Logistic Regression Analysis of the Outlook of People in Turkey Regarding the Principles of Secularism and Republic for the New Constitution to be Prepared

Abstract

This paper studies demands and expectations of people about the content of the new constitution supposed to be prepared after the parliamentary election of June, 2011 in Turkey. For that purpose, a survey was applied across the country to 6,810 people with different ethnic identities, religious faiths and political tendencies. Economic and social conditions of the respondents were studied and subsequently their tendencies regarding two of the most frequently discussed topics of the country namely Secularism and Republic were explored. For that purpose, statistical technics and the logistic regression technic were used. We interestingly found out that the two principles mentioned above have been substantially accepted by different parts of the society and there are no considerable negative reactions regarding those issues. It was found out in this study that almost all parts of the Turkish society accept some fundamental principles of the regime like Republic and Secularism as well as the Presidency of Religious Affairs. It appears that in Turkey basic differences regarding perspectives on political and social values arise rather from sectarian identities.