Shedding light on decline in Buddhism first time in 30 years

WeeShun SG

THE decline in Buddhism over the past decade may be traced to the rise of churches, more people wanting to choose their own faith or the lack of one, and greater clarity between Buddhism and Taoism, said scholars and faith leaders yesterday.

That may also explain the increase in the proportion of Christians and people with no religion here.

On Wednesday, the Government released some results from its Census 2010 survey, including new data on the religious lives of Singapore residents.

What stood out was the drop in the proportion of people subscribing to Buddhism, from 42.5 per cent in 2000 to 33.3 per cent last year. This was the religion's first dip in 30 years. The percentage in the other faiths either held steady or grew slightly over the 10-year period.

Dr Lai Ah Eng, a researcher who has studied religious trends here, said a reason may be the growing prominence of Pentecostal and Evangelical Christian groups here, which was a 'reflection of a larger trend around the world'.

Mr Henry Baey, president of the Buddhist Fellowship, a non-sectarian group, said this was especially true among younger Chinese who inherited their Buddhist identity from their elders. He said: 'Those who don't have a good grasp of Buddha's teachings can be easily converted.'

While past surveys had shown the number of Taoists declining, the latest census survey revealed a reversal in the trend. The proportion of Taoists grew from 8.5 per cent in 2000 to 10.9 per cent last year.

Taoist Federation chief Tan Thiam Lye said efforts to educate the public on the faith's philosophy had staunched the bleed. This was a point raised yesterday by the Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF), when asked about its declining figures.

'Buddhism for many people was not a conscious decision,' said SBF's secretary-general, Venerable Kwang Phing. 'Nowadays, it is a matter of personal choice. The Taoists have worked very hard. We must work hard too.'

Christianity continued its steady climb, with the proportion of its followers growing from 14.6 per cent in 2000 to 18.3 per cent last year. The increase was greater among permanent residents (PRs), which saw the proportion of Christians rise 6.5 percentage points, from 16.9 per cent to 23.4 per cent.

In comparison, the percentage of citizens who were Christian went up from 14.4 per cent to 17.5 per cent.

Dr Mathew Mathews, a research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said the sense of community Christian groups offered was ideal to new residents, whether they were Christian or not. Non-Christians, therefore, may convert to blend into the new society.

He added that the increased proportion of Christians among the lesser educated was possibly because of outreach in the heartlands, and dedicated services in dialects, Mandarin and Tamil.

Housewife Teo Mong Geck, 54, said she became a Christian after attending the Hokkien services at Faith Community Baptist Church for a month in 2006. 'The words the pastor says are very reasonable,' said the former Taoist, who left her studies after secondary school. 'I understood him, inside my heart.'

PRs also accounted for the 1.1-point hike in overall proportion of Hindus here, from 4 per cent to 5.1 per cent. The proportion of PRs who were Hindu jumped from 9.7 per cent in 2000 to 14.8 per cent last year.

The increase, said Mr Harikrishnan Muthusamy, president of the Tamil Language and Cultural Society, was likely due to the wave of Indian immigrants over the past decade.

The other group to gain new followers was those with no religion - from 14.8 per cent in 2000 to 17 per cent last year.

Sociologist Daniel Goh, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore, said the increase could be due to overall higher education levels and the loosening of kinship ties in society.

'Higher-educated people are more likely to look to a de-ritualised way of life. They want to be able to choose freely a belief system that works for them.'

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Additional reporting by Amanda Tan

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ON HIS birth certificate, Mr Kok Lee Long is described as a Buddhist.

But when the 47-year-old taxi driver enrolled for a course conducted by the Taoist College last year, he realised he was more a Taoist than a Buddhist.

Buddhism is about overcoming suffering by reaching enlightenment or by cultivating it, whereas Taoism is a philosophy for finding balance and harmony with the universe.

'Previously, I couldn't differentiate between Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. I used to pray to Guanyin bodhisattva and so I thought I was Buddhist,' said Mr Kok, who is married with four children.

He added that he used to care only about making money.

However, his priorities changed when he reached age 44 and he wanted to understand more about life.

'I also wanted to find my own faith,' he said.

AMANDA TAN

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SINGAPORE'S religious freedom impressed Mr Sandesh Talathi when he came here on a visit 10 years ago. He decided to make this place his home.

Mr Talathi, 45, a manager in a pharmaceutical company, got his permanent resident status in 2003. 'I feel absolutely comfortable here,' he said.

'One of the things that attracted me here is the religious freedom. I don't feel like there're any barriers to being a Hindu. Everyone is treated equally and there's no favouritism when it comes to religion.'

He added that he also liked the people here and how the Government's systems work.

With him here are his wife Raksha, 41, and his 18-year-old son.

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MR EUGENE Tay, 23, is used to asking questions. It is something his parents have encouraged him to do since he was little.

'I was encouraged to use basic tools - logic, science - to analyse our world. If something isn't right, we ask why,' said the third-year engineering student at Nanyang Technological University.

His spirit of inquiry and his leaning towards logic and science have built in him a non-faith. He calls himself an 'atheist-agnostic, secular humanist'.

Simply put, he does not believe in God.

About organised religion, he said: 'Having a religion to me would seem like I'm forcing myself into a certain dogma that tells me what to do, what is morally correct or incorrect.

'There are ways to think about morals - and they don't all come in a book.'

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sanath SG

Actually i'm not surprised at the drop because in the last and current census, a lot of "bai-bai" or folk religious people, pseudo-buddhists and "Buddhists" would call themselves "Buddhists" in the census. If i were to put frankly, the number of real Buddhists, ie. those who have taken the 3 Refuges and/or really practice and understand the Dharma would be definetly lower than 33%, perhaps only 20% at the most.

Dawnfirstlight SG

I wonder how the figures come about ? Guys, any idea ? Singapore census did not approach me or ask me whether am I a Buddhist, so I presume I'm was not counted but I am a practicing Buddhist. I've asked my Dharma friends, many were not approached by the Singapore census. Guys, were you approached by them ?

What I know is, Buddhist temples are getting more crowded. Just look at those big events organised at Singapore Expo or Pork Khark Si Temple (Bright Hill) That kind of crowd which you would not see 10 years ago. So, I am very puzzled why say there is a decline which many people tell me that there are more and more "true" Buddhists than before. "True" meaning no combination of Taoism and Buddhism.