Religion in Turkey consists of various religious beliefs. Turkey is officially a secular state and various surveys claim Islam as the country's most common religion. In the official records, 99.8% of the population is initially registered as Muslim, and the remaining 0.2% are Christians and adherents of other officially recognised religions such as Judaism. However, because the government registers everyone as Muslim at birth by default, the official statistics can be misleading. There are many people who follow other religions or do not adhere to any religion, yet they are officially classified as 'Muslim' in official records unless they make a contrary claim. These records can be changed or even blanked out on the request of the citizen using a valid electronic signature to sign the electronic application. Most surveys estimate the percentage to be around 94 to 98% of Turkey self-identified as Muslim.
Turkey was historically a religiously diverse country in the past. On the eve of World War I, the predecessor of today's Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, had 20% of the population as non-Muslims. The non-Muslim population significantly decreased following the late Ottoman genocides, population exchange between Greece and Turkey and emigration of Jews and Christians.
Turkey has officially been a secular country since its 1924 constitution was amended in 1928. This was later strengthened and entrenched with the wider appliance of laicism by President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk during the mid-1930s, as part of the Republican reforms. The rights of Armenian Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, and Jewish citizens were signed under the Treaty of Lausanne. Although the Turkish state claims the freedom and security of all religious groups, religious minorities in Turkey have continued to face discrimination and persecution within society.Haede, Wolfgang. "Persecution as a battle for defining identity-reflections from Turkey." International Journal for Religious Freedom 5.1 (2012): 87-100.Fischbach, Ingrid. "Persecution of Christians in Turkey." The Slow Disappearance of the Syriacs from Turkey and of the Grounds of the Mor Gabriel Monastery 111 (2012).
Beginning in the 1980s, the role of religion in the state has been a divisive issue, as influential religious factions challenged the complete secularization called for by Kemalism and the observance of Islamic practices experienced a substantial revival. After the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, strict regulations on religious insignia in the public sector, including a ban on Islamic attire, were imposed in 1982. In the early 2000s, Islamic groups challenged the concept of a secular state with increasing vigour after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) came into power in 2002.
While the state is officially secular, all primary and secondary schools have been required to teach religious studies since 1982, and the curriculum focuses mainly on Sunni Islam. The extent to which other religions are covered depends on the school and students can be exempt from these classes on-demand. These policies have been met with controversy and criticism by both the foreign media and the Turkish public. The high school curriculum, however, teaches religious studies through a philosophy course and incorporates more information about other religions. The country also has public Islamic schools called İmam Hatip schools, which came to prominence in the 1950s.
Organizations
The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through the Presidency of Religious Affairs (), which controls all mosques and pays the salaries of all Muslim clerics and scholars. Alevism is presided over by the 'Alevi-Bektashi Cultural Presidency' under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (Patrik) is the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey. It also serves as the spiritual leader of all Orthodox churches worldwide. The Armenian Patriarch is the head of the Armenian Church in Turkey, while the Jewish community is led by the Hahambaşı, Turkey's Chief Rabbi, based in Istanbul.
Statistics
According to a 2025 report from Pew Research Center, 95% of Turkey self identified as Muslim. Most Muslims in Turkey are Sunni Muslims forming about 85–90%, and Shia-Aleviler (Alevis, Alawites, and Ja'faris) denominations in total form up to 10% of the Muslim population. Among Shia Muslim presence in Turkey there is a small but considerable minority of Muslims with Ismaili heritage and affiliation. Christians (Oriental Orthodoxy, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic) and Jews (Sephardi), who comprise the non-Muslim religious population, make up about 0.2% of the total. The Alawites in Turkey are in extension of the Alawite community in Syria and are Arab they follow the Shia branch of Islam. In 2023, it was found that 94% of those who took part in the survey Identified as believing in God and 1.5% did not believe in god, 2.5% were not sure god exists and 1.7% did not believe in a personal god but believed in a higher power. According to the same study 62% Identified with the Hanafi school of thought, 15.1% said they were Non-denominational Muslim, 9.6% refused to give an answer, 9% followed the Shafi'i school of thought, 3.1% Identified with the Alevism sect, 0.2% with the Hanbali school of thought, 0.2% with the Maliki school of thought, 0.2% with the Ja'fari school of thought and 0.6% said other.
