Abstract:

The relationship between the state and the religion is an important issue in Turkish political life. Thus, this relationship both in the Republican and the Ottoman periods needs to be studied in detail. The motive leading us to this study is to understand how clergymenrepublican regime relations were during the first years of the Turkish Republic. Article entry date: 04.08.2014 Article entry date: 08.09.2014 Westernization and modernization in the Ottoman Empire have begun in the institutions and state organizations since Tanzimat period. The transition problems that appeared in the administrations and military have also been faced in the bureaucracy of religion and religious institutions. During the Turkish War of Independence, there were no problems in clergymen/religious official relations. It is known that there were many muftis and clergymen that supported the National Struggle in Anatolia. Having come to different points after the foundation of the Republic and especially after the abolition of the Caliphate, relations between clerics and government continued during the one-party rule. In the first years of the Republic, the government’s primary expectations from clerics was not to involve in politics or make comments on political issues, even if on the religious issues. This is evidenced by current documents. Another expectation from the clergy was to give a hand to the ruling party in disseminating the vision and mission of the newly founded Republic.

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