AN ANALYSIS OF AHMET CEVDET PASHA'S OPINIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

The relationship that Ahmet Cevdet Pasha, who has left deep traces among Tanzimat thinkers with his scholarly personality, experience, and duties, has established between religion and society in the context of his approach to history, social thought, and his view of Islam is the subject of this study. The main research addressed in this study can be articulated as: "What kind of a relationship does Ahmet Cevdet Pasha establish between religion and society in his works?" In this study, which utilized the qualitative method and document analysis technique, Ahmet Cevdet Pasha's works were analyzed within the framework of certain words and concepts such as history, society, state administration, the Ottoman State, religion, Islam, and the West. Based on this analysis, his views were examined from the perspective of the sociology of religion. Ahmet Cevdet Pasha maintained that safeguarding traditional values while adopting Western progress in science, technology, and modern ideas, along with staying abreast of innovation and transformation, was the sole means to avert or postpone the Ottoman Empire's decline. Fundamentally, he maintained that religion and society are inseparable, asserting that their vitality is possible only when they coexist and that separating one from the other would render both meaningless. The lack of studies in the sociology of religion literature that directly focus on Ahmet Cevdet Pasha constitutes a unique aspect of this research.