Hadi Adanali1
Ankara University

Institutional education in general, and religious education in particular, is highly centralized in Turkey. This approach began with the Unity of Education Law, which was first drafted in 1924 and preserved in subsequent legal reforms and constitutional changes. Based on this law, all educational institutions, including military and medical schools, were brought under the control of the Ministry of Education. Additionally, all traditional religious schools, or medreses, were abolished and a divinity school was established to educate scholars and experts in religious subjects. In addition, a certain number of secondary level schools were opened to train personnel for religious services in society.

In order to understand why such a law was considered necessary, one must first look at the state of educational institutions of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There were mainly four kinds of educational institutions in the Empire. These included medreses, mekteps, minority schools, and foreign (missionary) schools. Medreses were the places where traditional religious sciences were studied. They were the most common among the schools, but also the most resilient towards modern developments. Mekteps, on the other hand, were established by the Ottoman State and they were modeled after secular European educational institutions. In addition, there were schools which were run by the non-Muslim minorities of the Empire. Finally, there were schools which were opened and run by foreign missionaries. As it was felt that the minority and foreign schools played a role in the disintegration of the Empire, the memory of this role was fresh in the minds of those who formed the educational policy of the New Republic.

Threats to the Republic:

The founders of the Turkish Republic in the early 1920's considered the multiinstitutional education that had developed in Turkish society to be threatening. On the one hand, there was a growing tension between traditionally-minded medrese graduates and the secularly-oriented mektep graduates. On the other hand, there was a similar tension between these two groups and the graduates of minority and foreign schools. Thus, the Unity of Education Law was intended to end these tensions and strengthen the social fabric of the society. The Law was also motivated by the nationalist ideology of the new State. Historically, Turkish nationalism developed later than, and in response to, other nationalist movements within the Empire. The new policies of the Republic made Turkish the sole language of instruction, the alphabet was changed from Arabic to Latin letters, and the Turkish language was "purified" from Arabic and Persian words.

Contrary to its letter as well its spirit, the Unity of Education Law had been understood, or interpreted, as totally excluding religious instruction from public schools. Therefore, within three years following the Law's enactment, all courses concerning religion (including Arabic and Persian) were extracted from the curriculum of public schools. Since medreses were closed, there were no private schools which would provide religious instruction. And the secondary level schools, which were intended to train religious functionaries for religious services, were closed down within years of their establishment due to the lack of "interest."2 This situation was seen and criticized as an anti-religious educational policy. In order to confront this criticism, the Prime Minister of the time (1925-1937), Ismet Inonu, claimed that "This (practice) should not be considered as anti-religious." He called for a program of "national education," which was to be distinguished from "religious or international education." However, it was clear that religion was given no place in this new educational policy.

In 1927, all courses concerning religion were excluded from the curriculum of primary, secondary, and high schools on the basis that non-Muslims also live in Turkey. Between the years 1927-1949, no religious instruction was permitted in schools. The negative consequences of this educational policy began to catch the attention of statesmen and politicians by the time of the second World War. For the first time, in 1949, and after nearly a quarter of a century, the Ministry of Education allowed a course on religion in 4th and 5th grades of primary school. The course was optional, depending upon a written request from parents, and it was taught outside the regular hours. The public response in favor of this initiative was overwhelming. Less than 1% of the students opted out of the course.

Reintroducing Religious Education:

In 1956, as a result of multi-party democracy, a new government (the Demokrat Parti) was established. Being more sympathetic towards the religious sentiments of society, this new government introduced a religion course into secondary schools. This time, if the parents wanted to exempt their children from the course, they had to apply to the school with a written request. After nearly ten years, in 1967, the religion course was introduced to the 1st and 2nd grades of high school. Students, however, were enrolled for the course with the written request of their parents. In 1975, the course was extended to the third (last) grade of the high schools. And, finally, following the military coup in 1980, the religion course became obligatory for all secondary level schools. The status of the religion course in public schools was also constitutionally secured. The exact title of the course was, "The Culture of Religion and Knowledge of Ethics."

There are various explanations for the gradual integration of religious education in the curriculum of public schools between the years 1949-1982. These explanations include the need to provide the public with sound religious knowledge; the impact of the second world war, which made the need for religion and morality more sensible; the threat of communism; the erosion of traditional and moral values; and, finally, the threat of terrorism which claimed approximately 20 lives per day before the military coup of 1980.

