Livelife wrote:So, how is your relationship with religion? Are you full-on practicing? Are you religious by name, whilst wanting to be more practicing? Do you care at all? Or are you just irreligious?
It seems to me that Somalis are becoming slightly more secular and irreligious, so I wanted to hear your opinions.
Religion has affected me in some ways. I don't drink or smoke and I have a particular disdain for dogs.
Other than that, I am not a religious person. I live in a part of the U.S where people are generally very irreligious, invoking religion here in public life is seen as unprofessional and very parochial. Religion here is extracurricular and not a way of life, which i find to be very liberating. People worship in their own homes and visit their temples when they get a chance, but in the public square everyone keeps their faith to themselves and goes about their business in a peaceful way.
As for somali becoming more secular, from my observations that ins't the case. Remember that quote by Obama where he said small town folk in America "cling to guns and religion"? That's the case with people in Somalia. Even here in the West, it's increasingly common to see ladies who wear the veil and young men who switch off between being street thugs and over zealous religion bots. Even all the single mothers in America have discovered these "revival" paltalk phone conference rooms where they increasingly spend their time now.
I believe religion should be a benign positive frame work in which people lead their lives, and not an extreme overbearing dictatorial force. Religion used to be the former in Somalia, but now it's becoming the latter.
