Religious Demography
According to the Government, 90 percent of the population is Muslim, the majority of which is Sunni. The CIA Factbook considers 98.2 percent of Turkey's population to be Muslim. The Government officially recognizes only three minority religious communities: Greek Orthodox Christians, Armenian Apostolic Christians, and Jews, although other non-Muslim communities exist. The 2006 report of the US Department of State listed the following numbers of religious minorities in Turkey:
| Armenian Apostolic Christians | 65,000 |
| Jews | 23,000 |
| Greek Orthodox Christians | 2,500 |
| Baha'is | 10,000 |
| Syrian Orthodox (Syriac) Christians | 15,000 |
| Yazidis | 5,000 |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | 3,300 |
| Protestants | 3,000 |
These figures were repeated in the 2009 report of the US Department of State. with the difference in figures of up to 3,000 Greek Orthodox Christians and an additional 3,000 Chaldean Christians. The number of Syriac Christians and Yazidis in the southeast was once high; however, under pressure from government authorities and later under the impact of the war against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), many Syriacs migrated to Istanbul, Western Europe, or North and South America. According to the Turkish sociologist Ahmet Taşğın the Yazidis in Turkey numbered 22,632 in 1985. Until 2000 the population had dropped to 423. The same academic said that 23,546 Syriacs were living in Turkey in 1985. Their number dropped to 2,010 in the year 2001.
Theoretically, Turkey, through the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), recognizes the civil, political and cultural rights of non-Muslim minorities.
In practice, Turkey only recognizes Greek, Armenian and Jewish religious minorities without granting them all the rights mentioned in the Treaty of Lausanne.
Alevi Bektashi Câferî Muslims, Latin Catholics and Protestants are not recognized officially.
| Religious cults | Estimated population | Expropriation measures |
Official recognition through the Constitution or international treaties | Government Financing of places of worship and religious staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islam - Sunnite | 70 to 85% (52 to 64 millions) | No | Yes through the Diyanet mentioned in the Constitution (art.136) | Yes through the Diyanet |
| Twelver Islam - Bektasi | 15 to 25% (11 to 19 millions) | Yes | No. In 1826 with the abolition of the Janissary corps, the Bektashi tekke (dervish convent) were closed · | No |
| Twelver Islam - Alevi | No. In the early fifteenth century, due to the unsustainable Ottoman oppression, Alevi supported Shah Ismail I. who had Turkmen origins. Shah Ismail I. supporters, who wear a red cap with twelve folds in reference to the 12 Imams were called Qizilbash. Ottomans who were Arabized and persanised considered Qizilbash (Alevi) as enemies because of their Turkmen origins. Today, cemevi, places of worship of Alevi Bektashi have no official recognition. | |||
| Twelver Islam - Câferî | 4% (3 millions) | No | No | |
| Twelver Islam - Alawite | 300 to 350 000 | No | No | |
| Judaism | 20,000 | Yes | Yes through the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) | No |
| Christian - Protestant | 5,000 | No | No | |
| Christian – Latin Catholics | No | No | ||
| Christian – Greek Catholics | Yes | Yes through the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) | No | |
| Christian - Orthodox - Greek (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) | Yes | Yes through the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) | No | |
| Christian - Orthodox - Armenian (Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople) | 57,000 | Yes | Yes through the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) | No |
| Christian - Catholics Chaldean Christians (Armenian) | 3,000 | Yes | Yes through the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) | No |
| Christian - Syriac Orthodox and Catholics Churches | 15,000 | Yes | No | No |
| Yazidi | 377 | No | No |
Read more about this topic: Freedom Of Religion In Turkey
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