The Department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences constitutes part of the Religious Studies and Theology Studies. This department, which includes the fields of Religion Philosophy, History of Religions, Religious Education, Sociology of Religion, Psychology of Religion, Islamic Philosophy, Logic and Islamic Ethics, constitues a field of study where religious aspects of people and its social life are treated based religion. For this reason, it matters in terms of forming a basis for sciences related to human life and social life on a wider ground, comparing the religion with other belief systems as well as understanding, explaining, and identifiying different aspects of religion.

With this program, treating the study of Philosophy and Religious Sciences as a scientific research area and researching on interaction of religion with individual, society, culture and history will be enabled with a scientific perspective. This is because Philosophy and Religious Sciences have an important role in the fact that the faculties of theology gain a scientific structure and are represented within the objective and globall university structure. With the Master of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Sciences, it is desired to do either historical and up to date [MB1] or theoretical and applied scientific researches so as to contribute to the increase of scientific studies in our university in particular and in our country in general.[MB2]  The field of Philosophy and Religious Sciences awaits its researchers on unstudied areas. The processes such as modernity, secularism, industrialization, urbanization, globalization and multiplism etc. became efficient in our country as across the world and the religion has not kept out. In a world where the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself, different studies and approaches in the fields of philosophy and religious sciences will serve to a proper understanding of the phenomenon of religion and increase the academic richness. In this context, the theoretical and practical studies to be carried out in the fields of Psychology of Religion, Sociology of Religion, History of Religions, Religious Education and History of Philosophy will contribute to both Turkish culture, Islamic culture and universal culture as well as local and global academic knowledge. And thus, it will form a basis to solve the              prominent problems about the interrelations between religion and individual, society, culture, education, politics, economy and art.

 In order to develop common programs in Religious Sciences both in Turkey and abroad/in Europe and to participate in common programs and academic studies within the scope of EU, there is a need for a graduate program on the Department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences. Besides, Psychology of Religion, Sociology of Religion, Religious Education, History of Religions and History of Philosopy are fields closely related to European Science Tradition. Thus, the department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences graduate program including the given fields of science will form a basis for promoting relations with European and American universities and realising the exchange programs for students and academicians. Some events in the world reveal that religion contributes to individual and community life positively and these contributions depend on conducting objective, quality and scientific studies on religion and considering the results of those studies. The most important element to contribute to World peace is “religion”. Hence, we need to raise people who are able to understand and explain religion. Religious functionaries will make significant contributions to the realisation of alliance of civilizations. The basic reason for the graduate program in this field is to dwell on religion, human relations and community relations so that studies at graduate level on Theology are conducted. It is known that graduates of Faculty of Theology are employed primarily as religious functionaries in Presidency of Religious Affairs and as Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge teachers at Secondary Schools and vocational courses teacher at İmam Hatip High Schools which are reporting to the Ministry of National Education. Besides, Faculties of Theology are also considered to be the main source where the academicians to be employed within their institutions are trained. In line with the increase of the population of our country, the need for quality staff to be employed in these fields also increase. Thus, the increase in the number of Quran courses, mosques, schools and classrooms will lead to a need for more religious functionaries to be employed in these institutions. The graduate program of Philosophy and Religious Sciences will ensure quality staff working in these fields and especially teachers and religious functionaries will be encouraged to conduct academic studies; thus, it will enable them to develop themselves and adopt the understanding of scientific thinking in the very sensitive field, religion.