Secularism in Turkey

In Turkey, secularism or laicism (or laïcité) 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 Turkey's first president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which set the administrative and political requirements to create a modern, democratic, secular state, aligned with Kemalism. Nine years after its introduction, laïcité was explicitly stated in the second article of the then Turkish constitution on February 5, 1937. The current Constitution of 1982 neither recognizes an official religion nor promotes any. The principles of Turkish secularism, and the separation of state and religion, were historically established in order to modernize the nation. This centralized progressive approach was seen as necessary not only for the operation of the Turkish government but also to avoid a cultural life dominated by superstition, dogma, and ignorance. Turkey's concept of laiklik ("laicism") calls for the separation of state and religion, but also describes the state's stance as one of "active neutrality", which involves state control and legal regulation of religion. Turkey's actions related with religion are carefully analyzed and evaluated through the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı or simply Diyanet). The duties of the Presidency of Religious Affairs are "to execute the works concerning the beliefs, worship, and ethics of Islam, enlighten the public about their religion, and administer the sacred worshipping places". The history of secularism in Turkey extends to the Tanzimat reforms of Ottoman Empire. The second peak in secularism occurred during the Second Constitutional Era. The current form was achieved by Atatürk's Reforms. The establishing structure (Ruling institution of the Ottoman Empire) of the Ottoman Empire (13th century) was an Islamic state in which the head of the Ottoman state was the Sultan. The social system was organized around millet.

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Secularism in Turkey

Islam in Turkey

Islam is the most practiced religion in Turkey. As much as 90% of the population follows Sunni Islam. Most Turkish Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence,The established presence of Islam in the region that now constitutes modern Turkey dates back to the later half of the 11th century, when the Seljuks started expanding into eastern Anatolia. According to the government, 99.8% of the Turkish population is Muslim since traditional non-Muslim ethnic groups of Turkey (such as Jews, Armenians and Greeks) don't consist more than 0.

History of the Republic of Turkey

The Republic of Turkey was created after the overthrow of Sultan Mehmet VI Vahdettin by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1922 by the new Republican Parliament in 1923. This new regime delivered the coup de grâce to the Ottoman state which had been practically wiped away from the world stage following the First World War. The Ottoman Empire, consisting of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, was since its foundation in 1299, ruled as an absolute monarchy. Between 1839 and 1876 the Empire went through a period of reform.

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