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Christianity in Singapore

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Christians in Singapore constitute approximately 14.6% of the country's population; 4.8% (32.9% of Christians) being Catholics and the remaining 9.8% (67.1% of Christians) being of other mostly Protestant denominations and traditions.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Christianity first arrived on Singapore’s shores soon after the founding of modern Singapore in 1819. Within half a year, the first Protestant missionary arrived to set up a local ministry.[citation needed] The first Roman Catholic priest came in December 1821 to look into the feasibility of opening a missionary station, and celebrated the first Mass.

The colonial administration adopted an official policy of neutrality and non-interference regarding religion. Missionaries established churches and Christian ministries on the island. They also set up welfare organisations and many missionary schools which are well regarded for their high quality education today.[citation needed]

Local-born church leaders gradually took over the running of their ministries. Theological colleges were established to produce the next generation of leaders, and more churches and Christian organisations were set up, resulting in an increase in the proportion of Christians in Singapore today. The percentage of Christians among Singaporeans increased from 12.7% in 1990 to 14.6% in 2000.[2]

[edit] Catholicism

[edit] Roman Catholicism

Main article: Roman Catholicism in Singapore

The Roman Catholic population in Singapore generally consists of Eurasians, Chinese (including Peranakans) and Indians. The majority of Roman Catholics, notably those who are older, are noted for their preference of English customs and masses conducted in Latin. Younger Roman Catholics tend to prefer less formal forms of worship similar to those practised by Protestants,[citation needed] and also prefer masses in the vernacular. There is, however, a growing number of young people[who?] interested in more traditional forms of worship, and a movement[who?] to restore the ancient Gregorian Chant, deeper reverence in ritual actions, and the Latin Mass is gaining ground[citation needed]. There are 30 Roman Catholic parishes in Singapore, each administering to a particular district in Singapore.

The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Singapore.

Singapore has a Roman Catholic Archdiocese headed by His Grace Archbishop Nicholas Chia who presides at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The Holy Mass in Singapore is celebrated in numerous vernacular tongues, including English, Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew, Tamil, Malayalam, Tagalog and Korean (at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd). Malay is seldom used.

Peranakan Roman Catholics are generally concentrated in the Church of the Holy Family in Katong; whilst St Joseph's Church along Victoria street is a cultural base for Portuguese Eurasians. Roman Catholic parishes in the 18th to early 19th centuries were initially setup along racial and cultural lines by various Roman Catholic missionary groups from Europe.

Various Roman Catholic parishes in Singapore are actively involved in social services such as welfare homes, the opening of soup kitchens as well as missionary trips to place like Indonesia and the Philippines. There is also the Catholic Medical Guild, and other Roman Catholic lobby groups that are based in the Church of St Peter & Paul parish grounds. They are also currently supporting the creation of Small Christian Communities (SCC) in order to organise and gather the Roman Catholic communities within their neighbourhoods.

[edit] Eastern Catholics

A fledgling Greek-Catholic community, dependent on the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic bishop of Melbourne, is also growing and meets in private.

[edit] Protestantism

The St. Andrew's Cathedral is the largest Anglican cathedral in Singapore.

The majority of non-Catholic churches are under the umbrella of the National Council of Churches of Singapore. Most belong to Protestant traditions which consist of an array of denominations. The more prominent ones include the Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. In recent years, independent non-denominational megachurches have sprung up and been successful in reaching out to new members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims 2,612 members in Singapore[3].

Although the churches seem divided along denomination lines, many Christian ministries and congregations often come together and co-ordinate activities and good works for both the Christian community and society at large. In addition, Singapore is considered a key base for missionary and humanitarian activities in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Beyond the churches, there are many Christian organisations engaging in activities such as fund raising, healthcare for the needy, establishing homes for the elderly, providing family services and youth development. These organisations include the Salvation Army, Fei Yue Family Centres, Teen Challenge and various community hospitals. The Christian community also comes together for fund-raising events like the LoveSingapore movement which organises walkathons and prayer sessions for those in need.

[edit] Eastern and Oriental Orthodox

The Armenian Church is the oldest Christian church in Singapore.

Other Christian churches in Singapore include the old Armenian Church which has a church building but has had no resident clergy for many decades, the Coptic Orthodox Church which meets in the Armenian Church, and the Syrian Orthodox Church; the latter two churches generally minister to the Coptic and Indian communities respectively. There is also a small but growing Eastern Orthodox congregation made up of ethnic Armenians, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians and Russians, constituting a small minority in the local Christian population. A small, but growing, number of local Singaporeans attend these churches as well. There is also a tiny Greek-Catholic community present.

[edit] Charismatic churches

Recently, megachurches such as City Harvest Church, Faith Community Baptist Church and New Creation Church have been very successful in attracting large numbers of youths to convert to Christianity. These churches usually have services in which Christian songs in modern styles such as punk, hard rock and heavy metal, which are seen as trendy by many youths, are sung. These churches have won over many youth converts. Nevertheless, they are not without controversy and some Christians consider the practices of such churches to be contrary to the traditions of Christianity.

[edit] Wariness of inter-faith talks

As Singapore is a multi-religious society, the National Council of Churches of Singapore was involved in the drafting of the Declaration of Religious Harmony published in 2003. It was, however reported, on September 3, 2008, that sociologist Mathew Mathews found that the bulk of Christian clergy in Singapore are wary of inter-faith dialogues. Mathews, who is also a pentecostal-church pastor, stated one key finding to be that nearly 50% of clergy feared such dialogue would compromise their own religious convictions. Mathews, who as of 2008 is a visiting fellow at the Sociology department of the National University of Singapore, interviewed 183 Singaporean clergy for his study. The findings were presented at a forum organized by Singapore's Institute of Public Studies on September 2, 2008.[4][5]

Another key finding of Mathews' study also indicated that 41.5% of clergy interviewed said they find it difficult to collaborate with a non-religious leader for a charity drive.

[edit] Missionary schools

[edit] Anglican schools

[edit] Methodist schools

[edit] Presbyterian schools

[edit] Roman Catholic schools

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Dept. of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore (October 2001). Census of Population 2000: Statistical Release 2: Education, Language and Religion. Singapore: The Dept.. Table 39 ("Resident Population Aged 15 Years and Over by Religion, Ethnic Group and Sex"). ISBN 981-04-4459-1. http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2000sr2/t38-45.pdf. .
  2. ^ Sng, Bobby E.K. (2003). In His Good Time: The Story of the Church in Singapore 1819–2002 (3rd ed. ed.). Singapore: Bible Society of Singapore. p. 337. ISBN 981-220-286-2. 
  3. ^ 2006 Stats
  4. ^ Li, Xueying. "Clergy 'Wary Of Inter-Faith Talks'", The Straits Times, 2008-09-23
  5. ^ http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/0809/pdf/CLERGY-st-3Sept-pB5.pdf

[edit] External links


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Italics indicates an unrecognised or partially recognised country.  1 Sometimes included in Europe, depending on the border definitions.  2 Officially known as Myanmar.  3 Sometimes included in Oceania, and also known as Timor-Leste.  4 Transcontinental country.  5 Commonly known as Taiwan. 
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