Secularism practices in Turkey (1938-1960)

Secularism in Turkey has been used more as a social expectation and result than as a means for the founding staff to transform society and the state. In this way, the practices of secularism in Turkey, which is a reflection of a "top-down" idea in general, are different from many secular states. Apart from the approach of "separation of religion and state affairs", which is one of the most basic definitions of secularism, early Turkish secularism has been closer to the understanding of "a religion under the control of the state". The establishment of the Religious Affairs Directorate, the opening of imam hatip schools and the faculty of theology despite the closure of madrasahs, tekkes and lodges, the availability of religious courses in public schools can be considered in this context. However, when we look at the process in general, it is seen that the secularism applied in Turkey does not go over a certain plane of boundaries. There is a process of secularism that has tides, sometimes it becomes authoritarian, and sometimes more flexible practices are seen. Due to the uncertainty of borders, any intervention in the religious sphere, especially during the The Republican People's Party period, was presented as a requirement of secularism, while the attitude or approaches to it were usually considered as a contact activity. Although secularism retained its central importance during the Democrat Party period, the field of legitimacy of religion expanded during this period. In this sense, the scope of secularism in Turkey has also varied according to the attitudes of parties and political authorities. This variability has sometimes manifested itself from party to party, and sometimes during different periods of government of the same party. In this study, a comparison was made between the Ismet Inönülü era of the Republican People's Party and the secularism practices of the Democrat Party periods. In this sense, the analysis of the target area in this study the comparative period, as an ideology of secularism in Turkey, secularism as a way of life approaches, other states of secularism in Turkey (France, UK) to deal with the relationship with the Turkish political life and democracy is focused on the comparison of the two periods was marked by. What makes this study original and important is that it focuses on the concrete areas of secularism practiced during the Republican People's Party and Democrat Party periods based on a different mass base in terms of perceiving the world and organizing their daily lives. The general position of the Ministry of Religious Affairs before the state-government and the stages of change and development of its relations with other institutions of the state, the status of religious examples of foundation works during the two-party periods (mosque, masjid, church...), approaches and definitions of secularism in the point of religious education, the general nature of religious life and party-government approaches to this life, the nature of religious workers and the amount of salaries they receive are the main points of this study.