Istanbul-based writer and columnist Mustafa Akyol says Christians do face problems. "Turkey's Christian minorities have trouble in Turkey, that's a fact. They don't have full religious freedom," he said.

But, adds Akyol, restrictions on church-run religious schools, for example, have nothing to do with pressure by Islamic groups. Rather, he says, they are based on secular principles.

"The state does not want to see private religious schools. Nobody has private religious schools in Turkey," he said. "Muslims can't have their private religious schools either so the Christians don't have it either."

Still many Christians say they feel under greater pressure than their Muslim counterparts - often with a sense of being viewed as an outsider, of not quite belonging.
Greek Orthodox leaders hoped the pope's visit might increase pressure on Turkey to loosen restrictions that might allow the reopening of Istanbul's only Greek Orthodox seminary, which was ordered to close more than 20 years ago.

During his visit, the pope made no mention of specific restrictions, but he did talk about religious freedom.

"Freedom of religion, institutionally guaranteed and effectively respected in practice both for individuals and communities, constitutes for all believers the necessary condition for the loyal contribution to the building up of society," he said.

And, later in the trip the pope and the Orthodox Patriarch signed a declaration, which again spoke of the importance of religious freedom and protection of the religious rights of minorities.

That might be viewed with suspicion in some Turkish political circles, says writer Mustafa Akyol. He says there is, what he calls Turkey's non-liberal secularism. And says Akyol, calls for greater religious freedom are often seen as a threat to the state.

"If it [such calls] is coming from Muslims, it is seen as something which might lead to the infringement of our secularism. When it comes from Christians it is seen as something alien penetrating into Turkish society and it might be funded by the imperialists and so on," he said.

Modern Turkey was founded on a strict principle of secularism. But, says Akyol, it is important to remember that in Turkey secularism does not mean the separation of state and religion, but rather the control of religion by the state.