural Studies and Humanities at Boaziēi University, stanbul. She holds degrees in English Literature, History of Religions, and Islamic Studies, and earned her S.T.D. in Missiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Her research focuses on Muslim-Christian relations, alternative spiritualities, and the intercultural dynamics of identity. She is currently engaged in research on the nationalist foundations of the history of religions in modern Türkiye and on Muslim responses to modern ideas of progress. She has taught and published widely on Muslim-Christian relations, intellectual biographies, and alternative spiritualities.
H. ule Albayrak is Associate Professor of Sociology of Religion in the Faculty of Theology at Marmara University, stanbul. She lectures on topics including modernization, secularization, religion-state relations, and Islam in the modern world. She is the author of two books: Christian Fundamentalism (Hristiyan Fundamentalizmi, 2007) and Religion-State Relations in the U.S. (ABDde Din Devlet likileri, 2018). She has also edited Being Woman: Religion, Tradition, Modernity, and Beyond (Kadn Olmak: slam, Gelenek, Modernite ve Ötesi, 2019) and Privacy in All Its Aspects (Tüm Yönleriyle Mahremiyet, 2022).
