Effects of Alevi-Sunni Marriages on Children’s Religious Education and Family Relations

In this study, the views of parents in Alevi-Sunni marriages on the phenomenon of religion and their children’s religious education are examined. While there has been a growing body of research on the role and significance of religion in Alevi-Sunni families, limited attention has been paid to their attitudes towards their children’s religious education, particularly within the context of cross-religious marriages. Based on this, this study aims to fill this research gap by examining the perspectives of parents in Alevi-Sunni marriages on their children’s religious education and family dynamics, using qualitative methods to provide in-depth insights. Ten families living in Sivas, Ankara and Tunceli, who were contacted through snowball and purposive sampling, participated in the study, in which qualitative research techniques were used. The data used in the study were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interview forms. The data was analzed with the content analysis. It was determined that the Alevi-Sunni difference did not have a significant impact on the participants’ religious attitudes or their children’s religious education. Almost all parents stated that they wanted their children to choose their own path by acquiring experience and knowledge about both religious interpretations/ understandings.

The study identified two primary areas of difficulty in Alevi-Sunni families: familial opposition to the participants' decision to marry and conflicts surrounding the children's religious education. These tensions may stem from societal pressures to conform to sectarian norms and the fear of losing religious identity through cross/mixed (intrafaith) marriages. Such pressures highlight the need for open dialogue and acceptance within families, which many participants reported as key to resolving conflicts. The provision of religious education in the family and the religious identity of children have been discussed in a separate study. Therefore, in this study, participants’ views on “compulsory” religious education activities, which are also a subject of debate in society, were evaluated. In parallel with the findings in the literature, the participants’ opinions were grouped in three categories, namely “abolishing the courses”, “making the courses optional”, and “improving the courses along with preserving their compulsory status”. Following the interviews, it was seen that the participants could have arguments mostly due to external factors, and that their own religious understanding did not have any impact on family life, religious attitudes or child rearing. Attention was drawn to the need for freedom from prejudices, acceptance of the other as he/she is, honesty, trust and a communicative environment of dialogue in order to reduce the tension in these two areas.