Irreligion in Turkey

It is difficult to quantify the number of deists, atheists, and agnostics in Turkey, as they are not officially counted in the national census unlike Christians, Jews, and other religious groups. But religious information on both online and physical identity cards can either be blanked out or changed on the wish of the ID holder by request, via either a visit to the local municipal office or an e-signature in the official government website or app.{{Cite web |title=Nüfus Kaydındaki Din Bilgisi Değişikliği Başvurusu |url=https://www.turkiye.gov.tr/nvi-nufus-kaydindaki-din-bilgisi-degisikligi-basvurusu |access-date=2022-07-05 |website=www.turkiye.gov.tr |language=tr}}{{Cite web |date=2020-05-10 |title=Nüfus Kaydındaki Din Hanesinin Değiştirilmesi/Silinmesi {{!}} Ateizm Derneği Resmi Sitesi |url=https://www.ateizmdernegi.org.tr/nufus-kaydindaki-din-hanesinin-degistirilmesi-silinmesi/ |access-date=2022-07-05 |website=www.ateizmdernegi.org.tr |language=tr-TR}}{{Cite web |title=nüfus cüzdanındaki din hanesini sildirmek |url=https://eksisozluk.com/nufus-cuzdanindaki-din-hanesini-sildirmek--2070289 |access-date=2022-07-05 |website=ekşi sözlük |language=tr}} Since irreligion is not counted as a 'religion', atheism, agnosticism and such are left blank. Data also suggests that 85% of all irreligious people in Turkey are younger than 35.{{cite news|title= Atheists raising their voice in Turkey amid polarized reactions|work= Daily News |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/atheists-raising-their-voice-in-turkey-amid-polarized-reactions.aspx?PageID=238&NID=87604&NewsCatID=339|access-date=2015-11-12}}

There is a stigma attached to being an atheist in Turkey, and thus a lot of the Turkish atheist community, rather than forming individual groups, teams, organizations and communities in real life, actively communicate with each other actively via internet forms and channels across many sites. But especially today, such beliefs being expressed freely or discussed in the public is not uncommon at all, and rather quite common.{{cite news|title=Uneasy neighbors in Turkey: atheism and Islam|publisher= Deutsche Welle|url=http://www.dw.com/en/uneasy-neighbors-in-turkey-atheism-and-islam/a-18475178|access-date=2015-11-12}}{{cite news|title=Turkey's Atheists Face Hostilities, Death Threats|publisher= VOA |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/turkeys-atheists-face-hostility-death-threats/2720367.html|access-date=2015-11-12}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/06/atheists-the-ultimate-other-in-turkey/ |title=Atheists, the "Ultimate Other" in Turkey | Inter Press Service |publisher=Ipsnews.net |date=2014-06-24 |access-date=2015-11-12}}{{cite web|author=Semih Idiz |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/turkey-athiests-organize.html# |title=Turkey's atheists get organized - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East |publisher=Al-Monitor |date=2014-04-22 |access-date=2015-11-12}}

According to a poll made by MAK (Mehmet Ali Kulat of Ankara) 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, while 14% said that they don't believe that it did, and 10% did not answer.{{cite web |url=https://www.makdanismanlik.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MAK-DANI%C5%9EMANLIK-T%C3%9CRK%C4%B0YEDE-TOPLUMUN-D%C4%B0NE-VE-D%C4%B0N%C4%B0-DE%C4%9EERLERE-BAKI%C5%9EI-ARA%C5%9ETIRMASI.pdf |title=TÜRKİYE'DE TOPLUMUN DİNE VE DİNİ DEĞERLERE BAKIŞI |website=www.makdanismanlik.org |access-date=2020-04-04 |archive-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122121033/https://www.makdanismanlik.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MAK-DANI%C5%9EMANLIK-T%C3%9CRK%C4%B0YEDE-TOPLUMUN-D%C4%B0NE-VE-D%C4%B0N%C4%B0-DE%C4%9EERLERE-BAKI%C5%9EI-ARA%C5%9ETIRMASI.pdf |url-status=dead }} 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%.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

According to another poll made in 2019 by OPTİMAR, which interviewed 3,500 people 89.5% of those interviewed declared they believe in Islam, while 4.5% identified as Deists, 2.7% identified as agnostics, and 1.6% as atheists.{{cite web|url=https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 |title=Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor |publisher=T24.com.tr |access-date=2020-04-04}}

