Saturday, July 26, 2008
7:01 PM
What role do you think religion has to play in the public sphere in Singapore? Justify your stand.
According to the dictionary, religion is a set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. Religion is also the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. Religion is something that plays at least some role in the lives of Singaporeans, for according to a 2000 government survey, 85 percent of citizens and permanent residents profess some religious faith. And of these 85 percent of the population, there are 4 major religions, with many other minor religions which do not constitute a large part of the population. Hence, with such a large proportion of the population, and believing in many different religions, it is evident that religion plays an important role in the public sphere in Singapore, specifically religion tolerance locally.
A part of Singapore’s uniqueness lies in the fact that we are a multi race, multi religion country. There is no state religion, and neither is any religion prohibited in Singapore, unless it breaches any other laws relating to public order, public health, or morality. As such, some of Singapore’s policies have been made in regard to religion, as religion tolerance has been a top priority in order to maintain a peaceful and harmonious society. As mentioned in the article: Secularism - not from theory but bloody history, Muslim girls have been barred from wearing the headscarf or tudung in schools, so as to maintain their 'common secular space'. I believe the aim of this is to allow students of different races to mingle together without the barrier of religion. Hence, however important religion is to a Singaporean, if it is a threat to the society, in the sense that it allows for discrimination or creates discord among its citizens, the government will step in.
Personally, I feel that religion plays the part of reminding Singapore that it is a vulnerable country, and that peace, harmony and security is not something that will always be present. As the 911 terrorist attacks have shown, religion plays an deciding factor in the stability of a country. Terrorists have tried to use religion to mobilize Muslims worldwide to take part in their terrorist activities, significantly against Western nations. Shortly after the 911 attacks, suspected JI (Jemaah Islamiyah) terrorists have been arrested and detained under the ISA for plotting to create racial and religious discord. These terrorists proclaim retaliation in the form of violent attacks due to oppressions to their religion. This proves just how easily Singapore can be segregated by religion, as some who claim that saving their religion is their aim in their violent operations. Hence, Singapore has been actively promoting interethnic harmony, such as the Community Engagement Program (CEP) in 2006, where its goal is to promote multiracial and interreligious harmony, in part so that a strong foundation would be in place should an incident that could provoke ethnic/religious discord, such as a religiously related terrorist attack, occur in the country
In Singapore, although religion plays in important role, it is mainly in our personal lives, not so much publicly. It is my personal opinion that most Singaporeans do not identify themselves primarily as Christians, Buddhists or Muslims, but rather as citizens of Singapore.
kiawoon
http://knowledge.smu.edu.sg/article.cfm?articleid=1141
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Singapore
religion. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion (accessed: July 26, 2008).
