Önder Küçükural |
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Önder Küçükural is an assistant professor at the Alliance of Civilizations Institute, Ibn Haldun University. He received his PhD in Sabanci University, Political Science Program. He was a visiting researcher at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim- Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at Georgetown University in Washington, DC in 2011/12. He is one of the coauthors of books Yaşlılar ve Yaşlı Yakınları Açısından Yaşam Biçimi Tercihleri, [Lifestyle choices of the elderly from the elderly’s perspective and that of their relatives - 2004] Türkiye’de Dindarlık [Religiosity in Turkey - 2012], and “Türkiye’de spiritüel arayışlar” [Spiritual Seeking in Turkey - 2021]. He is the director of Munazara and Argumentation Ethics Research Center. Currently he is the primary investigator of two research projects "Non-Religious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey" and "Adab in Dialogue: Developing Argumentative Virtues in a Divided World". His research interest includes argumentation and reasoning, religiosity, discourse analysis, ecology and gender studies. He offers graduate level courses at Alliance of Civilisations Institute. |
Kurtuluş Cengiz |
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Dr.Kurtuluş Cengiz is a researcher for the Nonreligious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey (NBPT) research project. |
Mehmet Ali Başak |
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Mehmet Ali Basak is the project coordinator and research assistant for the Nonreligious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey (NBPT) research project. He is originally from Turkey, where he completed his BA with honors at the Middle East Technical University. He then received a full scholarship from the Qatar Foundation to study for a master’s degree in Contemporary Muslim Societies and Thought at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He chose to undertake a second MA degree in Religious Studies at the Memorial University of Newfoundland to enhance his academic background and research skills. His MA project at Memorial was titled “The Formation of Muslim Identities in Canadian Offline and Online Spaces”. Mehmet is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa. Mehmet also works as a project research assistant and a member of the Student Caucus for the Nonreligion in a Complex Future (NCF) Project, led by Professor Lori Beaman from the University of Ottawa. |
Berfin Atlı |
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Berfin Atlı is MA student in General Sociology and Methodology at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. She finished her BA at the same university in Sociology department. The area of Berfin’s academic interests consist of gender studies, feminist studies, necropolitics, sound studies, and social memory. She worked together with various publishers like Varlık and İletişim also published in multiple newspapers of Turkey such as; Kaos GL, 5 Harfliler, Gazete Duvar, Kültür Servisi, AGOS Gazetesi. She took part in projects of Mekanda Adalet Derneği (Justice in the Space Association) and Hafıza Merkezi (Memory Center). She worked as a historical coordinator in facing the past, social trauma, violation of rights and close history fields in the Research Institute of Turkey. Currently she is continuing her individual studies and working as a research assistant in the Nonreligious Practices and Beliefs in Turkey (NBPT) project. |
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Betül Tozlu |
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Betül Tozlu is a research assistant in Nonreligious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey (NBPT) research project. She finished her undergraduate studies in Sociology at Marmara University, and she took her masters degree in Sociology at Ibn Haldun University with the thesis titled ‘Digital community, fan spaces and gendered emotions: An analysis on Korean pop music (K-POP) fandom in Turkey’. She is continuing her doctoral studies at the same university and has been working as a teaching fellow since 2019. Before joining the NBPT team, she worked for the research project called ‘Migration, Change and Sense of Belonging in Başakşehir’ as a research assistant between 2020-2022. Betül’s research interests focus on sociology and anthropology of emotion, space and digital space studies, sense of belonging and memory studies, cultural studies and culture industry and youth studies. |
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Elif Yönden |
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Elif Yönden is a research assistant in the Non-Religious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey (NBPT) research project. In 2020, Elif completed her BA with a high honors student degree at Ankara University, Department of Sociology. In her final year of undergraduate, she worked as an undergraduate scholarship student in the TÜBİTAK - Spiritual Research Project in Turkey with Dr. Kurtuluş Cengiz and Dr. Önder Küçükural. In the same years, she took part in voluntary work in non-governmental organizations such as the Flying Broom Foundation and SGDD-ASAM. After graduating, she started her master's degree at Ankara University, Department of Folklore, but decided to continue her career in the discipline of sociology and changed her major to sociology ib 2021. Elif, who is still doing her master's degree, is interested in the research areas of; sociology of religion, sociology of gender, and sociology of education. |
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Emirhan Özdal |
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Emirhan Özdal is a student research member of the Non-Religious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey (NBPT) research project. He is a sociology BA student at Ankara University and the vice president of Ankara University, Sociology Society. His research interests focus on Sociology of Religion, Urban Sociology and Sociology of Knowledge. |
Nazmiye Yağcı |
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Nazmiye Yağcı is a PhD student. She went through a religious education system in high school. She became a graphic designer by taking painting, photography and graphic design lessons due to her interest in visual arts. While she was working, she studied in the Faculty of Theology at Istanbul University. She then became a graduate student in the philosophy of religion. Her MA thesis was about "new atheism" because of her interest in non-religious worldviews. She is currently a doctoral student at the Social Sciences Institute of Istanbul University, continuing her studies on non-religion and working as a research assistant in the TÜBİTAK supported project ‘Nonreligious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey’ (NBPT). |
Nesibe Demir |
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Nesibe Demir is a PhD student in Sociology and a teaching fellow at the University of Ibn Haldun. She received her Master’s Degree in Sociology from Ibn Haldun University with the thesis titled “The Role of Space and Emotions in the Experiences of Muslim Women: Hanımlar İlim ve Kültür Derneği (HIKDE)” in 2020. Her graduate research explored the role of space and emotions in the experiences of Muslim women in relation to the debates on Islamism and the public sphere in Turkey. She also took part as a scholarship student in the scientific research project titled "Experiences of "Islamist" Women from 1960s to Today in the Context of Religion, Social Space and Emotion" conducted between 2019-2021. Her research interests include the sociology of religion, religious/nonreligious identity, politics, anthropology and sociology of emotions, women studies, youth studies, and ethnography of space and place. Nesibeis a research assistant in Nonreligious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey (NBPT) research project. |
Zeynep Aslan |
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Zeynep Aslan is a PhD student and research assistant in "Nonreligious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey" (NBPT) project. In undergraduate years she double majored in Theology and Literature departments at İstanbul University. She finished her MA in Sociology of Religion in the same university. Her MA thesis titled “Muhafazakar Kesimin Değişen Tüketim Alışkanlıkları” (Changing Consumption Habits of the Conservatives). She is continuing her PhD in Sociology of Religion at İstanbul University. Before becoming part of the NPBT team she worked as a researcher in the “Social Change and Religion” workshop and “Secularization and Changing Religiosity Practices” project. Her research interests focusing on changing religious practices and non belief in Muslim societies. |
Zeynep Kübra Kılıç |
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Zeynep Kübra Kılıç is research assistant for the Nonreligious Beliefs and Practices in Turkey (NBPT) research project. She finished her MA studies in Istanbul 29 Mayıs University, Faculty of Theology. During her MA studies she also completed the academic support program held by ISAM (Islamic Research Center), named LADEP (Undergraduate Academic Support Program). She is studying for her master's degree in Sociology of Religion at Ibn Haldun University. She speaks Arabic and English and is learning Persian and Hebrew. Religiosity and nonreligiousness in Turkey are her current field of interest. |