HJALMAR SUNDEN'S INFLUENCE ON THE STUDY OF ROLE THEORY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION

Abstract

The subject of this study is the Role theory, which is one of the important theories in the psychology of religion. Role theory emerged in the 1950s under the leadership of Hjalmar Sundén, especially when he included Religionen Och Rollerna (Role Theory and Religion) in his work. Until the 1970s, intensive studies were carried out on this theory by Sundén's students and other scientists, and the scientific interest in the theory decreased after the 1980s. The essence of role theory is frames of reference. Reference frames are formed by the previous knowledge, familiarity and experiences of the individual in a religious environment, obtained from religious texts, cultural elements, and role models in the social environment. On the other hand, there is the concept of role-taking, which is the source of reference frames, which means taking the role of the other that creates the theory. In order for the role theory to be used in the psychology of religion research and practice, it has been tried to be explained by analyzing it using different methods by various studies.   However, some scientists have emphasized that some aspects of the theory should be reconsidered by including the theory in empirical studies such as experimental methods. At this point, the development and change of role theory in the historical process and its effect on the psychology of religion studies were examined with a literature-based research. As a result of the research, it was concluded that role theory has an important effect on the psychology of religion studies.