Secularism has become a subject of intense theoretical and political debate in recent decades. This is mostly due to a revival of religion as a global fact. Developments such as Islamic fundamentalist upsurges and the resurgence of religion in world affairs after the events of 9/11, and more recently, the formation of ISIS, the Charlie Hebdo attack have put religion and secularism among the crucial issues not only in Western societies but also in Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority societies including Turkey. These recent developments have also brought questions about free speech into sharp focus.

Decreasing commitment to traditional religions and the modern disconnection between faith communities and socio-cultural identities via the development of new religious movements are conducive to the development of fundamentalism. Also, individualization of faith and the disassociation of faith communities from ethnic and national identities are becoming widespread. In other words, the divide between culture and religion is growing as an important social fact and thus, attracting the attention of many sociologists.

Especially since the so called ‘war on terror’, the academic debate over the compatibility of Islam with secularism and democracy has become a subject of public discussion and thus, the issue of secularism a major research topic for sociologists. The main debates that the sociologists studying religion and secularism are engaged in, are as follows: The relationship between secularism/secular state and democracy; the place of Shari’a in Muslim societies; The relationship between Islam and the state throughout the history of Islam; the (im)possibility of realizing an ‘Islamic State’; the (possible) consequences of the coercive enforcement of Shari’a by the state; the threat of majoritarianism; the perception of Islamic upsurge in the West; the failure of the idea that we are living in a secular world, especially considering the limited secularization and secularism experienced in Muslim societies; the axiomatic nature of belief in the Muslim world as opposed to the West; attempts of creating a secular ethic and the difficulty in determining the principles of such ethic through a consensus; and the visibility of  religious markers in the public space have been hot topics for sociologists studying religion and secularism. 

The study of Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority societies, especially of the case of Turkey, will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between Islam, secularization and the secular state; the increasingly important role that religion plays in these societies and the debates over the importance of secularism for the establishment of democratic political regimes.