USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom in Turkey

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)  released the following new report:

Turkey Country Update – This report examines religious freedom developments in the first half of 2024, as well as ongoing factors affecting freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) within Turkey. It outlines how Turkish religious nationalism has contributed to these restrictions and explains the violations religious minority communities, dissenting Sunni Muslims, and secularists in Turkey continue to face. The report also notes attacks by nonstate actors on the basis of religion.

In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State include Turkey on its Special Watch List (SWL) for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. In November 2023, USCIRF published a special report examining threats to religious sites in Turkey.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].

The French government has prohibited French athletes from wearing religious garb while competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. As such, French athletes who wish to wear religious garb are forced to choose between adhering to their sincerely held religious beliefs and competing at the highest level of sport. This tight regulation of religious expression is not unusual in France, where the government has enacted similarly strict restrictions on wearing religious garb in public spaces. France has also seen a proliferation of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, as well as governmental anti-cult efforts negatively impacting religious organizations.  

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, Supervisory Policy Analyst Scott Weiner and Researcher Luke Wilson discuss the French government’s worrying restrictions on wearing religious garb in the public sphere.