Demographics of Turkey - Religion

Religion

There are no statistics of people's religious beliefs nor is it asked in the census. According to the government, 99.8% of the Turkish population is Muslim, mostly Sunni, some 10 to 15 million are Alevis. The remaining 0.2% is other - mostly Christians and Jews. The Eurobarometer Poll 2005 reported that in a poll 96% of Turkish citizens answered that "they believe there is a God", while 1% responded that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force". In a Pew Research Center survey, 53% 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. According to the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, 62% of women wear the headscarf or hijab in Turkey. 33% of male Muslim citizens regularly attend Friday prayers.

Religious groups according to estimates:

• Muslim - 96.83% (80-85% Sunni, 15-20% Alevi)
• Christian - 0.13% (60% Armenian Orthodox, 20% Syrian Orthodox, 10% Protestant, 8% Chaldean Catholic, 2% Greek Orthodox)
• Jewish - 0.03% (96% Sephardi, 4% Ashkenazi)
• Bahá'í Faith - 0.01%
• Atheist - 3%

The vast majority of the present-day Turkish people are Muslim and the most popular sect is the Hanafite school of Sunni Islam, which was officially espoused by the Ottoman Empire; according to the KONDA Research and Consultancy survey carried out throughout Turkey on 2007:

• 40.8% defined themselves as "a religious person who strives to fulfill religious obligations" (Religious)
• 42.3 % defined themselves as ""a believer who does not fulfill religious obligations" (Not religious).
• 2.5% defined themselves as "a fully devout person fulfilling all religious obligations" (Fully devout).
• 10.3% defined themselves as "someone who does not believe in religious obligations" (Non-believer).
• 4.1% defined themselves as "someone with no religious conviction" (Atheist).