ABSTRACT
During the Ottoman Empire, religious educational institutions were known as infants’ schools and madrasahs. In addition, non-Muslim minorities and foreign states included in the Ottoman Empire opened their own educational institutions in order to keep their cultures alive and provide religious education to their youth. A significant change in political, social, cultural, and educational policies emerged after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, influenced policy in religious education. This chapter examines the history and developments that started under Ataturk with regard to religious educational studies in Turkey’s public schools, the legal basis of today’s religious education, and how religious education is carried out in schools.
