by Dr. Emrah Çelik

Abstract:

There has been religious upheaval in Turkish society, particularly over the last decade. Islamist-conservative governments have been in power since 2002, energetically striving to raise a religious generation. Despite this, religious and cultural elements have been widely called into question as never before; a growing number of young people openly declare themselves secular, deist, agnostic or atheist. This article aims to reveal the contours and dynamics of the secularisation wave, using qualitative research, the main feature of which is twenty in-depth interviews conducted between September 2018 and July 2019. The main argument and conclusion of this paper is that Turkish society is experiencing elements of ‘late modernity’ and that the current secularisation wave, rather than being limited in its causes to temporary political issues and in its outcome to deism, is a result of this sociological condition.

To read or download the paper, click here.