religion

I'm currently procrastinating on a paper for my Islam au Sénégal course, so I feel that this is an appropriate time to bring up the topic of religion in Senegal. An oft-cited statistic on religion here is that the country is around 94% Muslim, 5% Christian [Roman Catholic] and 1% native religions. So, while Senegal is overwhelmingly Muslim, they still manage to incorporate the Catholic population without too much (public) conflict, as represented by their motto "Une people, un but, une foi" [One people, one goal, one faith].

I live with a Christian family, which mostly translates to lots of crosses, chalices and a picture of Mother Theresa in the dining room. The main active concession to Catholicism I see, however, is my 18-year-old host sister crossing herself before she eats. From what I've witnessed over the course of my time here, Christians aren't particularly vocal about their faith.

On the other hand, Islam is omni-present (if not omni-benevolent-- I had to move from my first host house because we were right next to the mosque, and the call to prayer began at 5AM). The five prayers throughout the day begin early in the morning, and end around 8 at night. Anywhere you go in Dakar, you will hear the mosque speakers blaring; in the street during prayer time, you will pass multiple people on their prayer mats, pressing their noses multiple times against the ground. And of course, inch'allah (if Allah wills it) and alhamdoulilah (praise be to Allah) are a regular, non-ironic part of Senegalese conversation.

Something you may have noticed about the statistic I gave above is that there is no room for agnosticism or atheism or even humanism in those percentages-- the religious population adds up to 100%. Being non-religious myself, it's occasionally awkward when people ask me the question, "Tu crois quoi alors?" [So what do you believe?] On the occasions when I've responded, "Je suis aucun religion" [I don't follow any religion], I receive awkward silence, or an attempt at conversion. Not wanting any of these things, I've occasionally stated that I'm Protestant-- which is, while not common in Senegal, at least the first step: belief in a higher deity.

Religion for Senegalese people seems, to me, to be a lot like breathing-- it's a vital part of life, though you don't necessarily think about it that often. Several members of my host family, for example, state that they're non-practicing believers. And that, for them, seems to be enough.