Religiosity and prosocial behavior among Kazakhstani students studying in Turkey

This study examines the relationship between religiosity and prosocial behavior among Kazakhstani students studying in Turkey within a contemporary cross-cultural Muslim context. Although previous research has linked religiosity with helping behavior, limited empirical attention has been devoted to post-Soviet Muslim youth shaped by secularization and cultural transition. Using a quantitative correlational design, data were collected from 435 Kazakhstani university students enrolled at Turkish universities and analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation, t-test, ANOVA, and regression analyses. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between religiosity and prosocial behavior (r = 0.462, p < 0.001). Among the dimensions of religiosity, Religious Emotion and Belief emerged as the strongest correlate of prosocial behavior (r = 0.491, p < 0.001), whereas Religious Knowledge demonstrated no significant relationship. Emotional and behavioral religiosity demonstrated stronger associations with empathy, helping behavior, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, and social responsibility, whereas religious knowledge showed no significant predictive effect. Theology students also reported significantly higher levels of religiosity and prosocial orientation compared to students from other academic disciplines. The study argues that emotionally internalized religiosity functions as an important psychosocial resource strengthening social cohesion and prosocial orientation among young adults in cross-cultural educational settings. The findings contribute empirical evidence from a contemporary post-Soviet Muslim context to current discussions in the psychology and sociology of religion.