Turkey Drops Evolution From Curriculum, Angering Secularists

Turkey Drops Evolution From Curriculum, Angering Secularists
By PATRICK KINGSLEYJUNE 23, 2017
ISTANBUL — Turkey has removed the concept of evolution from its high school curriculum, in what critics fear is
the latest attempt by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government to erode the country’s secular character.
According to Kerem Oktem, the author of "Angry Nation," a history of contemporary Turkey, the country is "not continuing along a process
of secularization — it’s going into a post-secular context." Still, Turkey is not considered likely to morph into a second Iran.
Turkish said that But they do not have a coherent theological, religious ideology.
"This is one of the basic topics you need to understand living beings, life
and nature." Over the past five years, analysts have noted how Mr. Erdogan’s government has steadily increased references to Islam in the curriculum and removed some references to the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s founder.
Feray Aytekin Aydogan said that The last crumbs of secular scientific education have been removed,
He added, "Turkey is still not a deeply Islamic society, and much of the public visibility of Islam doesn’t necessarily have a very deep basis."
But for Ms. Aydogan, the teachers’ union leader, the outlook for secularism in the education sector is already bleak.