Abstract:

This research aims to investigate cultural dissemination that the American Collages established in Turkey tried to apply through religion education. The content of this investigation was consist of eight American Collages that had been operating between the years 1839-1922 and the religious instruction conducted in these colleges. Developed on the base of descriptive methodology, written documents were used as data collection tool, in another words, document analysis method was used for this research. The large part of the data of this research was collected from the numerous microfilms provided by the American Board of Commissioner for Foreign Mission Archive. Apart from Robert College which is located on İstanbul Rıza Paşa Yokuşu in Turkey the founder and patron of the other colleges American Board Commission Archives, domestic and foreign sources on the subject, and research and memoires of the founders of the American Colleges and people who were active in these schools were also utilized. Research results showed that dissemination of Protestant values as the main goal of American Colleges was put to work intensely through the religion courses about Christianity Education that were in the curriculum and the religious applications that were in the frame of the hidden curriculum. In this context, as one of the most important characteristics of American colleges that were operated in Turkey an intense Christianity education was given at these colleges and by this way the cultural structure was tried to be converted. 

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