Internal Contradictions and Promises of (State) Secularism

Studies of Turkey's secularism simplify its nature by reducing it either to an authoritarian model that suppresses the country's religious groups or a modernizing project that reforms the country's religious forces. This analysis challenges these reductionist models. It argues that Turkey's secularism has been marked by many contradictory approaches. Drawing on an ethnographic study of the daily practices of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey -- the critical state institution that controls the entire spectrum of religious buildings and services in the country--the paper offers (i) a brief history of Turkey's secularism and the DRA, (ii) changes in DRA policies and (iii) the challenges posed to Turkey's secularism due to the increasing number of women employees in the DRA.