'Another Faith' (6/11). Why does one choose a religion? Eleven people share their spiritual journeys. Romain, a 30-year-old psychomotor therapist at a Paris hospital, began his search for transcendence as a teenager. That search led him to this monotheistic faith, founded in Iran, which he believes resonates with today's world.
“Unconsciously, I always relied on God. When I was little, whenever I really wanted something, I would ask Him, deep inside: ‘Can you help me with this?' I didn't do it often, but I remember getting an answer; somehow, my wish seemed to have been heard. Yet, I grew up in a family that wasn't interested in religion: I didn't receive any religious education and, at home, believing in God wasn't part of our culture.
I grew up in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Versailles. As a teenager, I joined a boxing club where members came from diverse religious backgrounds. My first real conversations about religion happened when I was about 14 or 15. I wanted to know what God meant to my religious friends because I couldn't relate to the image I'd heard about – a kind of bearded man on a cloud, dictating how we should behave. But their understanding went much deeper, and that got me thinking: I had never heard anyone speak of God like that.
Our coach was Muslim. He placed great importance on spiritual values in sports – the belief in putting in effort, in respecting our bodies, in striving to improve ourselves, in behaving well, especially since martial art requires a rigorous and safe framework. His teaching embodied these demands, and they resonated within me. I felt that, for him and for my believer friends, religion was something uplifting, encouraging them to transcend themselves. Even though I didn't identify with those traditions, I started reading up. I read about all religions, trying to apply the principles that spoke to me.
Internal obstacles
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