NPR

Turks Examine Their Muslim Devotion After Poll Says Faith Could Be Waning

Despite a rise in religious doctrine from the government, a recent survey shows a dip in the portion of people identifying as religious, compared with a poll in 2008.
People enjoy an afternoon at Eminonu Square in Istanbul in January. A recent survey of personal beliefs and lifestyles in majority-Muslim Turkey has found a smaller portion of people describing themselves as religious.

Turkey has been governed for most of the past two decades by a party steeped in political Islam. So when a pollster recently surveyed personal beliefs, there was a finding that stood out: Levels of piety were flat, or even declining, compared with a decade ago.

The apparent shift is not seismic, but it has Turks talking about where their country is headed.

The survey, by the pollster Konda, is a follow-up to a similar poll in 2008, and the company broke down the results from each side by side to illustrate the comparison.

While some see changes a decade later as a natural progression, Turkish analysts say

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