The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is sounding the alarm on Turkey’s worsening religious freedoms, recommending its inclusion on the Special Watch List (SWL) to the Trump administration. This stems from the International Religious Freedom Act and underscores systematic violations persisting into 2025.
In its latest annual report, USCIRF details how Erdogan’s regime has accelerated national security pretexts to target religious minorities. Over 375 foreign Christian pastors and associates have lost residency status. Crackdowns on opposition support have bled into religious spheres, punishing secularism in public roles and misapplying Penal Code Article 216 as blasphemy enforcement.
A stark example: Defense Ministry firings of eight personnel in January for choosing secular oaths. Surveillance of online anti-Islam comments has fueled trials against those expressing religious dissent.
Calling for congressional hearings and fact-finding visits, USCIRF spotlights public school FORB suppression, unjust entry bans on American clergy, and risks to refugees from religious persecution back home.
The long-closed Halki Seminary remains a flashpoint, preventing local training for Christian leaders who must study overseas. With 99.8% of Turkey’s 85 million deemed Muslim—including skeptical Alevis—non-Sunni and non-Muslim groups endure rising bias, eroding the republic’s secular foundations enshrined in its constitution.
The commission advocates conditioning U.S. aid and trade on reforms, a move that could reshape U.S.-Turkey ties amid global scrutiny of human rights.