TY - JOUR TI - Religious and National Identity of the Meskhetian Turks in the Conditions of Changing Statehood AU - Nowak, Agata TI - Religious and National Identity of the Meskhetian Turks in the Conditions of Changing Statehood AB - Meskhetian Turks are a Turkish-speaking ethnic group, which lived in Georgia until 1944. The origins of this ethnic group is a matter of academic dispute. Since their beginnings, they have been under the influence of many cultures due to their location on the borders of the Christian and the Muslim worlds. In 1944, they were forced to leave Georgia and were displaced and dispersed throughout the territory of the Soviet Union, mainly to Central Asia. There are currently around 350–600 thousand Meskhetian Turks scattered all over the world. They are the only ethnic group which did not gain permission from the Soviet authorities to return to their homeland of Georgia. The deportation is the most tragic event in the history and collective memory of Meskhetian Turks which has directly affected their traditions, their religiousness, and their religious and national identity. The aim of this paper is to analyse how these events and the present situation have influenced and reshaped religious and national identity of Meskhetian Turks as well as their traditions in the Soviet and post-Soviet period. VL - 2021 IS - Tom 54, Numer 4 PY - 2021 SN - 0137-2432 C1 - 2084-4077 SP - 345 EP - 362 DO - 10.4467/20844077SR.21.021.17243 UR - https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/studia-religiologica/artykul/religious-and-national-identity-of-the-meskhetian-turks-in-the-conditions-of-changing-statehood KW - religious identity KW - national identity KW - Meskhetian Turks KW - Islam KW - Muslims of Georgia KW - deportation KW - Turkey KW - homeland; tożsamość religijna KW - tożsamość narodowa KW - Turcy meschetyńscy KW - islam KW - gruzińscy muzułmanie KW - deportacja KW - Turcja KW - ojczyzna