The effect of international migration on religious observance and attitudes in Turkey

Abstract

As part of a larger inquiry into the consequences of international migration for those who remain in the country of origin, detailed interviews were conducted with 234 adults in four Turkish provinces. Three migrant-status categories were defined: (a) Returned migrants, (b) Nonmigrant close kin or friends of migrants, and, as a control group, (c) All others. With respect to religious observance and adherence to religiously based viewpoints, group (a) was the least "traditional," and group (c) the most "traditional." In between was group (b). Of the two possible explanations for such a pattern - recruitment and socialization - recruitment appeared highly significant. The evidence for socialization, however, was mixed. General social change, not migration as such, would appear to be the more likely factor to move individuals' religious observance and attitudes along a "traditional"/"non-traditional" continuum.