Actions and hearts
I am thinking about the message from the national day rally about religious harmony. The question I think we need to pose to Singaporeans is whether there is really religious tolerance and freedom in Singapore to speak about and whether PM Lee has a point when he singled out some examples.
I will answer the first one. There is limited religious tolerance and freedom beyond the public statements and displays. I am not saying that the government persecutes religions or what. In fact, I thank God that I am able to pursue any religion (other than weird cults) in Singapore freely. Yet, move the camera and perspective to the family and one will see the limitation of Singapore's supposedly freedom of religious worship. Since I am a Chinese, I think I will stick to this side of the story before I expand my discussion.
As a Chinese in Singapore, one is expected to participate in ancestor worships or follow the family's practice of buddhism or taoism or Chinese syncretism. Although most of the people dun know what they are doing, they still expect their children to follow what they are doing. Ask my parents if they know what they are doing, they will tell you grandmother's story which you are not even sure if it's true. The best part is that when Singaporean Chinese claims to be following traditions, you can be sure that some of these traditions are not even known in China. So being in Singapore, one has the opportunity of encountering different religions and quite frequent, these Chinese children converted to Christianity. And once that happens, family persecution begins to set in. They are scolded for not being filial, chilled for following a 'western' religion and forgeting their own roots. Sometimes, they are scolded for no reason other than doing their own things, because now whatever they do are all 'Christian' stuff which cannot be tolerated in the family. In more extreme cases, they are thrown out of the family or have their allowance cut. Sounds familiar? Sometimes, it resulted in extended family members avoiding them. It gets even worse if you are the eldest son who is expected to perform your duties as an eldest son.
So what is happening here? I have the freedom to choose my own religion, but I still get persecuted in the end. So would I call this religious freedom and tolerance? Beneath the deeper layer within the society, so I think one would be lucky if their family is ok with their conversion.
I just wonder if it's wrong to reach out to some people and convert them? It is absolutely not wrong and I think the government has no need to stop it. Why? Because if a religion can stand up to the test, there is no need to fear that some other people will come and convert your people away. Christianity is often seen as a 'pushy' religion. That is because we are living in an age when most of the major religions are about established and they have no longer a need to search for disciples. So when a religion comes and challenge the status quo, it is being seen as pushy. Of course, I am not advocating anything other than relax and not be too uptight when people try to share their religion and faith with other people. The only thing perhaps is the method being used. Of course if you 'hardsell', people will be turned off.
I also wonder if it is really wrong for a Christian not to offer incense during ancestor worship, or rather, why is it wrong in the eyes of PM Lee. Yes, it causes a lot of distress to the family. But as much as it is seen as a selfish act of the Christian in the family, I would also see it as an inconsiderate and selfish act on the part of the family too. In a situation when performing the ritual is more important than the feelings of the family members, that is a family with no love for people and only love for traditions and rituals. Chinese have the tendency to associate acts with intentions. So if you dun offer the joss stick, you are not a filial kid and if you do, you are. But is that the case? My argument is that, the offering of joss stick does not necessarily mean that the kid is filial and not offering of joss stick does not necessarily mean that the kid is not filial.
Of course the same thing can happen to a Christian family and it does. How many times do we see children leaving church because it's something their parents do and not what they want. As long as they begin to see things as a tradition and ritual devoid of meaning, it will mean that they will search for other things. So the moral here?
The people need to see the meaning beyond what they do and that is why hundreds of youths nowadays flock to churches nowadays. Chinese religions cannot stand a ground unless they can offer something more than the ancestor worships and whatever rituals you have. Which I seriously believe not really a chance there. Even without Christianity, in 50 years time, how many people will still be performing ancestor worship?
At the end of the day, I believe that religious freedom and tolerance in Singapore still has a long way to go. People will need to understand that different religions are co-existing together and they are here to stay and influence us. We cannot keep to the mindset that a Chinese should always follow the traditions of their family. This is an absolutely outmoded thinking. We should not stop anyone to do so if they choose to, but we should not condemn them if they so choose not to.
