Irreligion in Turkey

Irreligious Turks are a 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 those who were interviewed from Turkey 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]

A poll made by MAK made in 2020 that interviewed 8000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 found that 82,8 of the Turkish young adults identify "as a person who has religious beliefs" and 72,7% of all believed in the after life.[10][11]

According to Ipsos, which interviewed 17,180 adults across 22 countries poll's showed that 82% of Turkey was Muslim and 7% of those who were interviewed from Turkey followed no religion whereas 6% identified as "Spiritual but not religious".[12]

According to a poll made by MAK in 2017, 86% of the Turkish population declared they believe in God. 76% declared they believe Quran and other holy books came through revelation by God.[13] According to a survey by the pollster KONDA, the percentage of atheists in Turkey has tripled in 10 years and rose from 1% in 2008 to 3% in 2018, while the percentage of non-believers passed from 1% to 2%. Among those aged between 15 and 29 years old, these figures rise to respectively 4% and 4%.[14] According to another poll made in 2019 by OPTİMAR, 89.5% of the Turkish population declared they believe in God.[15] Another poll conducted by Gezici Araştırma in 2020 found that 28.5% of the Generation Z in Turkey identify as irreligious.[16][17]

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", 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.[18]

Statistics

Belief in God and religious organizations among Turks

  Believer (89.5%)
  Deist (4.5%)
  Agnostic (2.7%)
  Atheist (1.7%)
  No answer (1.7%)

Religiosity among Turks

  Fully devout (10%)
  Religious (51%)
  Not Religious (34%)
  Non-believer (2%)
  Atheist (3%)

Belief in God and religious organizations among Turks, OPTİMAR 2019 :[19]

  • 89.5 % responded "I believe in God's existence and oneness."
  • 4.5 % responded "I think there is a creator, but I don't believe in religions." (Deist)
  • 2.7 % responded “I'm not sure if there is a creator.” (Agnostic)
  • 1.7 % responded "I don't think there is a creator." (Atheist)
  • 1.7 % responded no answer.

Religiosity of Turkish people, KONDA 2018 :[20][21]

  • 51% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (Religious)
  • 34% defined themselves as "a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Not religious).
  • 10% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (Fully devout).
  • 2% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (Non-believer).
  • 3% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (Atheist).

Among those aged between 15 and 29 years old :[22]

  • 43% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (Religious)
  • 45% defined themselves as "a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Not religious).
  • 5% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (Fully devout).
  • 4% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (Non-believer).
  • 4% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (Atheist).

Among those aged between 15 and 20 old :[23]

  • 55.8% defined themselves as "a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Not religious).
  • 28.5% defined themselves as "Irreligious" (Non-believer).
  • 15.7% defined themselves as "a religious person who fulfills religious obligations such as fasting and praying" (Religious).
Data from various surveys
Source Islam Irreligious Christianity Other religions
Gezici (2020, Gen-Z only) 71,5% 28,5% N/A N/A
Optimar (2019) 89,5% 9,5% 0,3% 0,7%
KONDA (2018) 94% 5% 0,2% 0,8%
MAK (2017) 86% 12,5% 0,5% 1%
Ipsos (2016) 82% 13% 2% 3%
Pew Research Center (2010) 98% 1,2% 0,4% 0,4%
KONDA (2008) 97% 2% 0,2% 0,8%
Sabancı University (2006) 98,3% 1,5% 0,2% N/A

Organisation

Association of Atheism (Ateizm Derneği), the first official atheist organisation in Middle East and Caucasus, was founded in 2014.[24] In 2018 it was reported in some media outlets that the Ateizm Derneği would close down because of the pressure on its members and attacks by pro-government media, but the association itself issued a clarification that this was not the case and that it was still active.[25]

List of some irreligious 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". Archived from the original on 2017-09-05.
  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. https://www.makdanismanlik.org/mak-danismanlik-genclik-arastirmasi/
  11. https://tele1.com.tr/arastirma-genclerin-yuzde-77si-torpilin-yetenekten-daha-etkili-olduguna-inaniyor-215637/
  12. "Religion, Ipsos Global Trends". Ipsos. 2017. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017.
  13. "TÜRKİYE'DE TOPLUMUN DİNE VE DİNİ DEĞERLERE BAKIŞI" (PDF). www.makdanismanlik.org. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  14. Onedio.com. "Ateist Oranı Arttı, Dindar Oranı Azaldı: 21 Grafikle Konda'nın Son 10 Yıllık Toplumsal Değişim Raporu". Onedio (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  15. "Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor". T24.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  16. "Gezici Araştırma Merkezi Başkanı Murat Gezici SÖZCÜ'ye açıkladı: Türkiye'nin kaderi Z kuşağının elinde". www.sozcu.com.tr.
  17. "Gezici Araştırma Merkezi Başkanı Murat Gezici: Türkiye'nin kaderi Z kuşağının elinde". www.gercekgundem.com.
  18. Akyol, Mustafa (2018-04-16). "Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  19. ÖZKÖK, Ertuğrul. "Türkiye artık yüzde 99'u müslüman olan ülke değil". www.hurriyet.com.tr.
  20. "KONDA Toplumsal Değişim Raporu: Türkiye'de inançsızlık yükselişte". euronews (in Turkish). 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  21. "Hayat Tarzı - 10 Yılda Ne Değişti?". interaktif.konda.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  22. "Hayat Tarzı - 10 Yılda Gençlerde Ne Değişti?". interaktif.konda.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-08-04.
  23. "Gezici Araştırma: Türkiye'nin geleceği Z kuşağının elinde". sozcu.com.tr.
  24. "The first Atheist Association in Turkey is founded". turkishatheist.net. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  25. "Turkey's Atheism Association threatened by hostility and lack of interest | Ahval". Ahval. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  26. Reşat Kasaba, "Atatürk", The Cambridge history of Turkey: Volume 4: Turkey in the Modern World, Cambridge University Press, 2008; ISBN 978-0-521-62096-3 p. 163; accessed 27 March 2015.
  27. Political Islam in Turkey by Gareth Jenkins, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, p. 84; ISBN 0230612458
  28. Atheism, Brief Insights Series by Julian Baggini, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2009; ISBN 1402768826, p. 106.
  29. Islamism: A Documentary and Reference Guide, John Calvert John, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008; ISBN 0313338566, p. 19.
  30. ...Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the secular Turkish Republic. He said: "I have no religion, and at times I wish all religions at the bottom of the sea..." The Antipodean Philosopher: Interviews on Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand, Graham Oppy, Lexington Books, 2011, ISBN 0739167936, p. 146.
  31. Phil Zuckerman, John R. Shook, The Oxford Handbook of Secularism, Oxford University Press, 2017, ISBN 0199988455, p. 167.
  32. Tariq Ramadan, Islam and the Arab Awakening, Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 0199933731, p. 76.
  33. "Atatürk İslam için ne düşünüyordu? - Türkiye Haberleri - Radikal". July 22, 2017. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017.
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