Protestantism in Turkey
Though, there are several significant and major Protestant churches and worship sites in Turkey protected legally, most of them are located in the 4 large cities of Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and Bursa.
Considerable ones and significant communities include the Dutch Union Church of Istanbul, German Protestant Church (Istanbul), Armenian Protestant Church (Istanbul) and the All Saints Church in Istanbul.
Discrimination against Protestants
The constitution of Turkey recognizes freedom of religion for individuals. The Armenian Protestants own three Istanbul Churches from the 19th century.[3]
On November 4, 2006, a Protestant place of worship was attacked with six
There is an Alliance of Protestant Churches in Turkey, supporting protection of Protestant rights legally.[7]
By 2022, many Protestant churches reported difficulties in registering places of worship, while some reported that local authorities did not allow the display of crosses on the exterior of their buildings;[8] it is also reported that Protestants wishing to become clergy must leave the country for training, while non-Turkish clergy have difficulty in obtaining visas.
Turkish converts
There is an
A 2015 study estimates about 4,500 Christians are from a previous Muslim background in the country.[16] While other sources estimated the number of the Turkish who converted to Christianity (most of them secret worshippers) between 4,000–6,000, or more than those numbers.[17][18]
Protestant denominations
- Baptist church
- Bulgarian Congregational Church
- Church of England (Anglican)
- Evangelical Alliance Church
- German Protestant Church(Lutheran & Reformed)
- Greek Evangelical Church
- Religious Society of Friends(Quaker)
- Turkish Protestant Church[19]
- Union Church of Istanbul
- Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East
See also
- Christianity in Turkey
- Religious minorities in Turkey
- Freedom of religion in Turkey
References
Source of the list: The World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, Volume 1, p. 756
- ^ "German Site on Christians in Turkey". Archived from the original on 2008-04-04.
- ^ US State Dept 2022 report
- ^ "German Site on Christians in Turkey". Archived from the original on 2008-04-04.
- ^ "Christian Persecution Info". 10 November 2006.
- ^ Gengiz, Orhan Kemal. "Malatya Protestant massacre: 5 years later and 7 years before". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ "Christianity Today".
- ^ "World Evangelical Alliance". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03.
- ^ US State Dept 2022 report
- ^ "Carlos Madrigal Türkiye'deki Protestanların Sorunu - YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ "Christian Converts Live In Fear in Intolerant Turkey". Der Spiegel. 23 April 2007.
The liberal newspaper Radikal estimates that there are about 10,000 converts in Turkey, expressing surprise that they could be seen as a "threat" in a country of 73 million people, 99 percent of whom are Muslim.
- ^ Turkish Protestants still face "long path" to religious freedom (2011)
- ^ Christians in eastern Turkey worried despite church opening (2011)
- ^ Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks
- ^ TURKEY: Protestant church closed down
- ^ "Fearing a new holy empire: Just when Turks are worried about Christians, here comes the Pope". Maclean's. 4 December 2006.
More tangibly, figures published in January 2004 in Turkey's mainstream Milliyet newspaper claimed that 35,000 Muslims, the vast majority of them in Istanbul, had converted to Christianity in 2003. While impossible to confirm (the Turkish government does not release these figures), the rate of conversion, according to Christian leaders in Turkey, is on the rise.
- ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane Alexander (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11 (10): 1–19. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ISBN 9781904584636.
The estimated number of Protestants in Turkey is 4,000-6,000, most of whom live in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Protestantism has been a part of Turkey's history for 200 years, first spreading among the non-Muslim minorities. Conversion from Islam to Protestantism was very rare until the 1960s, but Muslim converts currently constitute the majority of Protestants..
- ISBN 9781400851256.
a number that vastly exceeds the size of present-day Turkish-speaking Protestant churches, of whose 3,000 members are converts from Islam
- ^ official web site of Turk Protestant Church