The Pitch: Banning All Religion

[Inchante]

I double checked, and Turkey is Secular (officially), article 2 of their constitution states "The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by the rule of law". I suspect that many in its government are Muslims (since 90+% of the population is) which colours there policies (just as many in the US are Christians and that equally colours their policies).

There is no official state religion in either Turkey or the USA, although one might be forgiven for thinking that it was Islam in Turkey and Christianity in the USA given the prevalence of both in each country. Contrast that with the UK which is officially Christian (where the head of state, the reigning monarch, is also the Defender of the Faith [Church of England]) and the rates of people calling themselves Christian is dipping below 50% depending on which poll you read (and in some cases quite significantly).

I thank you for your reply. I hope you didn't take my question about the Islamic conflicts in the EU as being confrontational, as the question was asked in curiosity not as an insult.

It is interesting to know that Turkey's government is secular. That was not something I knew prior to this discussion. Though, I am aware that they have been trying desperately to get into the EU. I wonder if that is why the established a secular government.

Of course, the United States has always had a secular government and has had to have such a government given its history of diverse religious beliefs. Though, I am afraid that once again the British media has grossly misrepresented the United States to you. No, the U.S. does not have a 90% Christian population as you indicate above. It is no where near that number. Indeed, the number of people who claim to have ANY religious affiliation in the U.S. is lower than 90%.

"The majority of Americans (76%) identify themselves as Christians, mostly within Protestant and Catholic denominations, accounting for 51% and 25% of the population respectively.[4] Non-Christian religions (including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism etc.), collectively make up about 3.9% to 5.5% of the adult population.[4][5][6] Another 15% of the adult population identifies as having no religious belief or no religious affiliation.[4] When asked, about 5.2% said they did not know, or refused to reply.[4] According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in Western states (the "Unchurched Belt") report a belief in God, yet in the South (the "Bible Belt") the figure is as high as 86%.[4][7]

However, despite this seemingly high level of religiosity, only 9% of Americans in a 2008 poll said religion was the most important thing in their life, compared with 45% who said family was paramount in their life and 17% who said money and their career was paramount."

The British born Historian, Simon Schama, was in part inspired to write his book "The American Future: A History" because of all the misconceptions and oversimplifications his friends at home often made on religion and other topics of American cultural and politics. For some reason I always here that Americans know nothing of other cultures and nations, and yet, with the level of misinformation there is about the U.S. it makes me wonder how well informed people from other countries are. Schama's book is a good read if you have the chance.

Best wishes.