I find in this volume an admirable mix of empirical material on for example religious socialization and perceptions of gender and reflective pieces which interrogate the place of religion in Turkish society. Key in this respect is the fact that Turkey is not simply a Muslim society but a distinctive one not least in terms of the functional differentiation of the modern republic and its consequent effect on religion a situation that offers a unique challenge to sociological enquiry. The book concludes with a series of chapters that deal with the particularities of the modernization process in Turkey and the tensions (social cultural and political) that have emerged as the modern state developed a stage by stage process.
Prof. Grace Davie University of Exeter Great Britain