Literature and religion from a sociological point of view

Religion is one of the most fundamental social fact that has existed since the early ages of the history. In this long history of humanity, it is clear that literature which is a speech-based art, is a product of human beings' efforts to make sense of existence. The earliest studies on the history of humanity demonstrate that the first religious texts, both in terms of form and essence, are also the first literary texts. Religion has strongly influenced literary texts from past to present and has benefited from the functionality of literature in order to become widespread. Likewise, it is a historical fact that literature has increased his creative potentials by religion through multiple factors. Along with the modern period, religion as in many other fields, has gained an independent identity by separating from both philosophy and literature. However, in the historical process, religion and literature were constantly intersected and the relationship between them continued. Therefore, the relations between two disciplines have always been expressed in different contexts in every period. In this article, the phenomenon of religion and literature will be discussed with an historical perspective with a sociological approach. First, religion and literature will be explained, by explaining the related concepts, and then historical process of the relationship between two disciplines will be explored through a dialectical point of view.