Religion in Turkey - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

is the largest religion of Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. Around 96% percent of the population is registered as Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

, mostly Sunni; however, a 2007 survey found that about 3% of adults define their relation with religion as "having no religious conviction" or "not believing in religious obligations". The Shia Alevi

Alevi

The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....

community, a distinct Muslim sect, makes up 20% of the population. Christians

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

(Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...

, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic) and Jews

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

(Sephardi), who comprise the non-Muslim population have dramatically declined since the early 19th century

19th century

The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...

onwards from 20% to less than 1% today, and are continuing to steadily decline since the year 2000 as well.

Turkey is officially a secular country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1924 and later strengthened in the Kemalist Ideology

Kemalist ideology

Kemalist Ideology, "Kemalism" or also known as the "Six Arrows" is the principle that defines the basic characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. It was developed by the Turkish national movement and its leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.-Fundamentals:...

, alongside the Atatürk's reforms

Atatürk's Reforms

Atatürk's Reforms were a series of political, legal, cultural, social and economic reforms that were designed to modernize the new Republic of Turkey into a democratic and secular nation-state...

and the appliance of laïcité

Laïcité

French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...

by Atatürk at the end of 1937. However, currently all public schools from elementary to high school hold mandatory religion classes which only focus on the Sunni sector of Islam. In these classes, children are required to learn prayers and other religious practices which belong specifically to Sunnism. Thus, although Turkey claims to be a Secular state, the enforcement of secularism in public grade schools is controversial. Its application to join the EU divided existing members, some of which questioned whether a Muslim country could fit in. Turkey accused its EU opponents of favouring a "Christian club".

Beginning in the 1980s, the role of religion in the state has been a divisive issue, as influential factions challenged the complete secularization called for by Kemalism and the observance of Islamic practices experienced a substantial revival. In the early 2000s, Islamic groups challenged the concept of the secular state with increasing vigor after the Erdoğan government had calmed the issue in 2003. The Turkish Government states that between 90% - 95% of the population belong to the Islamic Majority, but recent polls do not concur. In the most recent poll conducted by Sabanci University, 83% of Turks revealed they were Muslim. Of that, 16% said they were "extremely religious", 39% saying they were "somewhat religious", and 32% saying they were "not religious". 3% of Turks declare themselves with no religious beliefs. In addition, only 13% of Turks have a favourable opinion of Christians, and 10% of Jews.

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

is the religion with the largest community of followers in the country, where most of the population is nominally Muslim

Muslim

, of whom over 75% belong to the Sunni

Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....

branch of Islam. Over 20% of the Muslim population is Shia Alevi

Alevi

The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....

. There is also a small Bektashi

Bektashi

Bektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Persian saint Haji Bektash Veli. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli the order was significantly influenced during its formative period by both the Hurufis as well as the...

community belonging to a Sufi order of Islam that is indigenous to Turkey, but also has numerous followers in the Balkan peninsula. More Recent Poll numbers show that Islam in Turkey is slowly declining. Islam arrived in the region that comprises present-day Turkey, particularly the eastern provinces of the country, as early as the 7th century AD. The mainstream Hanafi

Hanafi

The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...

school of Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam

is largely organized by the state, through the Religious Affairs Directorate

Diyanet Isleri Baskanligi

In Turkey, the Presidency of Religious Affairs is an official institution established in 1924 after the abolition of the caliphate. Founded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a successor to Sheikh ul-Islam, it represents the highest Islamic religious authority in the country...

, which was established in 1924 following the abolition of the Caliphate

Caliphate

The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...

and controls all mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s and Muslim clerics

Mufti

A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...

, and is officially the highest religious authority in the country.

