SM Lee Hsien Loong at National Council of Churches of Singapore's 50th Anniversary Thanksgiving Dinner

Bishop Lu Guan Hoe, President of NCCS,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very honoured to join you here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS). I am also very happy to also see leaders of other religious communities here, to share the joy of this Jubilee celebration. And I also thank you for your very warm words and good wishes on my transition into my new role.

NCCS’s 50 years of service

May I congratulate NCCS on your Golden Jubilee. It marks 50 years of service, not just to the local Christian community, but also to Singapore.

The original intent, when NCCS was founded in 1974, was to bring together churches of different traditions and backgrounds. But over the years, the Council and your member churches have broadened your focus, to build bridges with other faith communities and foster inter-religious harmony. Nationally, NCCS represents the Christian community on the National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony. At the grassroots, many member churches are active in Racial and Religious Harmony Circles, promoting inter-faith interaction and exchanging experiences with other religious groups in their local neighbourhoods. Altogether, more than 350 churches have affirmed the Commitment to Safeguard Religious Harmony, taking a stand against division and exclusivism. When controversial and difficult national issues arose, NCCS responded constructively, facilitating engagements between the Government and Christian groups so that the community’s views could be properly aired and well taken into account. These efforts have contributed much to building a cohesive, harmonious, and inclusive society.

So, a very big thank you to NCCS and all your member churches for your very good work!

Thanksgiving

Here in Singapore, as NCCS celebrates its Jubilee, we have many broader reasons to give thanks - Thanks, for the racial and religious harmony that we have been blessed with all these years; Thanks, that in our early years of nationhood, our founding generation came together to overcome communal distrust and conflict, to build mutual respect and confidence between different faiths and different ethnic groups; Thanks, that leaders of all the religious groups have long understood the vital importance of accommodation and compromise, and led their congregations wisely and pragmatically; Thanks, that followers of different faiths have learnt to live harmoniously together, to give and take, and showed concern and mutual respect for one another and; Thanks, that together we have steadily strengthened our sense of national identity, and enlarged the common space that all of us share today.

So tonight, I join you with a heartfelt sense of relief and gratitude, grateful to all the groups and individuals who worked so hard to get us here, and who have helped to create here in Singapore an oasis of peace and harmony that stands out in a troubled world. It is something rare, precious, but also fragile – something we must all continue working hard at patiently and resolutely, to protect and cultivate it year after year, generation after generation.

Maintaining our vigilance in a troubled world

In other societies, things can be very different. Too often, we see people divided along fault lines of race and religion. We see conflicts in which clashing religious identities are an important factor. We see politicians using chauvinist religious appeals to generate a sense of threat, energise their supporters, and consolidate their power. Certainly, this is happening in the Middle East. But it also happens closer to home, including in Southeast Asia. Partly this is because with social media, what happens in one region can prompt powerful reactions in other societies far away – the war between Israel and Hamas has reverberated all over the world. But Southeast Asia has its own indigenous ethnic and religious conflicts too – for example, over the Rohingyas in Myanmar.

These are not just cautionary and salutary tales from other countries. These external troubles have a real impact on Singapore, on our society. All the major faiths are present here, and religion plays a big part in many Singaporeans’ lives. And being so open and connected to the world, our people are constantly and completely exposed to external events and developments. When conflicts happen elsewhere, Singaporeans who happen to share the same faith with one group or another, will naturally tend to identify and sympathise more with their co-religionists involved in these conflicts. It is a completely understandable human reaction, however much we remind ourselves that these are not our quarrels, and we should not get ourselves involved. Despite our best efforts to remain detached, foreign troubles can trigger tensions in our society.

That is why the Government has remained vigilant – holding the ring, setting and enforcing the rules, leading by example, upholding multi-racial and multi-religious values. From time to time, I get asked: Is it time yet for the Government to let go on matters relating to race and religion, allow things to happen naturally, and let the people decide what is acceptable and what is not?

My answer is: as our society evolves, so will the way we manage these sensitive matters. If you look back over the past decades, you will see how we have been able to use a lighter touch, and allow wider scope for public discussion on sensitive matters. But these matters – in my view, will never cease to be sensitive. It is most unlikely that we will ever reach the point where a guiding hand is no longer necessary. The experience of other multi-religious countries with much longer histories than Singapore shows how, even after generations of living peacefully together, ethnic and religious tensions can quickly arise, get worked up, and permanently divide the society. That must never happen to us.

Thankfully, our religious diversity is a point of pride, and has not become a cause of schism. Despite the many tensions and conflicts elsewhere, we have by and large managed to avoid importing these problems, and maintained our religious harmony in Singapore. A recent study by the Pew Research Centre found that Singapore’s religious diversity is “remarkable on the global scale”, and that Singapore had “high levels of interreligious tolerance and acceptance on multiple measures”.

We are in this happy position today, thanks to decades of deliberate and concerted effort. We have consistently emphasised racial and religious harmony, equal treatment and freedom of religion for all. From the beginning, these have been foundational tenets of our society, enshrined in our Constitution and National Pledge – “one united people, regardless of race, language, or religion”. But unity and cohesion in Singapore will always be a work-in-progress.

Conclusion

I therefore look forward to NCCS and other religious groups working together and with the government in this continuing task. I encourage NCCS and member church leaders to continue your good work, and guide your members to practise your faith in a manner that strengthens our multi-racial and multi-religious society, and encourages friendship among people of different faiths. That way, Singaporeans of different creeds can always continue to stand side-by-side, as “One People, One Nation, One Singapore”.

Once again, congratulations to NCCS on your 50th anniversary!