Muhammed Esat Altıntaş. Ateist Çevrelere Göre S/Zorunlu Din Dersleri. Ankara: Maarif Mektepleri, 2019
Muhammed Esat Altıntaş. Ateist Çevrelere Göre S/Zorunlu Din Dersleri. Ankara: Maarif Mektepleri, 2019

Summary/Abstract: The reviewed book, entitled “Problematic/Compulsory Religious Courses According to Atheist Circles” was written by Muhammed Esat Altıntaş, Dr. Lecturer in Religious Education at the Faculty of Theology, Erciyes University, Turkey. The book is the first study which explores the criticisms of atheist circles levelled at, what they deemed problematic compulsory religious courses in Turkey. Case study, which is one of the qualitative approaches, and secondary data were used in the study. Accordingly, the comments made to the signature campaign initiated by the Atheism Association in 2014 constituted the data of the research. In the third chapter, the criticisms of atheist circles aimed at compulsory religious courses are examined under eight titles. It can be seen that the author either deemed the criticisms unfair or attributed them to deficiencies in teachers’ practice. In the last part of the book the author hinted that religious education programs could be improved, but opposed the abolition of compulsory religious education courses. The book, which is easy to understand, makes a significant contribution to the field, but it has also some shortcomings, such as some problems in the bibliography, calling everyone who commented on the public signature campaign “atheist circles” and a need for critical examination of how atheism is presented in religious education programs and books. These shortcomings can be compensated in the future editions of the book. The book is an important contribution to the field and will be useful for those interested in the subject.

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