Salam all.
I always thought that the taqiyya that Shias do is basically hiding ones beliefs if one fears harm but it isnt necessary. And my point of view was confirmed by what al-Islam.org say.
But the problem arose when I came across quite a few narrations from Imam jafar (عليه السلام). that said otherwise:
He said: taqiyya is my deen and the deen of my forefathers. And he has no iman who does not have taqiyya.
Usool ul kafi 2/217, bihar ul anwar 75/423
Also, he said: if I were to say that the one who abandons taqiyya is like the one who abandons salah, I would be telling the truth.
Usool ul kafi 2/217, 219
Can someone please explain why al-Islam say one thing while Imam jafar as Sadiq says another? What exactly is taqiyya?