RIGHTS VIOLATIONS FACED BY CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY

Ismail Kulakçıoğlu, Pastor

August 31, 2025

Compared to countries where Muslims are in the majority, Christians living in Turkey have the freedom to change their religion. Over the past 15 years, reducing bureaucratic procedures has made legally changing one’s religion easier. They are also in a more advanced position than Christians in other Muslim-majority countries when it comes to expressing and spreading their faith. Defamatory statements in the media, or “black propaganda,” have also decreased. Despite these positive developments, however, Christian legal entities in Turkey are recognized as civil society organizations rather than religious organizations. There are also restrictions on opening new places of worship and converting places of worship with a church history into mosques. Additionally, teaching information that is far from objective in Religious Culture and Ethics classes is prohibited, as is establishing schools that provide Christian education and training clergy. These issues cannot be said to be completely equal to those of Muslims. Hate speech and physical attacks are additional issues.

The fact that the Christian community in Turkey operates as a civil society organization rather than a religious institution creates a perception of secular Christianity and causes problems regarding places of worship. For example, small places of worship, referred to as mosques for Muslims, are established in shopping malls, gas stations, and buildings, either as independent or shared spaces. However, when mosques are taken as an example, there is no regulation regarding spaces that could be defined as “prayer rooms (chapels)” where Christians can fulfill their religious obligations.

Solutions offered at the initiative of local administrators appear to be arbitrary. While Christians face problems finding places of worship, it is thought-provoking that the bell tower of the Hagia Sophia in Nicaea was converted into a minaret, the main building into a mosque (2011), and the churches of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (2020) and Kariye (1511 to 2024) were converted into mosques.

Christians do not have middle schools and high schools similar to the Imam Hatip schools that Muslims have, nor do they have universities that train theologians. At the same time, Christians who do not declare their religious preference (and other different faith groups in society) may be forced to attend Imam Hatip Schools against their will, depending on the central placement system.

Conclusion:

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares all human beings equal in terms of freedom, dignity, and rights.

Ranked 103rd among 167 countries in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index with a score of 4.26 in the Hybrid Democracies category, Turkey cannot claim that Christians living in Turkey are truly equal to Muslims in terms of other democratic criteria, including the recognition of Christians as a religious organization and their right to education.

It is imperative that legal regulations be put in place to remedy the grievances of Christians.