The Legal Status of The Presidency of Religious Affairs Within The Framework of Freedom of Religion and Conscience and Secularism

N.A.

Article Details

The Legal Status of The Presidency of Religious Affairs Within The Framework of Freedom of Religion and Conscience and Secularism

Authors:

N.A.

Publisher:

Erciyes University

Main Topics:

Hukuk

Journal:

Erciyes Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.337-372

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001288857

pISSN:

1306-3839

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Freedom of religion and conscience bestows individuals the right to adopt the religion and belief they want, to have or not to have a religious belief, to change their belief, sect, and opinion, and to perform worship and ritual which are the requirements of the religion, belief, and opinion they believe in, and to explain, tell and teach their belief by using proper means. Besides, it lays the burden on the state not to cause pressure on people, not to influence the conscience of individuals, and not to harm or gain advantage from them depending on the result of their conscientious decisions. As for secularism, it is a concept that came into our lives with the modern state understanding to express the separation of state affairs from religious institutions in the organizational structure and their independence from each other. Whether secularism is adopted in a country or not is not directly understood from the existence of a secularism principle in the Constitution. Accordingly, these elements are understood in the fact that freedom of religion and conscience is recognized as fundamental rights and freedoms, that the legal system is not based on religion, and that the separation of religion and state institutions is ensured. As for the Presidency of Religious Affairs, it has been accepted within the scope of the general administration as an institution that is expected to fulfil the missions assigned to it in special laws, in the direction of the principle of secularism, being far from all political views and thoughts in Article 136 of the Constitution. Accordingly, these elements are understood in the fact that freedom of religion and conscience is recognized as fundamental rights and freedoms, that the legal system is not based on religion, and that the separation of religion and state institutions is ensured. As for the Presidency of Religious Affairs, it has been accepted within the scope of the general administration as an institution that is expected to fulfil the missions assigned to it in special laws, in the direction of the principle of secularism, being far from all political views and thoughts in Article 136 of the Constitution. Under article 1 of Law No. 633, which is considered the organic law of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, the mission of the Presidency is specified as conducting the works related to the belief, worship, and moral principles of the religion of Islam. In the light of these explanations, the status of the Presidency of Religious Affairs is among the controversial topics in terms of the necessity of not providing benefits to individuals depending on their beliefs and convictions in the context of freedom of religion and conscience, and in terms of the necessity of the state and religious institutions to be separate and independent from each other in the context of the principle of secularism. In this study, freedom of religion and conscience and the principle of secularism are briefly explained, and their relationship with the religious institution is tried to be expressed by considering the legal status of the institution.

 Freedom of religion and conscience bestows individuals the right to adopt the religion and belief they want, to have or not to have a religious belief, to change their belief, sect, and opinion, and to perform worship and ritual which are the requirements of the religion, belief, and opinion they believe in, and to explain, tell and teach their belief by using proper means. Besides, it lays the burden on the state not to cause pressure on people, not to influence the conscience of individuals, and not to harm or gain advantage from them depending on the result of their conscientious decisions. As for secularism, it is a concept that came into our lives with the modern state understanding to express the separation of state affairs from religious institutions in the organizational structure and their independence from each other. Whether secularism is adopted in a country or not is not directly understood from the existence of a secularism principle in the Constitution. Accordingly, these elements are understood in the fact that freedom of religion and conscience is recognized as fundamental rights and freedoms, that the legal system is not based on religion, and that the separation of religion and state institutions is ensured. As for the Presidency of Religious Affairs, it has been accepted within the scope of the general administration as an institution that is expected to fulfil the missions assigned to it in special laws, in the direction of the principle of secularism, being far from all political views and thoughts in Article 136 of the Constitution. Accordingly, these elements are understood in the fact that freedom of religion and conscience is recognized as fundamental rights and freedoms, that the legal system is not based on religion, and that the separation of religion and state institutions is ensured. As for the Presidency of Religious Affairs, it has been accepted within the scope of the general administration as an institution that is expected to fulfil the missions assigned to it in special laws, in the direction of the principle of secularism, being far from all political views and thoughts in Article 136 of the Constitution. Under article 1 of Law No. 633, which is considered the organic law of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, the mission of the Presidency is specified as conducting the works related to the belief, worship, and moral principles of the religion of Islam. In the light of these explanations, the status of the Presidency of Religious Affairs is among the controversial topics in terms of the necessity of not providing benefits to individuals depending on their beliefs and convictions in the context of freedom of religion and conscience, and in terms of the necessity of the state and religious institutions to be separate and independent from each other in the context of the principle of secularism. In this study, freedom of religion and conscience and the principle of secularism are briefly explained, and their relationship with the religious institution is tried to be expressed by considering the legal status of the institution.