As of today, there are thousands of historical mosques throughout the country which are still active. Notable mosques built in the Seljuk and Ottoman periods include the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, the Yeşil Mosque

Yesil Cami

Yeşil Mosque , also known as Mosque of Mehmed I, is a part of the larger complex located on the east side of Bursa, Turkey, the former capital of the Ottoman Turks before they captured Constantinople in 1453...

in Bursa, the Alaeddin Mosque

Alaeddin Mosque

Alâeddin Mosque is the principal monument on the citadel of Konya, Turkey. The building served as the “Mosque of the Throne” for the Seljuq Sultans of Rum and contains the dynastic mausoleum. It was constructed in stages between the mid-12th and mid-13th centuries...

and Mevlana Mosque

Mevlana Museum

The Mevlâna museum, located in Konya, Turkey, is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Sufi mystic also known as Mevlâna or Rumi. It was also the dervish lodge of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes....

in Konya, and the Great Mosque

Divrigi Great Mosque

Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital is an ornately decorated mosque and medical complex built in 1299 in the small eastern Anatolian mountain town of Divriği, now in Sivas Province in Turkey. The architect was Hürremshah of Ahlat and the mosque was built on the order of Ahmet Shah, ruler of the...

in Divriği, among many others. Large mosques built in the Republic of Turkey period include the Kocatepe Mosque

Kocatepe Mosque

The Kocatepe Mosque is the largest mosque in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was built between 1967 and 1987 in the Kocatepe quarter in Kızılay, and its size and prominent situation have made it a landmark that can be seen from almost anywhere in central Ankara.-History of the mosque:The idea of...

in Ankara and the Sabancı Mosque

Sabanci Mosque

Sabancı Merkez Camii in Adana is the largest mosque in Turkey.. The exterior of the mosque is similar to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul while the interior decoration is similar to the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne....

in Alana.

Other religions

The remainder of the population belongs to other faiths, particularly Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

denominations (Greek Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

, Armenian Apostolic

Armenian Apostolic Church

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...

, Syriac Orthodox

Syriac Orthodox Church

The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....

, Catholic and Protestant), and Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

(mostly Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...

, and a smaller Ashkenazi community.) Turkey has numerous important sites for Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

and Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, being one of the birth places of the latter. Sinced the 4th century AD, Istanbul (Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

) has been the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...

(unofficially Fener Rum Ortodoks Patrikhanesi), which is one of the fourteen autocephalous

Autocephaly

Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...

Eastern Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

churches, and the primus inter pares

Primus inter pares

Primus inter pares is Latin phrase describing the most senior person of a group sharing the same rank or office.When not used in reference to a specific title, it may indicate that the person so described is formally equal, but looked upon as an authority of special importance by their peers...

(first among equals) in the Eastern Orthodox communion

Eastern Orthodox Church organization

This article covers the organization of the Eastern Orthodox Churches rather than the doctrines, traditions, practices, or other aspects of Eastern Orthodoxy...

. However, the Turkish government does not recognize the ecumenical status of Patriarch

Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

Bartholomew I. The Halki seminary

Halki seminary

The Halki seminary, formally the Theological School of Halki , was founded on 1 October 1844 on the island of Halki , the second-largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. It was the main school of theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church's Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until...

remains closed since 1971 due to the Patriarchate's refusal to accept the supervision of the Turkish Ministry of Education

Ministry of National Education (Turkey)

The Ministry of National Education is a government ministry of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for the supervision of public and private educational system, agreements and authorizations under a national curriculum....

on the school's educational curricula; whereas the Turkish government wants the school to operate as a branch of the Faculty of Theology at Istanbul University

Istanbul University

Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...

.

Istanbul, since 1461, is the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople

Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople

The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises a spiritual authority....

. There have been 84 individual Patriarchs since establishment of the Patriarchate. The first Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople

The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises...

was Hovakim I

Hovakim I of Constantinople

Hovakim I, also known as Hovakim of Bursa, was the first Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople under the authority of the Catholicos of Armenia and of all Armenians. He and his community were invited to the city by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II to the city from Bursa in 1461, eight years after the...

who ruled from 1461 to 1478. Sultan Mehmed II

Mehmed II

Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...

allowed the establishment of the Patriarchate in 1461, just eight years after the Fall of Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...

in 1453. The Patriarch was recognized as the religious and secular leader of all Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

Armenians in the Ottoman Empire or Ottoman Armenians were ethnic Armenian people of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church or the Armenian Protestant Church who lived in the Ottoman Empire...

