Huge percentage of young Turks no longer see themselves as religious or conservative, survey says

Young Turkish citizens who regard themselves as religious or conservative has dropped by 50 percent in the last 10 years. This startling statistic was released by KONDA, one of Turkey’s leading research and consultancy firms.

Focusing on the lifestyles of the 15-29 age group, the KONDA survey showed young people who define themselves as religious or conservative decreased to 15 percent from 28 percent within the decade, T24 news portal reported on Saturday.

There’s a slide in the number of young Turks who pray or fast, as required by the Islamic faith, the survey also published. According to the research, while 74 percent of those aged 15 29 said they fasted regularly during the month of Ramadan in 2008, this figure fell to 58 percent in 2018.

The percentage of those who prayed regularly dropped from 27 to 24 percent in the past 10 years, the KONDA survey also found.

The research continues to show there has been an increase in the number of people, aged between 15 and 29, who are single with 75 percent of them stating they are single as compared to the 60 percent in 2008. Accordingly, 19 percent of them got married in 2018, compared to 39 percent 10 years ago.

Turkey has seen a striking decrease in youth reading newspapers, the research also revealed, with only 22 percent reading the country’s dailies, compared to 72 percent in 2008.

The survey further revealed a larger percentage of young people in the country own cellphones and computers compared to 10 years ago. According to the survey, 100 percent of young people owned cell phones in 2018, compared to 90 percent in 2008 along with 70 percent of them owning computers compared to 42 percent a decade ago.

There is a large slide in the percentage of young people who believe political parties should be shut down when necessary or the military should take over if required, the Konda research further showed.

While 51 percent believed in the necessity of a military takeover in 2008, this figure dropped to 22 percent in 2018, with 40 percent maintaining the belief in the necessity of party closure in 2018, compared to 54 percent in 2008.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) has increasingly promoted religion since it came to power in 2002.

Erdogan has been pushing for the growth of state-funded Imam Hatip religious schools, known for its work at grassroots level with political Islamist movements in Turkey.

The president has repeatedly emphasized his desire to create a pious generation of Turkish youth.

Source: ipa