Margot Murphy
SOCI 101
Prof Dave
20 April 2021
Religion in Turkey and the United States
In the United States, religion is a partially emphasized aspect of society, but not as much
as Turkey. In the United States, public schools are not allowed to teach religion, there is
separation between church and state. However, this does not mean that religion does not affect
cultural and gender norms. Women are still not always respected by society and sometimes
assumed as less capable in school lessons. Learning about emotions sometimes can invalidate
women’s opinions by making them feel as if they must be caring and not have strong opinions. In
Turkey, women are seen very differently than in America and that is mainly because of the
religious differences.
In Turkey, the main religion is Islam, which dominates how the country functions daily.
Although the Quran states that men and women are equal, it is not shown in Muslim law. There
is not the same degree of separation between church and state in Turkey. It is legalized and
somewhat monopolized to teach young students about their religion. They utilize teachings from
the government and take classes on it every year of school. This can result in different cultural
norms about the inequality of men and women. Some areas of Turkey have only recently allowed
women to attend school.
All things considered, religion can affect different aspects of life in both countries,
however one is much more institutionalized.The United States and Turkey both have distinct
gender norms, but Turkey’s are a clear correlation of religion and beliefs.
