The Evolution of Higher Religious Education in Turkiye: Historical Continuities,Contemporary Challenges, and Prospects for Reform

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Gümrükçüoğlu S., Thoriquttyas T.

FWU Journal of Social Sciences, cilt.20, sa.1, ss.70-79, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)

Özet

Higher religious education in Türkiye has developed along a complex

historical path, beginning with the Suffa and madrasas and later becoming

institutionalized within Faculties of Theology. Across these stages, the

mission has remained the preservation of Islamic knowledge, moral

guidance, and cultural continuity. Despite repeated reforms, many structural

and curricular problems identified in earlier eras persist. This study seeks to

examine the historical evolution of higher religious education and identify its

persistent structural deficiencies transformation. The study uses

comparative historical document analysis to examine key reform texts,

1969) alongside later

works edited by Akyüre -supported tools

assisted in organizing and coding themes, while interpretation and validation

remained the responsibility of the authors. The findings show persistent

debates on curriculum design, academic formation, and

function, demonstrating continuity over time. Nevertheless, recent

discussions place stronger emphasis on digitalization, interdisciplinarity, and

higher religious education largely occurs through reinterpretation of inherited

frameworks rather than fundamental institutional breaks, contributing to

international debates on continuity and transformation in specialized higher

education .