Religion in Singapore

The government of Singapore is officially tolerant of different religions and encourages religious harmony among the different religions found in Singapore. However, some religions or denominations are officially banned by the government, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and the Unification Church, although their followers do still practise in secrecy.[4][5][6] Some religions, especially those practised by Chinese ethnic groups, have merged their places of worship with other religions such as Hinduism and Islam. A prominent example is that of Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple (situated in the eastern coastal line) wherein three religions, namely Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism are co-located.

Younger Singaporeans tend to combine traditional philosophies with religious beliefs introduced when the British colonised Singapore. One prominent example is South Bridge Street, which was a major road through the old Chinatown, where it houses the Sri Mariamman Temple (a south Indian Hindu temple that was declared a national historical site in the 1980s), as well as the Masjid Jamae Mosque that served Chulia Muslims from India's Coromandel Coast.

In schools, children are taught in social studies lessons about the Maria Hertogh riots and the 1964 Race Riots, as a reminder of the consequences of inter-religious conflict. Mixed-race classes, interaction between students of different races and the celebration of religious festivals also help inculcate religious tolerance and understanding from a young age.

Another religious landmark in Singapore is the Armenian Church of Gregory the Illuminator, the oldest church in Singapore, which was completed in 1836. It was also the first building in Singapore to have an electricity supply, when electric fans and lights were installed. Today, the church no longer holds Armenian services, as the last Armenian priest retired in the 1930s. Nonetheless, the church and its grounds have been carefully preserved and various Orthodox Church services are still held in it occasionally and Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria service on the first weekend of every month.

The Singapore census includes detailed data on religion and ethnicity, and is taken on a ten or five-year basis. Figures for religion for the past three decades are:[7][8][1][9]

The above figures refer to the resident population only, and do not include the non-resident population (Singapore authorities do not release figures for the non-resident population which accounted for 18.33% of Singapore's population in 2005).

Most Singaporeans celebrate the major festivals associated with their respective religions. The variety of religions is a direct reflection of the diversity of races living there. The Chinese are predominantly followers of Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity with many irreligious exceptions. Malays are mostly Muslims, and Indians are mostly Hindus, but with significant numbers of Muslims and Sikhs from the Indian ethnic groups.

Religion is still an integral part of cosmopolitan Singapore. Many of its significant buildings are religious, be it temples, churches or mosques. An understanding of these buildings do play a part in contributing to appreciation of their art.

Taoist and Confucian doctrines and deities, together with ancestral worship, are combined in various ways in the Chinese folk religions and Chinese folk religious sects.

Main Shrine Hall of Singapore Buddhist Lodge

The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery is a widely visited Buddhist temple in Singapore.

A large plurality of Singaporeans declare themselves as Buddhists, with 33.3% of the Singaporean population being Buddhists in 2010 census.

Most missionaries can hail from China, Tibet, perhaps Taiwan), Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Japan.

There are Buddhist monasteries and centres from the three major traditions of Buddhism in Singapore: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Most Buddhists in Singapore are Chinese and many of them adhered to Mahayana tradition.

Whilst a majority of Buddhists in Singapore are traditionally ethnic Chinese, there is a significant number of Buddhists in Singapore that come from other ethnic groups such as the Thai, Sinhalese and Burmese. Due to the presence of these Buddhists from these ethnic groups, there are Buddhist centres and temples that serves these communities, such as Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple, Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist Temple and Burmese Buddhist Temple.

Buddhism of every tradition is well represented in Singapore, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Thai Buddhism and Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. They were brought together over years of immigration to Singapore, brought by many foreign Buddhist monks. Due to the melting pot of Buddhist traditions here in Singapore, it is not uncommon to see Thai Buddhist Temples and Tibetan Buddhist Centres, besides the numerous Chinese Buddhist Temples.

The sight of such temples gives Buddhists in Singapore a warm feeling in their hearts, as these are places where they spend their times with their loved ones the most, such as going to temples to offer incense and attend meditation and chanting services.

Occasionally, Buddhist monks from the west such as Ajahn Brahm, who resided in Australia, is invited to Singapore to give Buddhist Talks to the public. Additionally, there are also Buddhist societies set up in Singapore tertiary institutions such as NUS Buddhist Society, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Buddhist Society, Singapore Polytechnic Buddhist Society and SMU Dhamma Circle have encouraged youths in Singapore gain a better insight into Buddhism.

Recently, there are many Buddhist temples in Singapore that are undergoing major renovations, to have a fresh new building facade and to cater to the younger crowd. Singapore Buddhist Lodge has recently renovated their Main Shrine Hall and since it has open its doors to the public, it has been drawing hundreds of people from all over Singapore to visit.