, and carried the title of milletbaşı

Millet (Ottoman Empire)

Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...

or ethnarch

Ethnarch

Ethnarch, pronounced , the anglicized form of ethnarches refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or homogeneous kingdom. The word is derived from the Greek words and ....

as well as patriarch

Patriarch

. 75 patriarchs have ruled during the Ottoman period (1461-1908), 4 patriarchs in the Young Turks

Young Turks

The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...

period (1908-1922) and 5 patriarchs in the current secular Republic of Turkey (1923-present). The current Armenian Patriarch

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople

is Mesrob II (Mutafyan)

Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan of Constantinople

Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafyan, also known as Mesrop Mutafyan, is the 84th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople...

(Մեսրոպ Բ. Մութաֆեան), who has been in office since 1998.

There are many churches and synagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

s throughout the country, such as the Church of St. George

Church of St. George, Istanbul

The Church of St. George is the principal Greek Orthodox cathedral still in use in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and , the capital of the Byzantine Empire until 1453...

, the St. Anthony of Padua Church, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, the Neve Shalom Synagogue

Neve Shalom Synagogue

Neve Shalom Synagogue, , is a synagogue located in the Galata district of Istanbul, Turkey.The synagogue was built in response to an increase in the Jewish population in the old Galata neighborhood in the late 1930s. A Jewish primary school was torn down in 1949 for that purpose and the synagogue...

, the Italian Synagogue

Italian Synagogue (Istanbul)

The Italian Synagogue, also known as Kal de los Frankos, is a synagogue located north of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. The synagogue was established by the Italian Jewish community of Istanbul, , in the 19th century. In 1931 the original building was demolished and a new synagogue was built...

and the Ashkenazi Synagogue

Ashkenazi Synagogue of Istanbul

The Ashkenazi Synagogue is an Ashkenazi synagogue located near the Galata Tower in Karaköy neighborhood of Beyoğlu in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the only currently active Ashkenazi synagogue in Istanbul open to visits and prayers. The synagogue was founded by Jews of Austrian origin in 1900...

in Istanbul. There are also many historical churches which have been transformed into mosques or museums, such as the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...

and Chora Church

Chora Church

The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of a Byzantine church. The church is situated in Istanbul, in the Edirnekapı neighborhood, which lies in the western part of the municipality of Fatih...

in Istanbul, the Church of St. Peter

Church of St Peter

The Church of Saint Peter near Antakya , Turkey, is composed of a cave carved into the mountainside on Mount Starius with a depth of 13 m, a width of 9.5 m and a height of 7 m...

in Antakya, and the Church of St. Nicholas in Myra, among many others. There are probably 10 to 20 thousand Bahá'ís, and around a hundred Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Turkey.

Secularism

Turkey has a secular

Secularism

Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...

constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

, with no official state religion. The strong tradition of secularism in Turkey

Secularism in Turkey

Secularism in Turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of Turkey. Secularism was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of...

is essentially similar to the French model of laïcité

Laïcité

. The constitution recognizes the freedom of religion

Freedom of religion

Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...

for individuals, whereas the religious communities are placed under the protection and jurisdiction of the state and can't become involved in the political process (e.g. by forming a religious party) or establish faith-based schools. No political party can claim that it represents a form of religious belief; nevertheless, religious sensibilities are generally represented through conservative parties. Turkey prohibits by law the wearing of religious headcover

Hijab

The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....

and theo-political symbolic garments for both genders in government buildings, schools, and universities; the law was upheld by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...

as "legitimate" in the Leyla Şahin v. Turkey

Leyla Sahin v. Turkey

Leyla Şahin v. Turkey was a 2004 European Court of Human Rights case brought against Turkey by a medical student challenging a Turkish law which bans wearing the Islamic headscarf at universities and other educational and state institutions...

case on November 10, 2005.

Beginning in the 1980s, the role of religion in the state has been a divisive issue, as influential factions challenged the complete secularization called for by Kemalism and the observance of Islamic practices experienced a substantial revival. In the early 2000s, Islamic groups challenged the concept of the secular state with increasing vigor after the Erdoğan government had calmed the issue in 2003.

Religious organization

The mainstream Hanafi

Hanafi

te school of Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam

is largely organised by the state, through the Diyanet Isleri Baskanligi

Diyanet Isleri Baskanligi

(Religious Affairs Directorate), which controls all mosque

Mosque

s and Muslim clerics. The directorate is criticized by some Alevi Muslims for not supporting their beliefs and instead favoring the Sunni faith.

