Institution religieuse ou instrument de tutelle étatique en Turquie

The relationship between religion and the state has been a contested issue in Turkey since the foundation of the Republic, both institutionally and ideologically. This article examines the political and bureaucratic functioning of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, established in 1924, during the period between 1945 and 1960, and discusses whether the institution has operated as a form of religious tutelage. The central question of the study is whether the Directorate of Religious Affairs, within the framework of a secular state, has merely functioned as a service-oriented religious body or whether it has operated as a tutelary institution under the oversight of political authority. In this context, the role, authority, and functional transformations of the Directorate of Religious Affairs during the transition from single-party rule to a multi-party-political system are placed at the center of the analysis.

Drawing upon Max Weber’s theory of the sociology of religion, bureaucratization, and the monopolization of the sacred, the study explores the institutionalization process of the Directorate of Religious Affairs. The analysis is based on a range of primary sources, including archival documents, official correspondences, legislative texts, and periodicals of the era. The religious policies of the Republican People’s Party, the populist strategies of the Democrat Party after 1950, and the institutional reshuffling following the 1960 coup all contributed to reshaping the Directorate of Religious Affairs’ position within the state structure. Practices such as the centralization of sermons, publication control, and surveillance of mosque personnel are examined as manifestations of the Directorate of Religious Affairs’ supervisory functions. Ultimately, the study critically investigates whether the Directorate of Religious Affairs functioned as a mechanism of religious tutelage during this period, using historical-institutional data and theoretical insights to evaluate its role within the broader framework of Turkish secularism and political authority.