Safia and David have in common to live a faith whose issues resonate in the face of all the crises of our society. They are both between 20 and 30 years old, they distanced themselves in a certain way from their religion before finding new answers there. How to be young in 2022 and practice your religion with the times?
Social crisis
Among the many crises that our society is going through today, the social crisis is certainly one of the most violent. The challenge of living together has become central in the era of globalization. Safia is of Muslim faith and she lives in Brussels. A double identity that should define her no more than her personality or her character.
And yet, her confession and her place of living have often been a source of conflict, for others but also for herself. “I have long suffered in my relationship to my faith, she explains. I often felt like I had to choose between being Belgian or 100% Muslim. Live and practice my faith like my parents, or forget me to westernize me and integrate completely.”
A daily guide
A dilemma that raises questions but also helps her find the answers since it is precisely by believing that Safia intends to live peacefully.
“I practice my religion in the traditional way, I wear the veil and I do Ramadan, for example. But the most determining thing for me are the values that I carry through my faith, she specifies. Respecting all of God’s creations and always doing good around you is what guides me in my daily life, which allows me to align my faith and my citizenship as a young Belgian.”
Ecological crisis
David has also long been on a quest for truth. Just like Safia, her religion now allows her to find answers to major societal questions. David is a practicing Catholic and lives in shared accommodation in Mont-Saint-Guibert.
The “Colline de Penuel” project essentially revolves around sharing the faith by advocating a place of silence and prayer. “We pray before meals, we exchange this gratitude of the present moment”explains David.
It just makes sense to seek the answers in spirituality
Beyond prayer, the inhabitants of “Penuel” also share a sober way of life. In response to the consumerist system which is reaching its limits, David and the other inhabitants of “Penuel” advocate a return to the earth to refocus on the essentials.
“Ecology is not the heart of the project but it makes sense on a daily basis. We maintain our land in an ecological way, with greenhouses, shared vegetable gardens, says David. My neighbor makes sweaters with the wool of our sheep and another makes our terracotta dishes.”
If a simple life is one of the precepts of the Catholic religion, this way of life makes all the more sense at a time when capitalism is inducing a breaking point in our society. “By thanking life and God, there is a kind of harmony that is achieved. It simply makes sense to seek answers in spirituality.”
Living your spirituality in 2022