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Question: - Which religion will be NEOM's? Everything else comes down from it.

by davidcollantes 9y ago

armandososa 9y ago
I'm guessing secularity or humanism or maybe the church of reason?
- davidcollantes 9y ago
  It is in Saudi Arabia.
jasonkostempski 9y ago
Is none an option?
- WalterSear 9y ago
  Not in Saudi Arabia.
  - nkoren 9y ago
    I once filled out "None" for my religion on a Saudi visa. It was accepted and I had no problem whatsoever on my visit there, even discussing my alleged atheism openly with curious taxi drivers etc. Only later did I discover that atheism is considered a form of terrorism there, and is a capital offence. Still probably less controversial than what a truer answer would have been.
    - jasonkostempski 9y ago
      Taxi drivers know what you put for religion on your visa?
      - nkoren 9y ago
        No, but every single one of them asked whether I was Muslim. Their responses to my answer ran the gamut. One, a conservative, was clearly perturbed by my answer and wanted to convert me, but lacked the English to do so. The best he could come up with was: "Muhammad Ali... strong! Muhammad Ali... Muslim!" Which I was happy to agree with, but just couldn't figure out how to make the next logical leap. Another, a liberal, told me that Saudi Arabia was unfortunately not a great place for non-Muslims, but that Dubai was amazing, everybody was treated equally there. As far as he was concerned, there was no difference between religions, and the only thing that mattered was whether you were a good person. Another pulled out a Black Sabbath tape that had been hidden under his seat, put it on, and started head-banging. Anyhow, on the street, religion wasn't a subject that anyone was particularly discrete about. Interestly, in professional environments (I was there to attend the Jeddah Economic Forum), it was never mentioned at all.
pmarreck 9y ago
I think "secular humanist" is a good start (and compatible with atheism as well as a number of other religions to varying degrees) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism EDIT: Not sure why I'm being downvoted here. The linked site is absolutely ridiculous in its lack of information which is a hallmark of concepts that overpromise via marketing and underdeliver by not shipping
- cwilson 9y ago
  I think you are being down-voted because others have pointed out this is a venture by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, so it will most definitely not be Secular humanism or anything close to it.
  - pmarreck 9y ago
    Well then it's doomed to fail, frankly, because 1) it's an extra limitation on the behavior of people in their target market of "free thinking, creative individuals" (who will not appreciate arbitrary constraints on their behavior that are not based on secular ethical established facts), and 2) there is no rational evidence that living that way is somehow superior to something like secular humanism, in fact the evidence seems to indicate the opposite https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-secular-life/201410/secular-societies-fare-better-religious-societies https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-secular-life/201410... But I was not here to argue that. If this new "nation" wishes to be forward-thinking and open-mind-inviting, it needs to shake off the religion requirement.
LeifCarrotson 9y ago
It's chaired by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, so Sunni Islam.
XR0CSWV3h3kZWg 9y ago
The prince does say "NEOM will be powered by clean energy, he said, and will have no room “for anything traditional.”" Seems unlikely he'd be able to establish something that has no room for anything traditional, unclear what he really intends to do.

Question: - Which religion will be NEOM's? Everything else comes down from it.

armandososa 9y ago

I'm guessing secularity or humanism or maybe the church of reason?

davidcollantes 9y ago
It is in Saudi Arabia.

jasonkostempski 9y ago

Is none an option?

WalterSear 9y ago
Not in Saudi Arabia.
- nkoren 9y ago
  I once filled out "None" for my religion on a Saudi visa. It was accepted and I had no problem whatsoever on my visit there, even discussing my alleged atheism openly with curious taxi drivers etc. Only later did I discover that atheism is considered a form of terrorism there, and is a capital offence. Still probably less controversial than what a truer answer would have been.
  - jasonkostempski 9y ago
    Taxi drivers know what you put for religion on your visa?
    - nkoren 9y ago
      No, but every single one of them asked whether I was Muslim. Their responses to my answer ran the gamut. One, a conservative, was clearly perturbed by my answer and wanted to convert me, but lacked the English to do so. The best he could come up with was: "Muhammad Ali... strong! Muhammad Ali... Muslim!" Which I was happy to agree with, but just couldn't figure out how to make the next logical leap. Another, a liberal, told me that Saudi Arabia was unfortunately not a great place for non-Muslims, but that Dubai was amazing, everybody was treated equally there. As far as he was concerned, there was no difference between religions, and the only thing that mattered was whether you were a good person. Another pulled out a Black Sabbath tape that had been hidden under his seat, put it on, and started head-banging. Anyhow, on the street, religion wasn't a subject that anyone was particularly discrete about. Interestly, in professional environments (I was there to attend the Jeddah Economic Forum), it was never mentioned at all.

pmarreck 9y ago

I think "secular humanist" is a good start (and compatible with atheism as well as a number of other religions to varying degrees) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism EDIT: Not sure why I'm being downvoted here. The linked site is absolutely ridiculous in its lack of information which is a hallmark of concepts that overpromise via marketing and underdeliver by not shipping

cwilson 9y ago
I think you are being down-voted because others have pointed out this is a venture by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, so it will most definitely not be Secular humanism or anything close to it.
- pmarreck 9y ago
  Well then it's doomed to fail, frankly, because 1) it's an extra limitation on the behavior of people in their target market of "free thinking, creative individuals" (who will not appreciate arbitrary constraints on their behavior that are not based on secular ethical established facts), and 2) there is no rational evidence that living that way is somehow superior to something like secular humanism, in fact the evidence seems to indicate the opposite https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-secular-life/201410/secular-societies-fare-better-religious-societies https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-secular-life/201410... But I was not here to argue that. If this new "nation" wishes to be forward-thinking and open-mind-inviting, it needs to shake off the religion requirement.

LeifCarrotson 9y ago

It's chaired by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, so Sunni Islam.

XR0CSWV3h3kZWg 9y ago

The prince does say "NEOM will be powered by clean energy, he said, and will have no room “for anything traditional.”" Seems unlikely he'd be able to establish something that has no room for anything traditional, unclear what he really intends to do.