Turkish Beliefs
A brief religious history of Anatolia and Turkish peoples.
Tengrism and Pre-Islamic Turkish Beliefs
Turkish culture is closely associated with Islam, but its history is tied to many faiths. The original nomads who migrated to Anatolia practiced a shamanic religion called Tengrism. Tengri, the Eternal Blue Sky, rules over a pantheon of minor deities, including a prominent Earth Mother. By living in harmony with natural laws, Tengrists move more easily through the world. Rulers draw divine power from Tengri’s goodwill and fall through the lack of it. It was the state religion of several Turkish kingdoms, including the Göktürks and Bulgarian Empire. The early Turks shared their faith with other steppe people, most notably the Mongols. It is still practiced today as part of a shamanic revivalist movement.
Religious Diversity Among the Turkish States
As Turkish groups spread and settled in new places, they often adopted local religions. This led to sizable populations of Jewish, Manichaean, Nestorian Christian, and Buddhist worshippers. The main branch of Turkish civilization, spreading into Anatolia and then conquering outward, adopted Sunni Islam. The Seljuks in particular made themselves valuable to their caliphs as soldiers. By 1055, they had replaced but did not destroy the Abbasid Caliphate as the dominant Muslim political power. The Seljuks sought to unify their new holdings by turning religious aggression outwards. They attacked the Byzantine Empire and claimed much of its lands, as well as various Shia Muslim sects. Opposition came in the form of Mongol invasion, Shia resistance, and Christian crusades.
The Ottoman Caliphate and Empire
The Ottomans inherited Seljuk territories as well as conquering their own. In 1453, they took the Orthodox capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, and renamed it Istanbul. The Ottomans recognized that their society relied on people of many faiths, including Orthodox Christians and Jews. They practiced relative religious tolerance, though their cities were segregated into religious quarters. Within Islam, several smaller sects like Sufism and Alevism arose and were also generally tolerated. The Ottomans are remembered for their magnificent religious architecture. The Hagia Sophia, originally a Byzantine basilica, inspired many of their subsequent mosques. The empire established an Ottoman Caliphate in 1517, giving full religious authority to its sultans.
Secularism and Islam in Modern Turkey
The fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I left Turkey open to many reforms. Since 1928, the nation has been constitutionally secular. Its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, made these changes with European principles and nations in mind. Despite restrictions on the influence of Islam, Turkey never lost its religious enthusiasm. More recently, Islam has increased in visibility at the expense of secular authorities and institutions. According to government figures, the nation is 99.8 percent Muslim, with the vast majority following Sunni beliefs. The remaining .2 percent consists mainly of Christians and Jews.
References
Faroqhi, Suraiya. Subjects of the Sultan: Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire. I.B. Tauris. 2005.
Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books. 2005.
Howard, Douglas Arthur. The History of Turkey. Greenwood Press. 2001.
Kandiyoti, Deniz and Ayşe Saktanber, eds. Fragments of Culture: The Everyday of Modern Turkey. I.B. Tauris. 2002.
Karaveli, Halil. “Turkey's Journey from Secularism to Islamization: A Capitalist Story.” The Turkey Analyst, Turkey Analyst, 13 May 2016, www.turkeyanalyst.org/publications/turkey-analyst-articles/item/542-turkey’s-journey-from-secularism-to-islamization-a-capitalist-story.html.
“The World Factbook: TURKEY.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 20 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html.
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