In addition, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery has also opened the Buddhist College of Singapore to provide a centre for Buddhist education to Singaporeans.

Such additions and renovations to these temples have improved their visitor count greatly.

As time goes by, a sizeable number of Buddhist temples in Singapore have decided to use English over Mandarin as their main language of communication during their temple services to cater to the growing English-Speaking Buddhist congregation.

Indirectly, many young Chinese Singaporeans are now spending time with their family to rediscover their Buddhist roots.

Population of resident ethnic group registered as Buddhist 2015.[10]

Armenian Church (built 1835) is the oldest church in Singapore.

Christian churches can be found across Singapore.

Both Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II visited Singapore.

Population of resident ethnic group registered as Christianity 2015.[11]

The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore.

According to the 2015 census, around 14% of the resident population in Singapore registered themselves as Muslims. Most mosques in Singapore cater to Sunni Muslims due to the vast majority of Singaporean Muslims adhering to the Sunni Shafi'i or Hanafi school of thought, although there are mosques that cater to the needs of the Shia community as well. There are approximately 200 Ahmadi.[12] Singapore also contains the oldest Muslim women's organization in the world: Young Women Muslim Association of Singapore.

Whilst a majority of Muslims in Singapore are traditionally ethnic Malays, there is also a significant growing number of Muslims from other ethnic groups; in particular, there is a sizeable number of Muslims amongst ethnic Indians that statistically include Tamil Muslims and ethnic Pakistanis in Singapore as well. For this reason, a number of mosques (mostly Tamil-speaking) specifically cater to the needs of the Indian Muslim community. Additionally, under the direction of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), English is increasingly being used as the language of administration, religious instruction and sermons for Friday prayers[13] in mosques across Singapore to cater to Muslims who may not necessarily be Malay-speaking.[14]

The ethnic breakdown of Muslims according to the 2010 Singapore Census of Population are as follows:[15]

Sri Mariamman Temple (built 1827) in the Chinatown district is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore.

The majority of Singapore's present Hindus are descendants of Indians who migrated soon after the founding of Singapore in 1819. The early temples are still the central points of rituals and festivals, which are held throughout the year.

Thian Hock Keng (built 1842) is the oldest Taoist temple in Singapore.

Followers of Taoism ("The Way") adhere to the teachings of the ancient Chinese religious philosophy of Laozi, the founder of Taoism, also known as the Pure Celestial Worthy of the Way. Besides codified Taoism—which in some places, like Taiwan, is mostly represented by the Zhengyi order—Taoism in Singapore also comprehends a wide variety of Chinese folk religions.[1]

Feng shui, literally "wind and water", originated from the school of yin and yang and is deeply rooted in ancestral worshiping that seeks to harmonise the pnuemas between the living (yang) and the dead (yin). Ancestral worship is a common practice of the Chinese and the Qingming Festival during the second full moon is observed by the majority. This reflects that Chinese tradition remains extant in modern Singapore. They pray in tribute to their bereaved ancestors, where their spirits are honoured with offerings including food, beverages, joss paper, incense sticks, and even paper houses, which are intrinsic practices for Taoists.

Although Taoist temples and shrines are abundant in Singapore, the official number of followers has dwindled drastically over the years from 22.4% to 8.5% between the years 1990 to 2000. This, however, may be accounted for by the unclear delineation between Taoism and Buddhism in popular perception. For example, the difference between the two religions can be negligible enough that when a Chinese says that they "offer incense sticks" it is usually assumed that they are Buddhist even though they may not actually be Buddhist. The 2010 and 2015 censuses have shown that Taoist identity has declined again to represent about 10% of Singapore's population.

As of 2015, 18.5% of Singaporeans had no religious affiliation. Non-religious Singaporeans are found in various ethnic groups and all walks of life in the diverse, multicultural city state. The Singapore non-religious community itself is very diverse, with many calling themselves atheists, agnostics, free thinkers, humanists, secularist, theists or sceptics. In addition, there some people who decline religious labels but still practice traditional rituals like ancestor worship. The number of non-religious people in Singapore has risen gradually over the decades. Census reports show that those who said they have no religion rose from 13.0% in 1980 to 17.0% in 2010. In recent years, social gatherings of non-religious people are getting popular in Singapore. The Singapore Humanism Meetup is a major network of over 400 secular Humanists, freethinkers, atheists, and agnostics. In October 2010, the Humanist Society (Singapore) became the first humanist group to be gazetted as a society.[18]

The constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, other laws and policies restricted this right in some circumstances.[5] Publications and public discussions of religious issues are generally censored, along with negative or inflammatory portrayals of religion. The Government does not tolerate speech or actions that it deems could adversely affect racial or religious harmony.

• Singaporean Chinese religion