The Perception of Christianity as a Rational Religion in Singapore

A Missiological Analysis of Christian Conversion

Chin

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781498298094
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This book evaluates the common criticism that Christianity in Asia is westernized. Since the 1980s, Asian evangelical theologians and missiologists argue that the intrusion of Western theology is responsible for the Western and, hence, alien expressions of Christianity in Asia. Yet, in Singapore, the number of Christians has increased over the last few decades. Empirical evidence demonstrates that younger Chinese Singaporeans convert from Buddhism or Taoism to Christianity partly because they perceive it as a "rational" religion over Buddhism or Taoism, which are viewed as "irrational" or "superstitious." Not only do many converts favor Christianity as a rational religion, but they do not regard Christianity as a Western religion at the point of their conversion. What accounts for those recent developments?This study explores the processes of modernization and globalization as important factors, impacting religious change in Singapore. Personal, contextual, and structural elements actually influence one's religion of choice. In facilitating effective mission, one must qualify the use of the categories, "Asian" and "Western," because religious and cultural boundaries overlap. What matters most in missiology is discerning how the gospel of Jesus Christ engages the self-understanding and lived realities of ethnic and religious others in diverse cultural settings.

1

Research Problem

Missiological Context

Since the early 1980s, a number of Asian evangelical theologians, missiologists, and church leaders have lamented about the Western and, hence, alien nature of Christianity in Asia. At the root of their complaint is the intrusion of Western theology into Asian contexts. They characterize Western theology as rationalistic in nature, dualistic in approach, individualistic in emphasis, and argue that it is shaped by Enlightenment thought, presupposes a naturalistic worldview, and disconnected from pastoral, social, and religious concerns. Since theology and mission are inseparable, Western theology is inappropriate for effective mission in Asia. In order to facilitate effective mission and to cultivate indigenous communities of faith, researchers seek to “de-Westernize” Asian theological education and the church in Asia by calling for appropriate contextualization of Christianity in that part of the world.1

Perhaps the greatest antipathy toward rationalistic, Western theology is that it leads to skepticism and the erosion of one’s confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ.2 Due, in part, to its association with Western colonialism and the observation that much of theological education in Asia is rooted in Enlightenment rationalism, Christianity is largely perceived by people in Asia as a Western and foreign religion.3 The acrimonious statement—“Theological ideas are created on the European continent, corrected in England, corrupted in America, and crammed into Asia”—is often quoted as a source of ridicule. One Asian theologian insists that “shoving the ‘Westerner’s Christianity’ upon other nationals is no longer acceptable.”4 Those words are indeed less than charitable, and evoke the controversial rhetoric of “Orientalism” versus “Occidentalism”5 or the “Clash of Civilizations.”6 One surmises that such negative assessments of Western mission have contributed to the so-called “Western guilt complex,” and partially account for the recent decline of missionary output from the West in general and America in particular.7

There is no doubt that Asian missiologists offer important insights to the subject of contextualization in Asia. However, one wonders if their assessments accurately reflect the variegated lived experiences of all Asians, and if their recommendations are applicable to all cultures in Asia. One notable exception seems to stand out. In Rationalizing Religion: Religious Conversion, Revivalism and Competition in Singapore Society, Chee Kiong Tong, a sociology professor at the National University of Singapore, argues that religiosity in Singapore has increased despite the nation undergoing modernization and secularization.8 According to the 2010 Census of Population, 44.2 percent adhere to Buddhism/Taoism, 14.7 percent profess Islam, 5.1 percent follow Hinduism, 0.7 percent declare “other religions,” and 17 percent profess “no religion.” Adherents to Christianity, which constituted 5 percent of the total population in 1920 when the data were first collected, has increased to 14.6 percent in 2000 due to a favorable perception of Christianity as a “rational” religion.9 That percentage has since risen to 18.3 percent, according to the 2010 census of population.10 Tong concludes that there has been a dramatic shift in the religious landscape in Singapore, with a “substantial growth in the number of Christians, and a rapid decline in adherence to traditional Chinese religion.”11

The growth of Christianity in Singapore is a unique cultural phenomenon in that it is instigated by several key factors including (1) a growing trend on the part of many Chinese Singaporeans to renounce traditional Chinese religions, (2) the modernization of Singapore society, and (3) the nature of Christianity as an ethnically neutral, global, and all-encompassing religion.12 Though religion and ethnicity are closely correlated, as with Hinduism and Islam being restricted to Indian and Malay communities respectively, the case with traditional Chinese religions and Chinese Singaporeans is not so straightforward, and the correlation is not as strong. People of Chinese descent, who constitute about 75 percent of the total population, are the most heterogeneous of the three major ethnic groups. Some convert from Buddhism and Taoism to Christianity because they perceive it as a modern, rational religion in contrast to traditional Chinese religions. A second group opts to declare no religious affiliation at all, though it is possible a small percentage of people actually follow some variation of Buddhism. The third alternative, which came about as a result of the growth of Christianity between 1950 and 1980, involves the rationalization of traditional Chinese religions to compete with Christianity and other so-called rational religions.13

The rationalization of religion occurs as Singaporeans, who are educated in English-stream, Western educational systems, respond to the effects of modernization and globalization. In the process of transformation, religion is intellectualized, where one’s acceptance of religious faith is based upon active reflection and thinking as opposed to passive acceptance based upon oral tradition.14 Christianity, as a religion of the book, is a prime example of a religion that has become socially appealing to a particular sector of the population. The growth of Christianity can be attributed to several socio-demographic variables, including age, language, education, occupation, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.15 This socio-demographic profile characterizes Christian converts as mostly (1) ethnically Chinese from Taoist and Buddhist backgrounds, (2) well-educated, (3) belonging in higher income brackets, and (4) switching their religion between ten and twenty-nine years of age (approximately 72.2 percent of converts).16 The well-educated background of Protestant Christians in Singapore is widely observed and documented, and researchers claim that “over 40 percent of a total of 350,000 Protestant Christians hold a university degree.”17

It would appear that religious affiliation in Singapore is culturally or ethnically structured.18 Tong argues that, in comparison to Chinese religions (i.e., Taoism and Buddhism), which are characterized as “illogical,” “irrational,” and largely “superstitious,” many Singaporeans convert to Christianity because they perceive Christianity as a “rational, modern, ethnically neutral religion that partly explains its attractiveness to younger Singaporeans, who are themselves socialized into an English-stream, Western oriented educational system.”19 The appeal of Christianity to younger Singaporeans is related to the pe...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Abstract
• Chapter 1: Research Problem
• Chapter 2: Evangelical Contextualization in Asia
• Chapter 3: Modernization, Globalization, and Religious Change
• Chapter 4: Christian Conversion and Identity in Singapore
• Chapter 5: Research Methodology
• Chapter 6: Research Findings
• Chapter 7: Analysis of Research Findings
• Chapter 8: Conclusions and Missiological Implications
• Appendix 1: Informant Profiles
• Appendix 2: Interview Protocol
• Bibliography