The Closure of Darulfunun and Initiatives for Transmitting Religious Values During the Gap Years in Religious Education

Authors : Yakup Kaya

Pages : 78-99

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Publication Date : 2025-06-26

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study examines the hiatus in higher religious education and the transmission of religious values in Turkey that began with the closure of Darülfünun’s Faculty of Theology in 1933, situating this interruption within the broader processes of modernization and secularization. The central research question probes whether this institutional purge represented merely an ad hoc response to contemporaneous political exigencies or was instead a deliberately conceived component of a long-term secularization strategy. Employing qualitative methodologies, the investigation incorporates historical document analysis, extensive archival research, and a thorough review of contemporary periodicals. Republic-era archival records, official minutes, newspaper and journal archives, as well as relevant biographical works, were meticulously scrutinized. In addition, sociological and institutional analysis techniques were applied to assess the reform process’s reception in society and the dynamics of acceptance and resistance among various social actors. The focal point of the study includes the institutional initiatives of the Presidency of Religious Affairs alongside the activities of prominent figures whose influence endures to the present day: Said Nursi (1877–1960), Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan (1888–1959), and Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (1904–1983). The research systematically elucidates how, despite the stringent restrictions imposed by the single-party regime, traditional religious instruction persisted and evolved through semi-official and unofficial channels. Findings indicate that, notwithstanding the state’s comprehensive secular reforms which significantly curtailed formal religious education, grassroots dynamics enabled the continuation of unofficial religious teaching. Social networks spearheaded by Said Nursi, Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, and Necip Fazıl Kısakürek played a decisive role in fostering resilience and sustaining traditional religious values and pedagogical practices. This societal resilience emerged as a critical factor in the reestablishment of formal religious educational institutions in the late 1940s. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that the interplay between top-down secularization policies and bottom-up religious demands has produced a dynamic and intricate equilibrium that underpins contemporary understandings of religion in Turkey.
Keywords : Din Eğitimi, Dârülfünun İlahiyat Fakültesi, Modernleşme ve Sekülerleşme, Din Eğitimindeki Boşluk Yılları, Said Nursi ve Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu.

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