Diversity
The Singapore census includes detailed data on religion and ethnicity, and is taken on a ten-year basis. Figures for religion for the past three decades are:
| Major Religions in Singapore | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religion | Year | Adherences | Change | |
| Buddhism | ||||
| Christianity | ||||
| Hinduism | ||||
| Islam | ||||
| Taoism | ||||
| Other religions | ||||
| No Religion | ||||
| Adherences amongst total resident population aged 15 years and above | ||||
The above figures refer to the resident population only, and do not include the non-resident population. (Singapore authorities do not release figures for the non-resident population which accounted for 18.33% of Singapore's population in 2005.)
Most Singaporeans celebrate the major festivals associated with their respective religions. The variety of religions is a direct reflection of the diversity of races living there. The Chinese are predominantly followers of Buddhism and Taoism with some exceptional agnostics. Malays are mostly Muslims and Indians are mostly Hindus but with significant numbers of Muslims and Sikhs from the Indian ethnic groups.
Religion is still an integral part of cosmopolitan Singapore. Many of its most interesting buildings are religious, be it old temples, modern churches, or exotic mosques. An understanding of these buildings do play a part in contributing to appreciation of their art.
Taoist, Confucianism, and Buddhist figures together with ancestral worship are combined into a versatile mix in Chinese tradition temples. In fact, these three religions had exerted their influences over Chinese cultures and traditions since ancient times. It is sometimes difficult to tell them apart when examining the Chinese heritage.
Read more about this topic: Religion In Singapore
Famous quotes containing the word diversity:
“What we have to do ... is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.”
—Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1947)
“The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“We call the intention good which is right in itself, but the action is good, not because it contains within it some good, but because it issues from a good intention. The same act may be done by the same man at different times. According to the diversity of his intention, however, this act may be at one time good, at another bad.”
—Peter Abelard (1079–1142)