Vol. 16 No. 32 (2025): Communities and possible worlds. Community experiences and practices of resistance in neoliberal rationality
Articles

Digital Reflexive Community as a Healing Force: The Case of HakSende Among Alevi People in Turkey

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  • Nuran Erol Isik,
  • Sati Sariaslan Atli
Nuran Erol Isik
Department of Sociology, Ege University, Türkiye
Sati Sariaslan Atli
The Presidency of Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi, Ankara, Türkiye
Bio
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/smp-16164

Published 2025-12-30

Keywords

  • reflexive community,
  • Alevi culture,
  • storytelling,
  • spirituality

How to Cite

Erol Isik, N., & Sariaslan Atli, S. (2025). Digital Reflexive Community as a Healing Force: The Case of HakSende Among Alevi People in Turkey. SocietàMutamentoPolitica, 16(32), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.36253/smp-16164

Copyright (c) 2025 Nuran Erol Isik, Sati Sariaslan Atli

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The Alevi community in Turkey, numbering over 15 million, has faced social and political marginalization due to its distinct cultural and religious heritage. In recent years, Alevi culture and identity have provided opportunities to redefine key fault lines in Turkish society. The rise of digital media has enabled Alevis to create online communities and negotiate their spirituality and morality. This study explores the digital spiritual community of Alevi people, analyzing the key characteristics of Alevi spirituality and morality in online spaces. We examine how Alevi individuals use digital platforms to construct their identity, reconnect with their heritage, and engage in moral and spiritual discussions. Our research draws on in-depth interviews with 10 members of an online Alevi community, virtual ethnographic research, and a focus group with 8 participants. We investigate the interplay between reflexivity, spirituality, morality, narrativity, and agency in the digital sphere. The findings suggest that the online Alevi community provides a discursive space for negotiating spirituality and morality. Members use digital platforms to share narratives, seek guidance, and engage in moral discussions. The community’s spiritual understanding of the lifeworld is mediated through daily conversations, social media, and other digital practices. We argue that the Alevi community’s digital presence is a response to the challenges of modernity and the need for solidarity and collective identity. The online community offers a space for Alevi individuals to re-construct their heritage, negotiate moral virtues, and develop a reflexive self. This study contributes to our understanding of the intersection of digital media, spirituality, and community building. It highlights the importance of reflexivity and narrativity in shaping moral identity and constructing community in online spaces.

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