Religion in Senegal

[3] According to "CIA World Factbook: Senegal" (2019 estimates), Islam is the predominant religion in the country, practiced by 97.2% of the country's population; the Christian community, at 2.7% of the population, and less than one percent practice Traditional African religions such as Serer spirituality, the spiritual beliefs of the Serer people.

"[citation needed] He taught and preached religious law and worship "clean and sincere," removed from the traditions that he judged were not conforming to Islam.

[citation needed] The Qadiriyya brotherhood is the oldest in Senegal, founded by the Sufi mystic Abd al Qadir al-Jilani in the 12th century.

[12] The Dakar Cathedral was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century by father Daniel Brottier, founder of the Orphelins Apprentis d'Auteuil.

Many Senegalese youth are reinstating earlier understandings of Islam, in many instances incorporating religion into their lives to a greater extent than that of their parents.

Conversely, many youth-led political movements are associated with groups of young people who tend to deviate from the religious expectations of their parents, partaking in alcohol consumption as well as elements of hip hop culture.

For example, the Y'en a Marre ("Fed Up") movement was developed in January 2011 in response to the government inefficiency and youth un-involvement in Senegal was and was almost entirely youth-driven.

On the other hand, many Senegalese youth movements have centered on increasing the role of religion in political systems, particularly at the university level.

Many student organizations have been created to attempt to promote these traditional values to Senegalese public life and politics.

Scholars have claimed that it is sometimes a lack of access to resources that drive youth to use religion as a source of empowerment, as well as a justification for violence in certain instances.

[25] However, in Senegal in the 1990s Islamic revivalism originated largely from educated youths who had attended secular French schools.

[25] The existing literature about youth religiosity politics in West Africa focuses on males, since they tend to dominate roles of religious authority in Muslim structures.

But it is apparent that religion serves a very different function for youth of this generation than it did for the previous one, in a pattern that was certainly passed down from the one before.