Religion at top of interests list of Turkey’s population

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

The head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate Mehmet Görmez. DHA Photo

Turks are generally not interested in politics, unions, or associations, but they are interested in religious issues, a recent survey has shown.

According to a survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), 65 percent of young Turkish people (aged 15-24) are interested in religious issues, while only 15 percent are interested in politics.

The survey, “The Interests of Turkish Society in 2010 and 2011,” also showed that adults (aged 25-64) were more interested in religion than politics too, with 64 percent saying they were interested in religion and only 18 percent saying they were interested in political issues.

Unions and associational activities are the least interesting fields for youth, the survey revealed.
Some 72 percent of young people said they were not interested in union and association activities.

Fashion and politics became the second least interesting issue, with 46 percent. The least interesting issue for adults is fashion, according to survey. Some 70 percent of Turkish adults said they were not interested in fashion, with only 7.9 percent saying they were interested in fashion.

The study also showed that Turkish people are not concerned about environmental problems. Only 19 percent of adults expressed an interest in environmental issues, while 28 percent of young participants expressed an interest in these issues.Both young and old are widely interested in health issues, the survey showed.