Secularism is a principle of detaching government processes from religion. Turkey was established after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey is an Islam-dominated state that has been fighting Islamic control in state affairs for a very long time.
The republican elites who brought in modernization in Turkey put the principle of secularism in place (Kucukcan, 475). The form of secularism adopted in Turkey was borrowed from France. The form of secularism adopted in Turkey is similar to the one practiced in the west. However, there are some alterations done that have made it functional in an Islam dominated society.
Secularism in the west completely separated the church from state functions. It was put in place in the fight against the supremacy of the clergy. Religion in the west is not involved in the day-to-day state functions. Religion exists as a separate entity and the government regulates its functions.
In Turkeys system of secularism, religious affairs are still integrated into state functions (Navaro-Yashin, 7). Islamic leaders are involved in government administrative units. Imams are civil servants and therefore are salaried government employees. This indicates that Islam is considered a state religion. Turkish reformers argued that it was impossible to completely separate the state from religion.
Turkey’s foundations are built on Islamic religion. The founder fathers of this nation were all Muslims. Therefore, most of its citizens are of Muslim origin and observe Islam religious practices to the later. To allow for smooth running of the government some elements of religion had to be embraced.
The government funds Islam as religion making it very important aspect of Turkey as a state. The principle of complete separation of religion and state is partially implemented in Turkey.
Turkey does not have complete religions freedom. It has several religious practices that are practiced by its citizens. However, Islam is part of the school curriculum. Every school-going child has to learn the fundamental principles of Islam.
This means all turkey citizens must be educated on Islamic religion; this limits an individual’s freedom to worship (Kucukcan, 504). The westerners’ principle of secularism is completely against this. Westerners forbid spiritual teachings in state schools. In western countries, religious affairs are conducted by communities and private associations.
Any form of religious education is offered by such organizations. State resources are not utilized in such activities. This could not be realized in Turkey due to the immaturity level of its citizens.
Most of the citizens in Turkey still believe that separation of religion from the state is turning away from God. What made it possible to separate the church from the state in the west was majorly the biblical teachings that encourage separation of the two entities.
It is undisputable that there are some differences between secularism in the west and Turkey. This is due to the difference in the major religions practiced by the two groups. The most dominant religion in the west is Christianity and it embraces most of the aspects of secularism. Most people in Turkey are Muslims.
They do not share the same ideologies with people from the west. However, the similarities of secularism in the west and Turkey cannot be neglected. Form of government in turkey is similar to most nations in the west. The constitution of Turkey is independent of the Islamic laws.
The constitution does not exhibit religious biasness. Most of the states functioning units were borrowed from the west. Since most of state functions are independent of religious manipulations, Turkey’s secularism is similar to secularism in the west.