 Freedom of religion and conscience bestows individuals the right to adopt the religion and belief they want, to have or not to have a religious belief, to change their belief, sect, and opinion, and to perform worship and ritual which are the requirements of the religion, belief, and opinion they believe in, and to explain, tell and teach their belief by using proper means. Besides, it lays the burden on the state not to cause pressure on people, not to influence the conscience of individuals, and not to harm or gain advantage from them depending on the result of their conscientious decisions. As for secularism, it is a concept that came into our lives with the modern state understanding to express the separation of state affairs from religious institutions in the organizational structure and their independence from each other. Whether secularism is adopted in a country or not is not directly understood from the existence of a secularism principle in the Constitution. Accordingly, these elements are understood in the fact that freedom of religion and conscience is recognized as fundamental rights and freedoms, that the legal system is not based on religion, and that the separation of religion and state institutions is ensured. As for the Presidency of Religious Affairs, it has been accepted within the scope of the general administration as an institution that is expected to fulfil the missions assigned to it in special laws, in the direction of the principle of secularism, being far from all political views and thoughts in Article 136 of the Constitution. Accordingly, these elements are understood in the fact that freedom of religion and conscience is recognized as fundamental rights and freedoms, that the legal system is not based on religion, and that the separation of religion and state institutions is ensured. As for the Presidency of Religious Affairs, it has been accepted within the scope of the general administration as an institution that is expected to fulfil the missions assigned to it in special laws, in the direction of the principle of secularism, being far from all political views and thoughts in Article 136 of the Constitution. Under article 1 of Law No. 633, which is considered the organic law of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, the mission of the Presidency is specified as conducting the works related to the belief, worship, and moral principles of the religion of Islam. In the light of these explanations, the status of the Presidency of Religious Affairs is among the controversial topics in terms of the necessity of not providing benefits to individuals depending on their beliefs and convictions in the context of freedom of religion and conscience, and in terms of the necessity of the state and religious institutions to be separate and independent from each other in the context of the principle of secularism. In this study, freedom of religion and conscience and the principle of secularism are briefly explained, and their relationship with the religious institution is tried to be expressed by considering the legal status of the institution.

 Din ve vicdan hürriyeti bireylere, istedikleri din ve inancı benimseyebilme, bir dini inanca sahip olup olmama, inanç, mezhep ve kanaat değiştirme, inandıkları din, inanç ve kanaatin gerekleri olan ibadet ve ayin yapma ve sahip olduğu inancı uygun araçlar kullanarak açıklama, anlatma ve öğretme hakkını tanımaktadır. Bununla birlikte devlete de insanlar üzerinde kanaat baskısı oluşturmama, bireylerin vicdani kanaatlerini etkilememe, onların vicdani kararlarının sonucuna bağlı olarak onlara zarar vermeme ve yine buna bağlı olarak bireylere yarar sağlamama yükümlülüğü yüklenmektedir. Laiklik ise kurumsal yapıda din ve devlet işlerinin ayrılığını ve birbirlerine karşı bağımsız olduklarını ifade etmek amacıyla modern devlet anlayışı ile birlikte hayatımıza girmiş bir kavramdır. Laikliğin bir ülkede benimsenip benimsenmediği doğrudan Anayasada bir laiklik ilkesinin varlığından anlaşılmamaktadır. Laiklik ilkesinin varlığı birtakım unsurların ilgili ülkede benimsenip benimsenmemesinden anlaşılmaktadır. Buna göre bu unsurlar; din ve vicdan hürriyetinin temel hak ve hürriyet olarak tanınmış olması, hukuk düzeninin dine dayanmamasından ve din ve devlet kurumlarının ayrılığının sağlanmış olması anlaşılmaktadır. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı ise Anayasanın 136. maddesinde bütün siyasi görüş ve düşünüşlerin uzağında, laiklik ilkesi doğrultusunda, özel kanunlarda kendisine gösterilen görevleri yerine getirmesi beklenen bir kurum olarak genel idare içerisinde kabul edilmiştir. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığının teşkilat kanunu olarak kabul edilen 633 sayılı Kanunun 1. maddesine göre Başkanlığın görevi, İslam dininin inanç, ibadet, ahlak esasları ile ilgili işleri yürütmek olarak belirtilmiştir. Bu açıklamalar ışığında Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığının statüsü, din ve vicdan hürriyeti bağlamında bireylerin inanç ve kanaatlerine bağlı olarak onlara yarar sağlamama gerekliliği açısından; laiklik ilkesi bağlamında ise devlet ve din kurumlarının birbirinden ayrı ve bağımsız olması gerekliliği açısından tartışmalı bir konumda bulunmaktadır. Söz konusu bu çalışmada ise din ve vicdan hürriyeti, laiklik ilkesi kısaca açıklanıp, söz konusu dini kurum ile arasındaki ilişki, kurumun hukuki statüsü dikkate alınmak suretiyle ifade edilmeye çalışılmıştır.

Article Details

The Legal Status of The Presidency of Religious Affairs Within The Framework of Freedom of Religion and Conscience and Secularism

Authors:

N.A.

Publisher:

Erciyes University

Main Topics:

Hukuk

Journal:

Erciyes Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.337-372

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001288857

pISSN:

1306-3839

Basic Rights and Liberties

Freedom of Religion and Conscience

Secularism

Presidency of Religious Affairs

Relationship between Religion and State.Temel hak ve hürriyetler

Din ve Vicdan Hürriyeti

Laiklik

Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı

Din-Devlet İlişkisi

Issues

Article Details

Authors: N.A.

Publisher: Erciyes University

Main Topics: Hukuk

Journal: Erciyes Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.337-372

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 4/2023

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001288857

pISSN: 1306-3839

Issues

Authors:

N.A.

Publisher:

Erciyes University

Main Topics:

Hukuk

Journal:

Erciyes Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi Vol.18 Issue 1, pp.337-372

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

4/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001288857

pISSN:

1306-3839