Interpretation of Ahmet Ağaoğlu’s Perspectives on Religion and Society from the Late Ottoman Empire to the Early Turkish Republic Period

Ahmet Ağaoğlu, who lived during the late Ottoman period and the early years of the Turkish Republic, was a prominent thinker recognized for his reformist, modernist, and secular approaches to social, religious, and political issues within the Turkish-Islamic world. Raised in a traditional Shia environment, Ağaoğlu viewed religion as a matter of personal conscience and a tool for social cohesion, interpreting its role in fostering societal integration. This article analyzes Ağaoğlu’s views on religion and society from a sociological perspective. The study examines his perspective on religion's social function, the necessity for reform in Islam, and women's rights while emphasizing the connection between these ideas and the social structure of his time. The research employs indirect observation methods that include documentation and textual analysis. By exploring Ağaoğlu’s works and other contemporary written sources, the study contextualizes his ideas within their societal framework. Ağaoğlu’s emphasis on reinterpreting religion as both an individual and a socially cohesive force is highlighted; he viewed religion not as an obstacle to modernization but as a means of promoting individual and societal development. This article aims to contribute to the literature on Turkish-Islamic modernization by providing a detailed discussion of Ağaoğlu’s ideas within the context of sociology.