Mevleviye as an Islamic religious order is established in Anatolia after the passing of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi in the 13th century. Based on bigger ethnographic research, this paper tries to delve into the distinction between spiritual and religious from the perspective of new Mevlevis of contemporary Mevleviye in Turkey. The authenticity of new Mevlevis’ standpoint while defining themselves as spiritual but not religious reflects the effects of modernization and individualization in Turkey as well as Mevleviye’s particular approach to spirituality. This reflection seems to reveal the flaws of Western definitions of the spiritual that is often presented as a contrary notion to being religious. Besides offering a discussion on the case of new Mevlevis’ understanding of spiritual and religious, this paper also argues that spirituality has to be studied empirically and defined in regards to its context and culture rather than as an essentially contrasting notion to being religious.

在13世纪Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi逝世后，安纳托利亚建立了作为伊斯兰宗教秩序的Mevleviye。在较大的人种学研究基础上，本文试图从土耳其当代梅夫勒维耶的新梅夫勒维斯的角度探究精神与宗教之间的区别。新梅夫列维斯立场的真实性，同时将自己定义为属灵而非宗教反映了土耳其现代化和个性化的影响，以及梅夫利维耶（Mevleviye）对灵性的独特态度。这种反映似乎揭示了西方对精神的定义的缺陷，这种缺陷经常被认为与宗教信仰相反。除了讨论新梅夫列维斯对精神和宗教的新认识的情况外，本文还指出，灵性必须根据经验进行研究，并根据其背景和文化进行界定，而不是将其本质上与宗教相提并论。