Every once in a while somebody here in Solentiname will ask me if I believe in God. This has become my second least favorite question to answer. My very least favorite question, however, is how much my digital SLR camera costs. After I realized that my camera alone (excluding my lenses) cost as much as a 20-foot boat, I simply stopped answering the question. I just began telling people that the camera cost a lot but my job as a photographer required me to have a good camera.
In a place where families make little to no money and live off of the land and lake, I assume it’s easy for one to understand why I don’t like to talk about money here. I feel that the religion question, however, is a bit more complicated.
My problem with answering either question comes from my fear that what I say will change people’s perceptions of me for the worse. Ever since I got here I have been trying to get closer to people and build stronger bonds with the community. There are days when I feel that I make leaps and bounds simply by visiting people in their homes and sitting with them for a few moments. Yet, when somebody asks me about my faith or my money I usually end up feeling distant and defeated.
The other morning, for example, as I was eating my breakfast one of my host-father’s fifteen siblings asked me if I believed in God. My instinctive reaction, as usual, was to just smile, lamely say “so-so,” and search the other’s face for traces of disappointment. In response, my host-father’s sister lifted her eyebrows, looked down her nose at me, and simply said, “Oh.” I didn’t know what to make of the ambiguous “oh” left hanging in the air but I assumed it signaled her understanding of an overwhelming ideological divide between us. Keep in mind, this is only one of many examples.
My relationship with my host-father’s sister continues to be as amiable as it ever was but I still wonder about how my agnostic beliefs changed her perception of me. Or rather, how her, and others, new opinion of me will affect my work within this very small religious community.
What do you think? Is it better to stand by your true religious beliefs even if people will think you’re crazy because a) you don’t believe in God and b) you believe mankind evolved from a monkey? Or, is it better to affirm a false, though convenient, belief solely for the sake of social integration?
Tiago Genoveze is currently volunteering for Alianza de Solentiname as a photography teacher in Solentiname, Nicaragua. To read more about his experiences and see some of the pictures he has taken, check out his personal photo blog.
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I confuse people thoroughly here in San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala, because although I believe in God, and pray, I’m not a Christian. But I’m just honest about it, and leave them confused if they don’t ask more about it. For me it’s been a rich experience to live in a place where people believe in God so completely in every part of their lives – that was NOT my experience in California, where my belief in God was looked at somewhat askance.
I think the best response is to be honest and then to inquire, honestly, about what this or that aspect of their religion, or ceremony, or procession means to them. Explaining what one believes is usually an interesting experience, and their attention is then on themselves, and not you. And of you are sincere in your interest, you have created a bond.
Interesting post. I like what Felipe said about trying to find common ground if you can. But I don’t think you should lie and say you believe in God simply not to offend people. I think it would be more offensive for you to lie to them and have them find out the truth later. I grew up in America (granted, in California) but I often meet atheists and agnostics who act different around me when I tell them I’m a Christian. I don’t think they’re offended that I do believe in God but their view of me does change. Be true to what you think and believe (in a respectful way) and whether someone accepts you is up to that person.
Judging by the different views and suggestions within the previous comments we can all probably agree that there is no one right way to answer the religion question. I guess all we can do is answer according to our intuition. Thanks for your comments everybody!
Great post!
In my experience, one way to side step the question of “Do you believe in God” but at the same time produce a better answer to the question, is to answer with a question of your own.
First of all, the definition of God varies from one community to another and it is probably slightly different from one individual to another as well.
So, start by finding out what they mean by God: “Can you explain to me what you mean by God?” or “What exactly do you believe in?”
At this point, you should have a much better sense of their definition of God.
This knowledge may actually uncover some some common ground that you can explore and thus, be more honest about your beliefs. Or, you may understand that the person’s views are so different than your own that any truly answer you give may only hurt the relationship at that time, and thus provide a slightly different response or none at all.
Either way, you are better equipped to answer the initial question and you have learned more about the person you are talking about, and in some cases, found some common beliefs that you can discuss in the future.
I just wrote about this myself. Living in a rural community in Ecuador, I face this question all the time. I’ve taken to saying that I believe in Pacha Mama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachamama), which translates roughly as “mother earth”. It’s sort of a tongue-and-cheek way of answering, and then I immediately steer the conversation back to something easier handled in a second language, like food, music or how much I hate the neighbors’ dogs.
Great post! I usually try to avoid the answer; pretend I didn’t hear it or steer the conversation in another direction. I also agree with Celine – when you’re a guest in another country you have to be respectful of their beliefs and think about how what you say may offend them…
Thanks for your comment Celeste. In a way, I’m not so concerned about betraying myself. Rather, I feel like it is an obligation of mine to be honest about my religious beliefs simply because the people of Solentiname have no connection to the outside world (besides violent American movies from the 90’s) and thus do not know, for example, that many people around the world accept that mankind evolved from apes. Therefore, while respecting their faith at all times, I feel like I should at least show them that not everybody shares the same beliefs as they do.
I love this post. Mainly because I’ve been in many situations like this before, and it’s comforting to know that others experience this as well. I find that my answer varies depending on the context. For example, when I was living in Guyana, I just smiled and deflected the question. In Argentina I was a bit more bold but I still gave a runaround answer. It’s interesting, too, because I have no problem stating my views in front of my fiance’s parents, who I couldn’t be anymore ideologically opposite of. There’s something to be said about being a guest in another culture that lends itself to being a bit more discreet. But is that correct? Am I betraying myself by doing so? I don’t know.