Turkey has officially been a
secular country since its
1924 constitution was amended in 1928. This was later strengthened and entrenched with the wider appliance of
laicism by founder Atatürk during the mid-1930s, as part of the
Republican reforms. There are no official statistics of people's religious beliefs nor is it asked in the census. According to the
United States Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report 2008, the Turkish government considers 99 percent of the population is
Muslim, the majority of which is
Hanafi Sunni. A similar figure can be found in the current US
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
the World Factbook (99.8%). In 2023, according to
Ipsos, 83% are Muslim, 12% have
no religion, 2% prefer not to say, 2% are Christian and 2% are other religions. In a similar survey in 2016, Islam comprised 82% of the total population, followed by 7% no religion, 6%
Spiritual but not religious, 2%
Christian, 1%
Buddhist and 1% other. In 2018, a poll conducted by
Eurobarometer and
KONDA Research and Consultancy and some other research institutes showed that 3% of those interviewed had no religion. In 2013, the same institutions showed that around 0.5% of the population had no religion. Between 8 million and 20 million Turks are
Alevis. In 2005, a Eurobarometer poll on Europeans views on
ethics in science and technology reported 95% of Turkish citizens answered that "they believe there is a God", while about 2% responded "I believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", about 1% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force" and about 1% "DK" (that they don't know). Similar figures were found in some other European countries. The percentage of non-Muslims in Turkey fell from 19.1% in 1914 to 2.5% percent in 1927. The drop was the result of the
late Ottoman genocides, the
population exchange between Greece and Turkey and the
emigration of Christians. The 1942
Wealth Tax on non-Muslims, the emigration of many of Turkish Jews to Israel after 1948, and the 1955
Istanbul pogrom further contributed to the decline of Turkey's non-Muslim population.
Religiosity In 2018, according to a KONDA survey, the
religiosity was the following: •
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: •
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). According to the 2007 KONDA survey: •
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" (Not religious). •
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). In a 2006
Pew Research Center survey, 69% of Turkey's Muslims said that "religion is very important in their lives". Based on the Gallup Poll 2006–08, Turkey was defined as
More religious, in which over 63 percent of people believe religion is important. Around 2007, according to the
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, 62% of women wore the headscarf or
hijab in Turkey. ==Migration==