A survey conducted by MAK in 2020 found that among the Turkish people interviewed, more than 8,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 (82.8%) of the Turkish young adults identified "as a person who has religious beliefs", while 7.7% reported they have no belief, 9.5% gave no reply, and 72.7% believed in the afterlife, while 11.7% did not believe in it and 15.6% gave no reply.{{cite web | url=https://www.makdanismanlik.org/mak-danismanlik-genclik-arastirmasi/ | title=Mak Danişmanlik Gençli̇k Araştirmasi | date=2 September 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://tele1.com.tr/arastirma-genclerin-yuzde-77si-torpilin-yetenekten-daha-etkili-olduguna-inaniyor-215637/|title = Araştırma: Gençlerin yüzde 77'si torpilin yetenekten daha etkili olduğuna inanıyor|date = 2 September 2020}} Another poll conducted by Gezici Araştırma in 2020 interviewed 1,062 people in 12 provinces and found that 28.5% of the Generation Z in Turkey identify as irreligious.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2020/gundem/gezici-arastirma-merkezi-baskani-murat-gezici-sozcuye-acikladi-turkiyenin-kaderi-z-kusaginin-elinde-5867771/|title=Gezici Araştırma Merkezi Başkanı Murat Gezici SÖZCÜ'ye açıkladı: Türkiye'nin kaderi Z kuşağının elinde|website=www.sozcu.com.tr}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gercekgundem.com/siyaset/188215/gezici-arastirma-merkezi-baskani-murat-gezici-turkiyenin-kaderi-z-kusaginin-elinde|title=Gezici Araştırma Merkezi Başkanı Murat Gezici: Türkiye'nin kaderi Z kuşağının elinde|website=www.gercekgundem.com}}

An early April 2018 report of the Turkish Ministry of Education, titled The Youth is Sliding towards Deism, observed that an increasing number of pupils in İmam Hatip schools was repudiating Islam in favour of Deism (irreligious belief in a creator God). The report's publication generated large-scale controversy in the Turkish press and society at large, as well as amongst conservative Islamic sects, Muslim clerics, and Islamist parties in Turkey. The progressive Muslim theologian Mustafa Öztürk noted the Deistic trend among Turkish people 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 and independent surveys appear to point in this direction. Although some commentators claim that the secularization of Turkey is merely a result of Western influence or even an alleged "conspiracy", other commentators, even some pro-government ones, have instead claimed that "the real reason for the loss of faith in Islam is not the West but Turkey itself".{{cite news |last=Akyol |first=Mustafa |date=16 April 2018 |title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html |url-status=live |work=Al-Monitor |location=Washington, D.C. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815011838/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html |archive-date=15 August 2021 |access-date=17 January 2022}}

{{pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Religion in Turkey (Optimar survey, 2019){{cite web | url = https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 | title = Faith survey from Optimar: 89% of population believes monotheism| date = 15 May 2019 | publisher = T24.com.tr | language = tr}}{{cite web |url = https://odatv.com/tengricilik-de-yukseliste-09041815.html |title = Tengrism is also rising |website = odatv.com| language = tr |publisher = OdaTV |date = 9 April 2018 |access-date = 15 August 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190815144535/https://odatv.com/tengricilik-de-yukseliste-09041815.html |archive-date = 15 August 2019}}{{cite web |title=Rapor. Bir eşitlik arayışı: Türkiye’de azınlıklar |url=https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MRG_Rep_Turk2007_TURK.pdf |website=Minority Rights Group |date=September 2007| language = tr}}

|label1 = Islam

|value1 = 89.5

|color1 = Green

|label2 = Irreligion (Deism)

|value2 = 4.5

|color2 = LightPink

|label3 = Irreligion (Agnosticism)

|value3 = 2.7

|color3 = Cyan

|label4 = Irreligion (Atheism)

|value4 = 1.7

|color4 = White

|label5 = Other Religions (Christianity, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Tengrism, Yazidism)

|value5 = 0.5

|color5 = Fuchsia

|label6 = Unanswered

|value6 = 1.1

|color6 = Black

}}

{{Pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Religiosity among Turks (KONDA survey, 2018)

|label2 = Religious

|value2 = 51

|color2 = Red

|label3 = Not religious

|value3 = 34

|color3 = LightBlue

|label1 = Fully devout

|value1 = 10

|color1 = DarkRed

|label4 = Non-believer

|value4 = 2

|color4 = DarkGray

|label5 = Atheist

|value5 = 3

|color5 = White

}}

Belief in God and religious organizations among Turks, OPTİMAR Survey 2019:{{Cite web|url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/ertugrul-ozkok/turkiye-artik-yuzde-99u-musluman-olan-ulke-degil-41220410|title=Türkiye artık yüzde 99'u müslüman olan ülke değil|first=Ertuğrul|last=ÖZKÖK|website=www.hurriyet.com.tr}}

