The paper captures the evolution of the Turkish understanding of secularism by emphasizing its specificity. Turkish secularism was designed by the Kemalist elite which instead of avoiding the interference of the state in religion, subjected Islam to tight control by creating the Directorate of Religious Affairs responsible for managing every aspect of faith and religion. This understanding of secularism differs from its contemporary definition according to which the state must keep an equal distance from all religions, granting them freedom of belief, and avoid imposing a state system based on religious rules. If at the beginning of the 20th Century Westernization was a central feature of the Kemalist project, excluding religion from the public sphere and promoting a top-down governance, a century later, due to its liberalization and opening, Westernization became the ally of the Islamicrooted actors, providing them with freedom of religion and belief, and therefore, redefining secular
Defining and Redefining Secularism alla Turca / Oprea, Iulia Alexandra. - 3:(2014), pp. 505-515. (Intervento presentato al convegno International Conference Communication, Context, Interdisciplinarity tenutosi a Târgu-Mureș; Romanian nel 23-24 Ottobre 2014).
Defining and Redefining Secularism alla Turca
Oprea, Iulia Alexandra
2014
Abstract
The paper captures the evolution of the Turkish understanding of secularism by emphasizing its specificity. Turkish secularism was designed by the Kemalist elite which instead of avoiding the interference of the state in religion, subjected Islam to tight control by creating the Directorate of Religious Affairs responsible for managing every aspect of faith and religion. This understanding of secularism differs from its contemporary definition according to which the state must keep an equal distance from all religions, granting them freedom of belief, and avoid imposing a state system based on religious rules. If at the beginning of the 20th Century Westernization was a central feature of the Kemalist project, excluding religion from the public sphere and promoting a top-down governance, a century later, due to its liberalization and opening, Westernization became the ally of the Islamicrooted actors, providing them with freedom of religion and belief, and therefore, redefining secularI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.