What is the difference between "a muslim" and "a practicing muslim"?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
This is a great question. Generally, a "practicing" Muslim/Christian/Jew/Buddhist etc. is someone who follows their religion carefully and faithfully. Someone who is "non-practicing" or just X religion might be a person who was born into the faith or self-identifies as a member, but doesn't necessarily follow teachings closely or consider themselves to be very religious. You can consider it as the difference between someone who follows the religion carefully (practices the teachings of the religion) versus someone who may be part of the community but is not very involved or religious. In the case of the athlete in the video, Pogba is stated to be a "practicing Muslim" so he follows Islamic teachings carefully. Muslims are not supposed to consume alcohol, and Pogba follows this teaching.