I will answer the first one. There is limited religious tolerance and freedom beyond the public statements and displays. I am not saying that the government persecutes religions or what. In fact, I thank God that I am able to pursue any religion (other than weird cults) in Singapore freely. Yet, move the camera and perspective to the family and one will see the limitation of Singapore's supposedly freedom of religious worship. Since I am a Chinese, I think I will stick to this side of the story before I expand my discussion.
As a Chinese in Singapore, one is expected to participate in ancestor worships or follow the family's practice of buddhism or taoism or Chinese syncretism. Although most of the people dun know what they are doing, they still expect their children to follow what they are doing. Ask my parents if they know what they are doing, they will tell you grandmother's story which you are not even sure if it's true. The best part is that when Singaporean Chinese claims to be following traditions, you can be sure that some of these traditions are not even known in China. So being in Singapore, one has the opportunity of encountering different religions and quite frequent, these Chinese children converted to Christianity. And once that happens, family persecution begins to set in. They are scolded for not being filial, chilled for following a 'western' religion and forgeting their own roots. Sometimes, they are scolded for no reason other than doing their own things, because now whatever they do are all 'Christian' stuff which cannot be tolerated in the family. In more extreme cases, they are thrown out of the family or have their allowance cut. Sounds familiar? Sometimes, it resulted in extended family members avoiding them. It gets even worse if you are the eldest son who is expected to perform your duties as an eldest son.
So what is happening here? I have the freedom to choose my own religion, but I still get persecuted in the end. So would I call this religious freedom and tolerance? Beneath the deeper layer within the society, so I think one would be lucky if their family is ok with their conversion.
I just wonder if it's wrong to reach out to some people and convert them? It is absolutely not wrong and I think the government has no need to stop it. Why? Because if a religion can stand up to the test, there is no need to fear that some other people will come and convert your people away. Christianity is often seen as a 'pushy' religion. That is because we are living in an age when most of the major religions are about established and they have no longer a need to search for disciples. So when a religion comes and challenge the status quo, it is being seen as pushy. Of course, I am not advocating anything other than relax and not be too uptight when people try to share their religion and faith with other people. The only thing perhaps is the method being used. Of course if you 'hardsell', people will be turned off.
I also wonder if it is really wrong for a Christian not to offer incense during ancestor worship, or rather, why is it wrong in the eyes of PM Lee. Yes, it causes a lot of distress to the family. But as much as it is seen as a selfish act of the Christian in the family, I would also see it as an inconsiderate and selfish act on the part of the family too. In a situation when performing the ritual is more important than the feelings of the family members, that is a family with no love for people and only love for traditions and rituals. Chinese have the tendency to associate acts with intentions. So if you dun offer the joss stick, you are not a filial kid and if you do, you are. But is that the case? My argument is that, the offering of joss stick does not necessarily mean that the kid is filial and not offering of joss stick does not necessarily mean that the kid is not filial.
Of course the same thing can happen to a Christian family and it does. How many times do we see children leaving church because it's something their parents do and not what they want. As long as they begin to see things as a tradition and ritual devoid of meaning, it will mean that they will search for other things. So the moral here?
The people need to see the meaning beyond what they do and that is why hundreds of youths nowadays flock to churches nowadays. Chinese religions cannot stand a ground unless they can offer something more than the ancestor worships and whatever rituals you have. Which I seriously believe not really a chance there. Even without Christianity, in 50 years time, how many people will still be performing ancestor worship?
At the end of the day, I believe that religious freedom and tolerance in Singapore still has a long way to go. People will need to understand that different religions are co-existing together and they are here to stay and influence us. We cannot keep to the mindset that a Chinese should always follow the traditions of their family. This is an absolutely outmoded thinking. We should not stop anyone to do so if they choose to, but we should not condemn them if they so choose not to.
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