International
Religious Freedom Report 2007
Section
II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy
Framework
The
Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the
Government restricted this right in some circumstances. The
Constitution provides that every citizen or person in the country
has a constitutional right to profess, practice, or propagate his
or her religious belief so long as such activities do not breach
any other laws relating to public order, public health, or
morality. There is no state religion.
All religious
groups are subject to government scrutiny and must be registered
legally under the Societies Act. The Government deregistered the
country's congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1972 and the
Unification Church in 1982, making them unlawful societies. Such a
designation makes it impossible to maintain a legal identity as a
religious group, with consequences relating to owning property,
conducting financial transactions, or holding public
meetings.
The Government
plays an active but limited role in religious affairs. For example,
the Government seeks to ensure that citizens, most of whom live in
government-built housing, have ready access to religious
organizations traditionally associated with their ethnic groups by
helping such institutions find space in these housing complexes.
The Government maintains a semiofficial relationship with the
Muslim community through the Islamic Religious Council (MUIS). The
MUIS advises the Government on concerns of the Muslim community,
drafts the approved weekly sermon, regulates some Muslim religious
matters, and oversees a mosque-building fund financed by voluntary
payroll deductions. The Constitution acknowledges Malay/Muslims to
be "the indigenous people of Singapore" and charges the Government
specifically to promote their political, educational, religious,
economic, social, cultural, and language interests.
The 1961
Women's Charter gives women, among other rights, the right to own
property, conduct trade, and receive divorce settlements. Muslim
women enjoy most of the rights and protections of the Women's
Charter; however, for the most part, Muslim marriage law falls
under the administration of the Muslim Law Act, which empowers the
Shari'a court to oversee such matters. The act also allows Muslim
men to practice polygamy. Requests to take additional wives may be
refused by the Registry of Muslim Marriages, which solicits the
views of existing wives and reviews the financial capability of the
husband. In the period covered by this report, there were 44
applications for polygamous marriage and 13 applications were
approved.
The
Presidential Council on Minority Rights examines all pending bills
to ensure that they do not disadvantage a particular group. It also
reports to the Government on matters affecting any racial or
religious community and investigates complaints. There were no
complaints or reports to the Presidential Council on Minority
Rights from fiscal year 2005/2006. Fiscal year 2006/2007 data was
not available by the end of the reporting period.
The Government does not permit religious instruction in public
schools.
There are
official holy days for each major religion in the country: Hari
Raya Haji and Hari Raya Puasa for Muslims, Christmas and Good
Friday for Christians, Deepavali for Hindus, and Vesak Day for
Buddhists.
http://www.warrenssingapore.com/religious_rights.htm