• 89.5 % responded "I believe in God's existence and oneness." (Believer)
• 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:{{Cite web|date=2019-01-03|title=KONDA Toplumsal Değişim Raporu: Türkiye'de inançsızlık yükselişte|url=https://tr.euronews.com/2019/01/03/konda-nin-toplumsal-degisim-raporuna-gore-turkiye-de-inancsizlik-yukseliste|access-date=2020-08-04|website=euronews|language=tr}}{{Cite web|title=Hayat Tarzı - 10 Yılda Ne Değişti?|url=https://interaktif.konda.com.tr/tr/HayatTarzlari2018/#7thPage/1|access-date=2020-08-04|website=interaktif.konda.com.tr}}

• 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:{{Cite web|title=Hayat Tarzı - 10 Yılda Gençlerde Ne Değişti?|url=https://interaktif.konda.com.tr/tr/Gencler2018/#secondPage/3|access-date=2020-08-04|website=interaktif.konda.com.tr}}

• 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:{{Cite web|title=Gezici Araştırma: Türkiye'nin geleceği Z kuşağının elinde

|url=https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2020/gundem/gezici-arastirma-merkezi-baskani-murat-gezici-sozcuye-acikladi-turkiyenin-kaderi-z-kusaginin-elinde-5867771/access-date=2020-08-31|website=sozcu.com.tr}}

• 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).

Association of Atheism (Ateizm Derneği), the first official atheist organization based in the Middle East and Caucasus, was founded in 2014.{{cite web|title=The first Atheist Association in Turkey is founded|url=http://turkishatheist.net/?p=40|website=turkishatheist.net|access-date=2 April 2017}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-atheism/turkeys-atheism-association-threatened-hostility-and-lack-interest|title=Turkey's Atheism Association threatened by hostility and lack of interest {{!}} Ahval|work=Ahval|access-date=2018-10-21|language=en|archive-date=2020-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801021302/https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-atheism/turkeys-atheism-association-threatened-hostility-and-lack-interest|url-status=dead}}

{{div col|colwidth=13em}}

• Abdullah Cevdet
• Adalet Ağaoğlu
• Ahmet Altan
• Ahmet Rıza
• Ahmet Şık
• Arzu Toker
• Ayşe Önal
• Aziz Nesin
• Bahadır Baruter
• Barbaros Şansal
• Bedri Baykam
• Behice Boran
• Can Yücel
• Celâl Şengör
• Cenk Uygur
• Çetin Altan
• Deniz Gezmiş
• Diamond Tema
• Dilsa Demirbag Sten
• Dursun Karataş
• Efe Aydal
• Fazıl Say
• Fikret Kızılok
• Halil Berktay
• İbrahim Kaypakkaya
• İlhan İrem
• İlyas Salman
• Jahrein
• Lale Mansur
• Mihri Belli
• Mîna Urgan
• Muazzez İlmiye Çığ
• Murat Belge
• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk...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..." [{{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=oXxXxBXewzgC|page=146}} The Antipodean Philosopher: Interviews on Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand], Graham Oppy, Lexington Books, 2011, {{ISBN|0739167936}}, p. 146.Phil Zuckerman, John R. Shook, The Oxford Handbook of Secularism, Oxford University Press, 2017, {{ISBN|0199988455}}, p. 167.Tariq Ramadan, Islam and the Arab Awakening, Oxford University Press, 2012, {{ISBN|0199933731}}, p. 76.{{Cite web|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/ataturk-islam-icin-ne-dusunuyordu-791000/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722130231/http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/ataturk-islam-icin-ne-dusunuyordu-791000/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 22, 2017|title=Atatürk İslam için ne düşünüyordu? - Türkiye Haberleri - Radikal|date=July 22, 2017}}
• Nâzım Hikmet
• Osman Necmi Gürmen
• Pelin Batu
• Ruhi Su
• Sagopa Kajmer
• Serra Yılmaz
• Sevan Nişanyan
• Sinan Çetin
• Süreyyya Evren
• Tevfik Fikret
• Turan Dursun
• Uğur Uluocak
• Ulus Baker

{{div col end}}

• Christianity in Turkey
• Demographics of Turkey
• Freedom of religion in Turkey
• Islam in Turkey
• Religion in Turkey
• Secularism in Turkey

{{Reflist}}

{{Demographics of Turkey}}

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Category:Religion in Turkey

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