Connections between attitudes to music and religiosity among music students

Abstract

Music is an indispensable part of daily life, serving many functions such as self-expression and fostering social belonging. To better understand musical behavior, it is necessary to understand other behaviors associated with music. Within this framework, this study aimed to examine the relationships between attitudes toward music (musical behavior and attitudes toward music education) and religiosity among music students. It will also reveal whether gender and age play a role in these relationships.

A survey consisting of the author's attitude scales toward music and the religiosity scale (Ok, 2024) was administered to 144 students (62 males and 82 females) studying in the music departments of the Fine Arts and Education Faculties of a state university in their classrooms. The data obtained from the survey were subjected to descriptive statistics (means, frequencies, standard deviations) and correlation analyses.

The results revealed a low but positive correlation between music listening and religiosity. This was interpreted as the possibility that music students might have reconciled their religiosity with their music education. Another finding, consistent with discussions in social psychology, was a low correlation between attitudes toward music and musical behavior. In other words, while students exhibited positive attitudes toward music, they failed to reflect this in their behavior. Furthermore, considering the negative correlation between religiosity and age, it can be argued that students become more secularized as they progress through the music department. In other words, music education fosters a secular culture. Furthermore, women generally have a more positive view of music.