Turkish state tradition: Human-religion-politics relations

The study titled Turkish State Tradition: Human-Religion-Politics Relations examines the understanding of human nature constructed by Turkish thought and the state-centered approach adopted by Turkish states in relations between religion and state, and examines the process of transformation of these two understandings into Turkish state tradition. Throughout the historical process, the understandings of human nature constructed by traditions of thought have shaped political theories, state understandings and political ideologies on the one hand, and have been used as a legitimizing criterion for political theories on the other. In this context, one of the traditions of thought that shape and differentiate state understandings is the approaches developed regarding human nature. While the understanding of human nature constructed by the Western tradition of thought is a malevolent human nature, the understanding of human nature constructed by Turkish thought is a dualistic (good-bad) human nature. The study emphasizes that it is not possible to fully understand the Turkish state understanding with Western thought, because the understanding of human nature that shapes the Turkish state understanding is not constructed as evil but as dualist. The study examines the dualist understanding of human nature constructed by Turkish thought in contrast to Western thought. Another issue that the study examining the Turkish state tradition focuses on is that Turkish states have incorporated a certain Islamic tradition into their state thought for theo-political reasons within the framework of religion and state relations and transformed it into a state tradition. The study, which deals with the idea that states also adopt religions with certain theo-political concerns, despite the fact that religious understandings shape politics, emphasizes that sociological, economic and military reasons as well as the political decisions of the state were effective in the Turks' decisions to change religion. Turkish states, which exhibited a state-centered approach in religion and state relations both before and after Islam, followed the Ahl al-Sunnah thought as the official sect of the state with theo-political concerns after Islamization. In this context, while the Karakhanids adopted the Maturidi tradition with the concern of protecting their national existence, the Seljuks supported the Ashari tradition for theo-political reasons against the politicized Shiite thought. The Ottoman state, on the other hand, although pushing heterodox structures out of the system, officially recognized and supported Bektashism, which is a heterodox structure. These policies are reflections of the state-centered understanding of religion. By examining these policies, the study shows that the Turkish states adopted a state-centered approach within the framework of religion and state relations.