Religion in Turkey

The main religion that is practiced in Turkey is Islam, but there are just a few people that are Christians or in other religions. The interesting fact about Turkey though is that it is a secular state which means there is no official  state religion. This provides the Turks with religious freedom, but everyone stays in the belief of Islam.

The U.S. is similar where they have the freedom to choose our religion or even not have a belief. The difference between Turkey and the U.S is the U.S. having varieties of religions and churches. There are even some churches that can be found in the U.S. because they are new.

With the Muslims in Turkey there seemed to be a difference also between them and the Muslims in the U.S. With me on my trip we had two other students from the States that were Muslim and were also surprised to see the culture difference in religion in Turkey. We saw many people that drank alcohol and girls dressed in clothing that didn't completely cover themselves or seem appropriate. In the U.S there are strict rules and in the Koran it says that drinking alcohol is prohibited. We asked a student from Cankiri University to why they drink even though the Koran says not to and he says that people do it there thinking it is not a bad sin like the others so they drink anyway knowing the consequence it might have on them. With the clothes it did seem hard to cover yourself completely with this scorching heat Turkey have, but it was another rule they must keep. In my belief I do believe it is wrong to drink and not follow what your religion says, but I also belief that people have the right to have their own agency and make their own decisions.