Transformation of secularism in Turkey: debating post-secularism under the AKP rule

Download

index.pdf

Date

2016

Author

Konuralp, Emrah

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

111
views

41
downloads

Post-secularism literature has been developed to respond the need for resolving problem of pluralism in the Western societies by putting emphasis on inviting the religious to the public sphere. The main goal of this research is to transpose this literature to the analysis of Turkish experience which is an officially secular and predominantly Muslim context. Turkey under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) can be considered as an example of post-secularism. The AKP is seen as an evolution of political Islamist National Outlook movement which antagonised secularisation in Turkey. Dissimilarly, the AKP did not challenge the secular credential of the Republic of Turkey directly and acted in between secularism and Islam. This ‘in-between-ness’ can be seen as a reflection of post-secularism. Nonetheless, the main thesis in this research is: Turkey under the AKP-rule cannot be considered as post-secular and this is assessed along with the following criteria of conditions for post-secularism in Turkey: (1) consolidated democracy; (2) deeply established secularism as a political principle; (3) the objective guarantees on the freedom of religion and conscience; (4) management of problem of pluralism; and (5) analysis of the AKP in relation to post-Islamism.

Subject Keywords

Civilization, Secular., Postsecularism., Secularism.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12620198/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/25823

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

The Institutionalization of Islam in Europe and the Diyanet The Case of Austria Çıtak Aytürk, Zana Ayşe (2013-01-01) The management of religious diversity has become one of the most significant issues facing European societies in the last few decades. The increasing use of religion as an instrument of immigration policies in Europe since the late 1980s has led to various trajectories of institutionalization of Islam in European countries. In an increasing number of cases, institutionalization of Islam entails, among other things, the establishment of Muslim representative institutions. On the other hand, as it has transfo...
The Ambivalent political agency of intellectual religious women in turkey: a case study of the abortion debate in 2012 Özcan, Tuğba; Mücen, Barış; Department of Sociology (2015) This thesis attempts at providing a critical evaluation of Universalist Eurocentric conceptualization of agency. Taking the abortion debate in 2012 in Turkey as an empirical case, the thesis analyzes the statements of religious women who are publicly known to be intellectuals. Abortion debate is commentated around pro and con positions towards the abortion issue, which are reflected in the wider dichotomous categories of secularism and religiosity. Within this framework, Islamic discourse is taken nothing b...
RETURN OF THE SPIRIT AND THE DEMISE OF POLITICS Yıldırım, Erdoğan (2010-12-01) After Kant's strict separation of the fields of pure reason and practical reason and his demonstration that reason cannot know anything apart from phenomena including the existence of God there was a continuous desire to reestablish the unity of both. The most successful attempt in that direction so far was Hegel's phenomenology of the Spirit where he claimed he succeeded to establish the unity of the two as the Absolute. Yet, even this was problematic for it was the faith itself which supplied the basis of...
The role of religious identity in Turco-European relations Genç, Ezgi; Yurdusev, Ahmet Nuri; Department of International Relations (2004) This thesis analyzes the role of the religious identity in Turco-European relations in terms of historical and perceptional levels. Within this context, ways in which an enriched understanding of the concept of religion, as a principal element of culture and identity and as one of the main and oldest concepts in European identity which may contribute to a better comprehension of contemporary Turco- European relations, especially within the framework of Turkish candidacy to the European Union will be explore...
A Critical evaluation of local poverty alleviation policies: the case of three provinces in Turkey Önez Çetin, Zuhal; Ersoy, Melih; Department of Urban Policy Planning and Local Governments (2012) The world has witnessed a transformation process associated with the drastic changes in social, political and economic spheres under the constraints of neo-liberalism with opening up new challenges for humanity. At that context, as a global problem, poverty has been aggravating at the world-wide and now urban areas are more exposed to risks of poverty. In this regard, reforms of that restructuring process have centered on the requirement of local administrations at poverty struggle. The purpose of this stud...

Citation Formats

E. Konuralp, “ Transformation of secularism in Turkey: debating post-secularism under the AKP rule,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2016.