Busra Cebeci, a 25-year-old journalist, is from a Turkish generation that has had only one government leader for most of its members' lives. When she went away to college in Konya, a conservative Turkish city with a large student population, she remembers long talks with her friends about taking off their scarves. Experts Advise Fixing Public Education First, Poll Finds Americans, Especially Millennials, Moving Away From Religion, The New Congress: Fewer Christians But Still Religious. Erdogan came to power, first as prime minister, in 2003. Turkish Beliefs (Superstition) Good Luck- Bad Luck . "One day I went inside, I took off the scarf and walked out without it. Learn about the local culture and etiquette in Turkey. Further research is required to trace the origins of such beliefs in Turks given their relatively high frequency. The remaining is composed of Orthodox Christians, Gregorian Christians, Catholic, Suryani and Protestant Christians, and Jews.Although most of the population is Moslem, Turkey is a secular country and everyone has freedom of religion and beliefs. So why does the percentage of self-described faithful seem to be declining at all, even when voters keep re-electing political leaders who infuse their devout Muslim beliefs into their policies? At the time of the video, the schools were teaching some 1.3 million students across Turkey. Analysts say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party started out with a strong focus on the economy, which was a major draw for the electorate. Cebeci believes a resistance to the push toward piety will continue to grow. hide caption. Travellers to Turkey will enjoy learning about the social practises, belief and heritages of all communities. There was, however, a significant drop in respondents calling themselves "religious conservative," from 32 to 25 percent. Ramadan (also called Ramazan) will begin in Turkey on June the 6th 2016 and last until July the 4th during which dedicated followers of Islam will fast from morning to night. Analyst Soner Cagaptay at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy says just as modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, forced post-Ottoman Turkey onto a secular, pro-Western path, Erdogan has elevated Turkish and Ottoman traditions over Western values, and piety over secularism. A recent survey of personal beliefs and lifestyles in majority-Muslim Turkey has found a smaller portion of people describing themselves as religious. Both have developed and advanced together. Figures for "nonbeliever" and "atheist," which barely registered in 2008, are now at 2 and 3 percent, respectively. Then one day, she made a decision. Prepare for your trip by acknowledging local customs, religions, and learning about national traditions in Turkey. More religious government, less religious populace? Busra Cebeci, a 25-year-old journalist, is from a Turkish generation that has had only one leader for most of its members' lives. Speaking to NPR at an Istanbul cafe, Cebeci explained that she was raised to believe a headscarf is proper attire for a Turkish woman and that when she was a teenager, she put it on without protest. hide caption. She says her decision to take off her own headscarf, for instance, was a result of other women supporting her. "When women show this kind of solidarity, I think it will continue," she says. Analysts say declining religious behavior in Turkey despite the government's attempts to promote it should not come as a surprise.