Religious and ethno-religious issues are inherent in many multiethnic and multi-religious societies. Singapore society is no exception. It has long been multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious, being at the crossroads of many major and minor civilizations, cultures and traditions, and its religious diversity continues to develop in the current contexts of growing religiosity, religious change and conflict often in the name of religion. Despite this background, there is lack of in-depth knowledge, nuanced understanding and regular dialogue about religions and the meanings of living in a multi-religious world. This volume covering major themes of Singapore's religious landscape, religion in schools and among the young, religion in the media, religious involvement in social services, and interfaith issues and interaction fills important gaps in the knowledge and understanding of Singapore's religious diversity and complexity. A collective effort of researchers and practitioners, it is a timely and useful reference for scholars, decision-makers, leaders and practitioners as well as for concerned citizens and followers.

This book examines Muslims in Singapore, analysing their habits, practices and dispositions towards everyday life, and also their role within the broader framework of the secularist Singapore state and the cultural dominance of its Chinese elite, who are predominantly Buddhist and Christian. Singapore has a highly unusual approach to issues of religious diversity and multiculturalism, adopting a policy of deliberately ‘managing religions’ - including Islam - in an attempt to achieve orderly and harmonious relations between different racial and religious groups. This has encompassed implicit and explicit policies of containment and ‘enclavement’ of Muslims, and also the more positive policy of ‘upgrading’ Muslims through paternalist strategies of education, training and improvement, including the modernisation of madrassah education in both content and orientation. This book examines how this system has operated in practice, and evaluates its successes and failures. In particular, it explores the attitudes and reactions of Muslims themselves across all spheres of everyday life, including dining and maintaining halal-vigilance; education and dress code; and practices of courtship, sex and marriage. It also considers the impact of wider international developments, including 9/11, fear of terrorism and the associated stigmatization of Muslims; and developments within Southeast Asia such as the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist attacks and the Islamization of Malaysia and Indonesia. This study has more general implications for political strategies and public policies in multicultural societies that are deeply divided along ethno-religious lines.

The book looks at how religion in Singapore is being subjected to the processes of modernisation and change. The Singapore State has consciously brought religion under its guidance. It has exercised strong bureaucratic and legal control over the functioning of all religions in Singapore. The Chinese community and the Buddhist Sangha have responded to this by restructuring their temple institutions into large multi-functional temple complexes. There has been quite a few books written on the role of the Singapore State but, so far, none has been written on the topic - the relationship between state, society and religion. It will help to fill the missing gap in the scholarly literature on this area. This is also a topic of great significance in many Asian, particularly Southeast Asian, countries and it will serve as an important book for future reference in this area of research and comparative studies.

The book aims to promote greater understanding of social cohesion amidst existing complexities of faith and identity, and what this portends for our future. The emphasis is on the importance of engagement across beliefs and cultures, the different generations and segments of population, and the diverse interests of people in a digital and interconnected world. The policy officials, religious leaders, scholars and society-at-large will be able to better appreciate the search for common ground and harmony, thereby strengthening their endeavours for coexistence.The book seeks to continue the conversations and deliberations at the International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) held from 19 to 21 June 2019 in Singapore. The three themes of the ICCS — Faith, Identity, Cohesion — stimulated significant discussions on the need for mutual respect, trust and understanding of each other's beliefs and cultures. Many ideas on the ways forward were raised and further discourse is necessary.An unprecedented line-up of academic, civil society, government, intellectual, policy, religious and youth leaders provided a wide array of perspectives on challenging issues faced by diverse societies around the world. The transcripts of the official speeches elucidate the vision of leadership and aspiration looking ahead. The book also features delightful photographs and graphic recordings of the key thrust articulated during the ICCS.

Singapore society is increasingly becoming diverse. During the first few decades of nation building, policies were designed to homogenise aspects of Singaporean society while enshrining principles to allow restricted amounts of diversity. Fast forward to the present, and fifty years after independence, the number of areas where diversity is profoundly apparent remains copious, and its manifestations more varied.This book provides an updated account on the tensions posed by diversity in Singapore and how this is being managed, primarily by the state through policies and programmes but also by communities who attempt to negotiate these tensions. Such an enquiry is crucial especially at this juncture when the nation is finding ways to embrace the different forms of diversity brought about through external impetuses, as well as manage internal reactions from the various communities. The book chapters highlight important considerations if Singapore's diversity management strategies will hold promise for the future.

Rev. ed. of: Management of success, the moulding of modern Singapore.

Ethnic and religious differences, a widening socio-economic divide, tension between foreigners and locals. These are some of the contemporary challenges to integration in Singapore. How we navigate them will determine the type of society we become. This book gathers the best social scientists in Singapore to examine issues of ethnicity, religion, class, and culture in order to understand the many different fault lines that run across the multicultural city-state. These essays are written in an engaging manner and are designed to present the authors’ expertise to a wider audience.