Christianity is not a religion: Turkish Environment and Urbanisation Minister

Christianity has ceased to be a religion but has become a culture of its own, Turkish Environment and Urbanism Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar said in December 2012 at a conference hosted by the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Women’s Group.

“The biggest three countries in the world are not Muslim countries. China, India – only the U.S. believes in a single God. Spirituality and religious feelings are weakening,” Bayraktar said.

“There are 2.5 billion Christians in the world,” Bayraktar said. “Christianity is no longer a religion. It’s a culture now. But that is not what a religion is like. A religion teaches; it is a form of life that gives one peace and happiness. That is what they want to turn [Islam] into as well.”

Pray with the Church in Turkey as it demonstrates by its life and witness that Christianity is a living relationship with the one true living God. Pray for the people of Turkey whose lives are bring shaped by a government pursuing this sort of agenda.