According to a poll made by MAK (Mehmet Ali Kulat of Ankara), 86% of those who did the poll, declared they believe in God. 76% declared they believe Quran and other holy books came through revelation by God, while 14% said that they don't believe that it did, and 10% did not answer.
Another recent poll by OPTİMAR which interviewed 3,500 people in 26 cities, included a question about belief in God and found that 89.5% of the Turkish population believed in God, 4.5% believed in God but did not belong to an organized religion, 2.7% were agnostic, 1.7% were atheist, and 1.1% did not answer.
According to a survey by the pollster KONDA, the percentage of atheists in Turkey has tripled in 10 years and rose from 1% in 2008 to 3% in 2018, the percentage of non-believers or agnostics rose from 1% to 2%, and that 90% of irreligious Turks were under 35 years old. The survey was conducted in Turkey through face-to-face interviews with 5,793 people in their households, in April, 2018 while in 2008 6,482 people were interviewed in face-to-face in Turkey.
+ Muslim and non-Muslim population in Turkey, 1914–2005 (in thousands) Year 1914 1927 1945 1965 1990 2005 Muslims 12,941 13,290 18,511 31,139 56,860 71,997 Greeks 1,549 110 104 76 8 3 Armenians 1,204 77 60 64 67 50 Jews 128 82 77 38 29 27 Others 176 71 38 74 50 45 Total 15,997 13,630 18,790 31,391 57,005 72,120 Percentage non-Muslim 19.1 2.5 1.5 0.8 0.3 0.2
+ Situation of religions in Turkey ReligionsEstimated populationExpropriation measuresOfficial recognition through the Constitution or international treatiesGovernment Financing of places of worship and religious staffSunni Islam – Hanafi~85% of the populationrowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" Sunni Islam – Shafi'iShia Islam – AlevismNot recognized as an Islamic fiqh madh'hab by the Amman Message.~3% to ~15%Shia Islam – Alawism250,000-1,000,000Shia Islam – Ja'fari500,000-760,000Christianity – Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople~90,000Christianity – Syriac Orthodox Church~25,000Christianity – Latin Catholicism~25,000Judaism14,300-15,000Baha'i Faith~10,000Christianity – Protestantism7,000–10,000Christianity – Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch7,000–9,000Christianity – Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East5,600Christianity – Jehovah's Witnesses5,000Christianity – Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople2,000-3,500Christianity – Armenian Catholic Archeparchy of Istanbul2,000-3,500Christianity – Syriac Catholic ChurchChristianity – Chaldean Catholicism500–3,000Yazidism<1,000Christianity – LDS Church573Christianity – Autocephalous Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate4-350Christianity – Greek Byzantine Catholic Church16
+Data from various surveysSourceIslamNo religionChristianityOther religions and no replyPew Research Center (2025)N/AN/AKONDA (2024)N/AN/AReport on Faith and Religiosity in Turkey (2023)N/AN/AKONDA (2021)N/AOptimar (2019)World Values Survey (2018)N/AMAK (2017)Ipsos (2016)Pew Research Center (2016)KONDA (2008)Sabancı University (2006)N/AGovernment official numbersN/AN/A
Religiosity
In a poll conducted by Sabancı University in 2006, 98.3% of Turks revealed they were Muslim. Of that, 19% said they were "extremely religious", 45% said they were "somewhat religious", and 33% said they were "not very religious" and 3% had "no religious beliefs". 3% of Turks declare themselves with no religious beliefs.
According to Pew in 2020, 89% of Turks say religion plays an important role in their life (71% very important, 18% somewhat important), and 8% say religion does not play an important role in their lives (3% not at all important, 5% not too important), 75% of Turks also say it is necessary to believe in God to be moral, compare to 84% in 2002. A 2016 Pew Research Center Report, only 13% of all Turks believe laws should "strictly follow the teachings of the Qur'an."
According to a 2021 study by Kadir Has University, 12.5% of participants identified as 'non-religious', 58% as 'somewhat religious', and 29.5% as 'religious'. In terms of religious practice, 41.6% described themselves as 'non-practicing', 37.2% reported attending only Friday and/or holiday prayers, while 21.2% said they perform all daily prayers.