Currently, religious education courses begin at the 4th grade of primary school and continues throughout secondary and high schools. From the 4th to the 8th grade, classes consist of two hours per week. At the high school level, there is one hour of class per week Thus, a student who has graduated from high school receives 8 continuous years of religion courses. There are no fixed books for the course. Rather, each school decides which book to follow -- provided that the book for each level is approved by the Ministry of Education. Nearly half of the content of these courses concerns religion and Islam with remaining topics ranging from secularism to humanism and from ethical values to etiquette. The major world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism are included in the content of the course.

Critiques of the Curriculum:

There have been, and still are, various criticisms directed to the course, "The Culture of Religion and the Knowledge of Ethics." Some of these criticisms are aimed at the course itself and others toward the way it is taught. Primarily, the course is criticized as being against the principles of secularism, i.e., the separation of religion and state. Though this is a valid point, it ignores the fact that the Unity of Education Law does not allow for non-secular schools to provide religious education. Furthermore, the course aims to give information about religions in general and Islam in particular. Finally, it is not only a course on religion, but also on ethics. When these points are taken into consideration, the claim that the course is against secularism loses its strength. In any event, since non-secular schools are not allowed in Turkey, religious education must be given by the State in public schools. The discussions concerning the status of the course are, therefore, likely to continue as long as it remains obligatory.

The course has also been criticized for not being "objective" enough. According to the program issued by the Ministry of Education in 1992, the general purpose of the course was "to strengthen Atatürkism, national unity, human love from a religious and ethical perspective, and to educate students about virtues and ethics." However, concerns were raised that a course on religion must focus on religion itself and not make it supplementary to other issues. Because of this view, the new program, which has been developed by the Ministry in 2000, aims to make religion and ethics the central concern of the course.

Promoting a New Program:

The new program of the "Culture of Religion and Knowledge of Ethics" integrates the course with the purposes and principles of general education such as to educate human beings to be critical and active participants in the educational process. It also aims to look at the significance of religion in the individual's life, i.e. teaching that religion is a phenomenon which is primarily concerned with the relationship between the Creator and human beings and showing that religion can contribute to the culture of universal tolerance and peace. In this respect, the course emphasizes the need for tolerance and respect for other religions and traditions, looks at various understandings and interpretations of religion, and stresses the universal aspects and values among various faiths. In addition, the new program is concerned with all educational phases of the course. This includes developing further programs, improving the quality of the course materials, and educating field teachers, etc.

There have been recent efforts to improve the status of religious education in the public schools. The Ministry of Education has a specific department under the title, "The General Directory of Education of Religion." This department is involved with the implementation and development of the content of the course. In addition, The Divinity School of Ankara University has started a new program to train field (religion) teachers for public schools. There is ongoing cooperation between the Directory and divinity schools in order to develop a program for the instruction of religion which is open to contemporary theoretical developments and is sensitive to the practical needs of the society.

In Summary: Religious Education in Transition

Turkey is one of the few countries which has experienced various alternative approaches in religious education in the 20th century and it has tried to learn from its mistakes. Turkish society experienced the negative consequences of an extreme secular educational policy which allowed no religious education at all in public schools. It became obvious, however, that neither nationalism nor modernity could substitute for religion. Religion, either as an expression of individual piety or as an institutional organization, could not be suppressed or ignored. The current situation of religious education in Turkey is less than ideal. It is not realistic, for example, that one or two hours per week can be satisfactory in fulfilling the genuine need for religion. However, increasing the number of course hours does not necessarily seem to be the answer. Less central and more flexible educational policy can better accommodate religion within the framework of general education. This development, however, would require certain legal and constitutional changes.

The way we understand and teach religion may be the source of some of the problems still experienced in Turkey. In this respect, our understanding of religion needs critical evaluation. One way to accomplish this is to look at one's own religious beliefs and convictions at a distance. Another way is to try to see our beliefs and convictions from the perspective of a person who does not share them with us. In my opinion, both a critical approach and a dialectical process are essential to establishing an environment of peaceful coexistence.

Finally, the modern world is facing serious problems: the ills of industrialization, economic exploitation, environmental pollution, the possession of nuclear arsenals, population growth, famine, etc. In addition, intolerance, hatred, and terrorism are still major concerns for humanity. Religion can cure some of these ills by educating human beings to have a strong sense of individual responsibility and a well balanced notion of social justice.

END NOTES
1 I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Dr. Mualla Selcuk for bringing to my attention some recent changes and developments in the programs of religious education. Prof. Selcuk is a professor at the Divinity School of Ankara University (The Department of Religious Education). She is also the Head of the General Directory of Religious Education in Turkey.
2 These were intended to be vocational schools and came to be called 'Imam Hatip Liseleri.' The history of these schools and their status in the current Turkish educational system is not included in this essay.

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