94 percent of Turkey’s population believe in God, survey shows

Duvar English

Some 94.3 percent of Turkey’s population expressed belief in God, according to a recent survey prepared by academics.

Zübeyir Nişancı from Marmara University, Önder Küçükural from Ibn Haldun University, Muhammed H. Alboğa from International Institute of Islamic Thought published a report titled “Faith and Religiosity in Turkey in Numbers.” In the survey conducted for the research, 2,453 people were asked questions about religiosity.

Accordingly, 85.7 percent of the respondents said they have "no doubt about the existence of God," whereas 8.6 percent said “Although I have some doubts, I feel that I believe in God.” 

5.7 percent said they do not believe in God. This figure was higher for younger generations. 11 percent of those aged 18-24 said they "do not believe in God." This figure was 6 percent for those aged 25-34. 18 percent of master's or doctorate graduates also said that they "do not believe in God."

The region with the highest number of people who do not believe in God was the Aegean with 11 percent. This figure was 10 percent in Istanbul, whereas 7 percent in the Mediterranean.

On the other hand, 62 percent of the respondents expressed that they consider themselves “religious,” whereas 14 percent said they do not. 70 percent said they wanted to be “more religious.” The figure for “not religious” was also higher in younger generations and people with higher education levels. 

According to the survey, 39 percent said they “always” or “often”, 20 percent said they “sometimes” and 41 percent said they “rarely” pray. On the other hand, 75 percent said they “always” or “often” fast.

48 percent of women respondents noted that they wear a headscarf "always" or "often" when going out, while this rate was 47 percent for those who said "rarely" or "never".

On the other hand, 73 percent of the respondents said “I think one can live religion easily in a secular country.” While 47 percent agreed with the statement "No article in the constitution should contradict the Qur'an," 33 percent disagreed. The rate of those who agreed with the statement "I think the state should have a religious identity" remained at 38 percent, whereas 47 percent did not agree.

80 percent of the people defined themselves as Muslims, whereas 55 percent said they define themselves as “nationalist.” 

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