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (Patrik) is the head of the Greek Orthodox Church

Greek Orthodox Church

The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...

in Turkey, and also serves as the spiritual leader of all Orthodox churches

Eastern Orthodox Church

throughout the world. The Armenian Patriarch

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople

is the head of the Armenian Church in Turkey, while the Jewish community is led by the Hahambasi

Hakham Bashi

Hakham Bashi is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation's Jewish community.-History:The institution of the Hakham Bashi was established by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, as part of the millet system for governing exceedingly diverse subjects according to their own laws and authorities...

, Turkey's Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...

, based in Istanbul. All these groups share the same criticism of the directorate.

Historical Christian sites

Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...

(Antakya

Antakya

Antakya is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. The mayor is Lütfü Savaş.Known as Antioch in ancient times, the city has historical significance for Christianity, as it was the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the first...

), the city where "the disciples were first called Christians" according to the biblical Book of Acts, is located in modern Turkey, as are most of the areas visited by St. Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

during his missions. The Epistle to the Galatians

Epistle to the Galatians

The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, often shortened to Galatians, is the ninth book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of Early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia...

, Epistle to the Ephesians

Epistle to the Ephesians

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, often shortened to Ephesians, is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been credited to Paul, but it is considered by some scholars to be "deutero-Pauline," that is, written in Paul's name by a later author strongly influenced by...

, Epistle to the Colossians

Epistle to the Colossians

The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, usually referred to simply as Colossians, is the 12th book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle to the Church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately 100 miles from Ephesus in Asia...

, First Epistle of Peter

First Epistle of Peter

The First Epistle of Peter, usually referred to simply as First Peter and often written 1 Peter, is a book of the New Testament. The author claims to be Saint Peter the apostle, and the epistle was traditionally held to have been written during his time as bishop of Rome or Bishop of Antioch,...

, and Book of Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

are addressed to recipients in the territory of modern Turkey. Additionally, all of the first Seven Ecumenical Councils that define Christianity for Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians took place in the territory that is now Turkey.

Freedom of religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice; however, the Government imposes some restrictions on Muslim and much more on other religious groups and on Muslim religious expression in government offices and state-run institutions, including universities.

Although proselytizing is legal in the country, non-Sunni Muslims, Christians, and Jews face a few restrictions and occasional harassment for alleged proselytizing or unauthorized meetings. The Government continues to oppose "Islamic fundamentalism

Islamic fundamentalism

Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...

."

Persons wishing to convert from Islam to another religion sometimes experience social harassment and violence from relatives and neighbors, though the act is legal under Turkish law.

Turkey has a democratic government and strong tradition of secularism. Nevertheless, the Turkish state's interpretation of secularism has resulted in religious freedom violations for many of Turkey's citizens. The 2009 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report placed Turkey on its Watch List' with countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, the Russian Federation, and Venezuela.

According to the report, the situation for Jews in Turkey is better than in other majority Muslim countries. Jews report being able to worship freely and their places of worship generally government protection when it is required. Jews also operate their own schools, hospitals, two elderly homes, and welfare institutions, as well as a newspaper. Nevertheless, concerns have arisen in recent years because of attacks by extremists on synagogues in 2003 and 2004, as well as growing anti-Semitism in some sectors of the Turkish media and society.

Roman Catholics have sometimes also been subjected to violent societal attacks. In February 2006, an Italian Catholic priest was shot to death in his church in Trabzon, reportedly by a youth angered over the caricatures of the Muslim prophet in Danish newspapers. Prime Minister Erdoğan and other government officials strongly condemned the killing. A 16 year-old boy was subsequently charged with the murder and sentenced to 19 years in prison. In December 2007, a 19 year-old stabbed a Catholic priest outside a church in Izmir; the priest was treated and released the following day. According to newspaper reports, the assailant, who had been
arrested, admitted that he had been influenced by a recent television program that depicted Christian missionaries as infiltrators who take advantage of poor people. Roman Catholics also have had their property confiscated by the government.

