Irreligion in Turkey

Precise estimates of the share of deists, atheists, agnostics, and other unaffiliated people in the population vary, though in survey averages they constitute a larger percentage than Christians and Jews in the country.

[12] It is difficult to quantify the number of deists, atheists, and agnostics in Turkey, as they are not officially counted in the national census unlike Christians, Jews, and other religious groups.

But religious information on both online and physical identity cards can either be blanked out or changed on the wish of the ID holder by request, via either a visit to the local municipal office or an e-signature in the official government website or app.

[23][24] Another poll conducted by Gezici Araştırma in 2020 interviewed 1,062 people in 12 provinces and found that 28.5% of the Generation Z in Turkey identify as irreligious.

[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The report's publication generated large-scale controversy in the Turkish press and society at large, as well as amongst conservative Islamic sects, Muslim clerics, and Islamist parties in Turkey.

The religious beliefs of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, have been a source of controversy; some sources assert that he was irreligious . [ 1 ] [ 2 ]