Turkish secularism: looking forward and beyond the West

Abstract

Extant scholarly, political, and critical descriptions, explanations, and assessments of Turkish secularism (Laiklik) – despite its importance for Turkey and as a crucial example in the world – are undermined by contradictory claims regarding its legal-institutional, political, and ideological characteristics. In response, one should distinguish laiklik’s varying meanings and practices in terms of different phenomena such as secularism, secularisation, and secularity, and then conceptualise, explain, and evaluate them by comparison to their western and non-western counterparts across the world. This can help better assess laiklik’s accomplishments and shortcomings and develop insights regarding how to reform it so that it can better meet social-cultural needs.