Irreligion in Turkey

Irreligion in Turkey is a relatively small minority, although precise estimates of the share of deists, atheists, and agnostics in the population vary. Islam is the predominant faith.[1] One study in Turkey reported that 95% believe in God while 75% are religious.[2][3] Another study, done by a French company which interviewed 17,180 adults across 22 countries, stated that atheists accounted for 7% of the population while agnostics accounted for 3%.[4] It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Turkey, as they are not officially counted in the census of the country. The data also suggests that 85% of all irreligious people are younger than 35.[5] There is a great stigma attached to being an atheist in Turkey, so many Turkish atheists communicate with each other via the internet.[6][7][8][9]

An early April 2018 report of the Turkish Ministry of Education, titled "The Youth is Sliding to Deism", observed that an increasing number of pupils in İmam Hatip schools was abandoning Islam in favour of deism. The report's publication generated large-scale controversy amongst conservative Muslim groups in Turkish society. Progressive Islamic theologian Mustafa Öztürk noted the deist trend a year earlier, arguing that the "very archaic, dogmatic notion of religion" held by the majority of those claiming to represent Islam was causing “the new generations [to get] indifferent, even distant, to the Islamic worldview.” Despite lacking reliable statistical data, numerous anecdotes appear to point in this direction. Although some commentators claim the secularisation is merely a result of Western influence or even a "conspiracy", but some commentators, even some pro-government ones, have come to conclude that "the real reason for the loss of faith in Islam is not the West but Turkey itself.[10]

Association of Atheism (Ateizm Derneği), the first official atheist organisation in Middle East and Caucasus, was founded in 2014.[11] However the association closed down in 2018, citing pressure on its members and attacks by pro-goverment media. [12]

List of some non-religious Turks

See also

References

  1. ↑ Girit, Selin (10 May 2018). "Losing their religion: The young Turks rejecting Islam". Retrieved 30 July 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "Religious Trends".
  3. ↑ "Research: 95 percent of Turkey believes in god, 74 percent is 'religious'(In Turkish)". Diken.com.tr. 6 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Fazil Say and Turkey's war on atheism". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  5. ↑ "Atheists raising their voice in Turkey amid polarized reactions". Daily News. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  6. ↑ "Uneasy neighbors in Turkey: atheism and Islam". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  7. ↑ "Turkey's Atheists Face Hostilities, Death Threats". VOA. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  8. ↑ "Atheists, the "Ultimate Other" in Turkey | Inter Press Service". Ipsnews.net. 2014-06-24. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  9. ↑ Semih Idiz (2014-04-22). "Turkey's atheists get organized - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  10. ↑ Akyol, Mustafa (2018-04-16). "Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  11. ↑ "The first Atheist Association in Turkey is founded". http://turkishatheist.net. Retrieved 2 April 2017. External link in |website= (help)
  12. ↑ "Turkish atheism association to shut down due to pressure | Ahval". Ahval. Retrieved 2018-10-06.


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