RELIGION AND BELIEF BASED DISCRIMINATION IN WORKING LIFE: A CASE STUDY UNDER THE HEGEMONY OF SUNNİ ISLAM IN TÜRKİYE

Abstract

Religion and belief have accompanied human history as enduring social phenomena, shaping not only understandings of life and death but also the everyday practices of individuals and societies. With the emergence of the Industrial Revolution and the development of capitalism, the meanings attributed to work by Abrahamic religions have contributed to the formation of new relationships between the worldly and the spiritual. As religious references became increasingly embedded in work practices, religion and belief emerged as constitutive elements of working life and workplace relations. The growing prominence of religion in workplace settings, however, has also produced discriminatory attitudes and behaviors toward individuals who do not belong to the dominant religion or belief system. Conceptualized as religious discrimination, such practices target not only individuals from different religions and beliefs but also those who share the same religion while differing in ritual practices and modes of belief.

This study examines religion and belief based discrimination in the workplace in Türkiye, where Sunni Islam constitutes the dominant religious framework. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study is designed as a single-case study and is based on an in-depth, semi-structured interview with one participant. The aim of the study is to reveal how discriminatory attitudes and behaviors rooted in the beliefs and rituals of Sunni Islam are produced in working life and to explore the psychological, social, and occupational impacts of these experiences on individuals who are subjected to religious othering and exclusion in the workplace.