The Condition of Religious Studies in Secondary Schools in Singapore:

The Interpretation of “Religious Understanding”

Abstract

  The purpose of this study is to examine the actual condition of Religious Studies in Singapore by analyzing the country’s official interpretation of “religious understanding”. Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s Prime Minister, said, “The most visceral and dangerous fault line [for our country] is race and religion.” Accordingly, Singapore’s government repeatedly emphasizes the importance of racial and religious harmony. Schools are not separated by religious factors to ensure that all schools in Singapore are secular places that students who have various racial and religious backgrounds can share.

  The subject of Moral Education in secondary school emphasizes the value of “racial and religious harmony” and aims to foster tolerance among different races and religions. On the other hand, the issue remains as to how such religious tolerance can be fostered in secular schools. In the 1980s, Singapore’s government introduced “Religious Knowledge” as a moral education subject, however the subject had the ultimate effect of exacerbating religious debate in the country and was abolished six years after its introduction. The shortcomings of “Religious Knowledge” suggest the difficulty in treating the subject of religion in schools. This paper therefore presents suggestions for secular schools in terms of promoting “religious understanding”.

  To examine the actual condition of “religious understanding” in Singapore, the first section defines the meaning of the term as interpreted by the country’s educational policy makers. As there are few policy papers specifically referring to “religious understanding” in schools, this paper focuses on the textbook for Civics and Moral Education (CME), which is a moral education subject in Singapore’s secondary schools. The second section examines how students and teachers at the National Institute of Education (NIE) interpret “religious understanding” in schools. The third section examines how secondary school teachers interpret “religious understanding” in CME.

  CME promotes six core values: “Respect”, “Responsibility”, “Resilience”, “Integrity”, “Care” and “Harmony”, with “religious understanding” considered as a component of the latter. In the teacher’s file for CME, the chapter dealing with “Harmony” includes the aims that: 1) students understand that different cultures and religions contribute to the rich diversity of Singapore society; (2) students understand that being sensitive in their interactions with others reinforces the value of showing respect and fosters smooth relations among people of different racial and religious backgrounds; and (3) students are able to demonstrate desirable attitudes and behavior in their interactions with others. To attain these aims, the teacher’s file encourages students to gain proper knowledge on different religions.

  While NIE does not provide a subject that focuses on moral education in schools per se, they do offer a subject called “National Education”. National Education aims to develop national cohesion, the instinct for survival and confidence in the future. The six tenets of National Education are: (1) Singapore is our homeland and this is where we belong; (2) We must preserve racial and religious harmony, (3) We must uphold meritocracy and incorruptibility; (4) No one owes Singapore a living; (5) We must ourselves defend Singapore; and (6) We have confidence in our future. NIE teachers, however, do not refer to religious matters in the subject, and any interpretations of “religious understanding” are left for students to develop on their own. On the other hand, NIE student views on “religious understanding” include that it is important to understand the necessity of religious harmony to maintain social cohesion. NIE students hesitate to treat the details of each religion in secular schools and instead emphasize (View PDF for the rest of the abstract)