Sacralization of politics in Turkey during the interwar period

The sacralization of politics is "a modern manifestation of sacred". It became possible only after politics gain its independence from traditional religions, through secularization of state and culture, and following that, politics itself "assumed the full role of a religion". There are, basically, two kinds of sacralization of politics. In the democratic and authoritarian regimes, politics became sacred as a "civil religion", but in totalitarian regimes it became a "political religion". Sacralization of politics is an effective concept for understanding politics, and its relation to religion, in Turkey during the inter-war period. During this period, official ideology is called a religion many times by Kemalist elite. Furthermore it is presented to public and to new generations as a substitute of traditional religion. Thus, we can argue that Kemalism, with its historical roots, is a form of sacralization of politics peculiar to Turkey. It was a Rousseauist civil religion that tried to coexist with the traditional religion in a more and more authoritarian way. It endeavored to become in 1930s, a political religion in the style of its contemporary European counterparts. It can be said that 1930s witnessed an unfinished attempt for a political religion. But because of its limited resources and means, the political religion in the making mostly remained limited to the discursive level. After World War II, sacralization of politics, obviously retreated back to the borders of a civil religion, where it still continued to have a long and mercurial effect. This thesis makes a content analysis of sacralization of politics in Turkey during interwar period focusing on four main sanctities at the basis of this civil religion: Civilization, Science, Nationalism, and the Cult of Gazi/Atatürk.