İbrahim Arvas and his contributions to religious education

Since the first period of the Republic, religious education has been increasingly limited in educational policies. In parallel with the developments in the world, the democratic developments in our country after the Second World War have increased the efforts for the promotion of religious education along with freedom of religion and conscience. Ibrahim Arvas, who served in the bureaucracy for many years and served as a member of parliament for seven terms, has taken its place in history as an exceptional politician, advocate and action person with his efforts to re-disseminate and institutionalize religious education. It is known that as a CHP deputy, Arvas fought effectively both in his party and in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Arvas, who made the first proposal in the parliament about the opening of imam, hatip and vaiz schools by the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the establishment of the Faculty of Theology in universities, played a major role in the developments in the field of religious education and training. After the end of his term as a member of parliament, his articles he wrote in various magazines and newspapers, his memoirs and other activities also contributed to the continuation and development of religious education. In this study, which aims to reveal the activities, struggles and results of Arvas by examining the contributions of Arvas to the development and institutionalizationofreligiouseducation,theliteratureandprimarysourcesurvey were used. In addition, relevant archive documents, newspapers, journals and related literature studies were also utilized. This study, which also deals with the change that religious education, which is an important part of the Turkish education system, since the early periods of the Republic, sheds light on the reflections of the historical development in this field on the present and the future. Keywords : Religious Education, İbrahim Arvas, İmam Hatip School, Religious Training, Republican Period