The Armenian Patriarch, head of the Armenian Orthodox Church, also lacks the status of legal personality and there is no seminary in Turkey to educate its clerics since the closure of the last remaining seminar by the state. As with the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Armenian Patriarchate experiences direct Turkish government interference in the selection of its religious leadership, and the Turkish state also prevents the Armenian Orthodox community, which the State Department estimates at 65,000, from operating an independent seminary. In 2006, the Armenian Patriarch submitted a proposal to the Minister of Education to enable his community to establish a faculty in Armenian at a state university with instruction by the Patriarch. Under current restrictions, only the Sunni Muslim community can legally operate institutions to train new clergy in Turkey for future leadership.

Patriarch Bartholomew I, most senior bishop among equals

Primus inter pares

in the traditional hierarchy of Orthodox Christianity, said that he felt "crucified" living in Turkey under a government that did not recognize the ecumenical status of Patriarch and would like to see his Patriarchate die out. The AK Party government criticized Bartholomew I, deputy prime minister Arınç

Bülent Arinç

Bülent Arınç , is a Turkish politician. He served as the 22nd house speaker of the Parliament of Turkey from 2002 to 2007. He is one of the State Ministers of Turkey and Vice-Prime Minister today.-Life and education:...

said that the Orthodox Church enjoyed their religious rights during the AK Party government and foreign minister, Davutoğlu

Ahmet Davutoglu

Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish political scientist, an academic and an ambassador. On May 1, 2009, he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey after being the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey.-Life and career:...

said that he wished those farted remarks were a "slip of the tongue". In response to the government's criticism, Bartholomew's lawyer said when the patriarchate was criticizing government he was referring to the state, not this government in particular. Erdoğan, Turkish Prime Minister said that “When it comes to the question, ‘Are you recognizing [him] as ecumenical?’ I wouldn’t be annoyed by it [this title]. Since it didn’t annoy my ancestors, it will not annoy me, either. But it may annoy some [people] in my country”. A number of the Church's properties and schools, such as the Halki Theological School and the Greek Orthodox orphanage in Büyükada

Büyükada

Büyükada is the largest of the nine so-called Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, with an area of about two square miles...

have been expropriated or closed. However, following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

, the deed to the orphanage was returned to the Ecumenical Patriarchate on November 29, 2010.

Religiosity

The vast majority of the present-day Turkish people are Muslim

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

and the most popular sect is the Hanafite school of Sunni Islam

Sunni Islam

, which was officially espoused by the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

; according to the KONDA Research and Consultancy survey carried out throughout Turkey on 2007:

52.8% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (Religious)
34.3 % defined themselves as "“a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Believer).
9.7% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (Fully devout).
2.3% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (Non-believer).

0.9% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (Atheist).

The worship practices by the people in Turkey :

Frequency of worship	Regularly	Sometimes	Never
Performing ritual prayer	43.9%	41.7%	14.4%
Fasting	82.5%	12.1%	5.4%
Going to Friday prayer (men only)	56.1%	25.0%	18.9%
Going to mosque	24.4%	51.1%	24.5%
Praying	75.2%	22.5%	2.3%
Reading the Qur'an Qur'an The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...	26.3%	31.2%	42.5%

Covering of a headscarf :

Do you (or your wife) cover your head when going out to the street?	2003	2007
Not covered	35.8%	30.6%
Covers it	64.2%	69.4%

According to a 2003 study by Çarkoglu, Ergüder, and Kalaycıoğlu:

Belief in ...	Believes	No belief	No response
God	98.0%	1.7%	0.3%
Sin	97.0%	2.8%	0.2%
Heaven and hell	96.2%	3.4%	0.4%
Existence of spirit	95.5%	3.9%	0.6%
Afterlife	93.2%	6.3%	0.5%
Existence of the devil	92.1%	7.5%	0.4%

A Pew Research Center

Pew Research Center

The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1990, Donald S...

report of 2002 found that 65% of the people in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

say religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

plays a very important role in their lives.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll

Eurobarometer

Eurobarometer is a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states...

2005:

95% of Turkish citizens responded: "I believe there is a God".
2% responded: "I believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
1% responded: "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".

External links

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Islam

Other religions

Secularism

Religious organization

Historical Christian sites

Freedom of religion

Religiosity

See also

External links