Christianity in Singapore

Christianity is the most popular religion, with over 2.1 billion followers around the world. Christianity is 2,000 years old and the religion centers around the teachings of Jesus Christ, who lived in the holy land and is believed to be the son of God. The holy book of Christians (followers of Christ) is the Bible.

Christian missionaries arrived soon after Sir Stamford Raffles founded the promising trading post on Singapore's shore in 1819. Christians constitute approximately 14.6% of the Singaporean population.

Sects

Roman Catholic The Roman Catholic population in Singapore generally consist of Eurasians, Indians, Filipinos, French, Indonesian, Chinese (including Peranakans) and All Races that were Catholics



Protestants Protestants are mostly organised under the National Council of Churches of Singapore, and consist of Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Evangelist Baptist, Pentecostals, Seventh Day Adventist and Charismatics. Other Christian sects include the ancient Armenian Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church.

As Singapore is a multi-religious society, the National Council of Churches of Singapore was involved in the drafting of the Declaration of Religious Harmony published in 2003. It was, however reported, on September 3, 2008, that sociologist Mathew Mathews found that the bulk of Christian clergy in Singapore are wary of inter-faith dialogues. Mathews, who is also a pentecostal-church pastor, stated one key finding to be that nearly 50% of clergy feared such dialogue would compromise their own religious convictions. Mathews, who as of 2008 is a visiting fellow at the Sociology department of the National University of Singapore, interviewed 183 Singapore Citizens clergy for his study. The findings were presented at a forum organized by Singapore's Institute of Public Studies on September 2, 2008.[4][5]

Another key finding of Mathews' study also indicated that 41.5% of clergy interviewed said they find it difficult to collaborate with a non-religious leader for a charity drive.

PROTESTANTISM

The majority of non-Catholic churches are under the umbrella of the National Council of Churches of Singapore. Most belong to Protestant traditions which consist of an array of denominations. The more prominent ones include the SDA Church, Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. In recent years, independent non-denominational megachurches have sprung up and been successful in reaching out to new members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims 2,612 members in Singapore.

Although the churches seem divided along denomination lines, many Christian ministries and congregations often come together and co-ordinate activities and good works for both the Christian community and society at large. In addition, Singapore is considered a key base for missionary and humanitarian activities in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Beyond the churches, there are many Christian organisations engaging in activities such as fund raising, healthcare for the needy, establishing homes for the elderly, providing family services and youth development. These organisations include the Salvation Army, Fei Yue Family Centres, Teen Challenge and various community hospitals. The Christian community also comes together for fund-raising events like the LoveSingapore movement which organises walkathons and prayer sessions for those in need.

Roman Catholicism and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox

Singapore has a Roman Catholic Archdiocese headed by His Grace Archbishop Nicholas Chia who presides at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. The Holy Mass in Singapore is celebrated in numerous vernacular tongues, including English, Tamil, Korean,Tagalog, Hokkien, Teochew, Malayalam and Mandarin(at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd). Malay is seldom used.

Other Christian churches in Singapore include the old Armenian Church which has a church building but has had no resident clergy for many decades, the Coptic Orthodox Church which meets in the Armenian Church, and the Syrian Orthodox Church; the latter two churches generally minister to the Coptic and Indian communities respectively. There is also a small but growing Eastern Orthodox congregation made up of ethnic Armenians, Egyptians, Greeks, Indians and Russians, constituting a small minority in the local Christian population. A small, but growing, number of local Singapore Citizens attend these churches as well. There is also a tiny Greek-Catholic community present.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Protestant Churches
• Catholic Churches
• Orthodox Churches

[TheSingaporeCultures]

Christianity is the most popular religion, with over 2.1 billion followers around the world. Christianity is 2,000 years old and the religion centers around the teachings of Jesus Christ

[Ruzaini07]

Question: why jehovah witness is illegal in singapore?? i mean our country, singapore???

[TheSingaporeCultures]

Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that its existence was prejudicial to public welfare and order because its members refused to perform military service (an obligatory conscription of all male citizens), salute the flag, or swear oaths of allegiance to the state

[TheSingaporeCultures]

Christianity is the most popular religion, with over 2.1 billion followers around the world. Christianity is 2,000 years old and the religion centers around the teachings of Jesus Christ

[TheSingaporeCultures]

Christianity is the most popular religion, with over 2.1 billion followers around the world. Christianity is 2,000 years old and the religion centers around the teachings of Jesus Christ

[TheSingaporeCultures]

Christianity is the most popular religion, with over 2.1 billion followers around the world. Christianity is 2,000 years old and the religion centers around the teachings of Jesus Christ

[ambrosialmien]

Finally, someone actually understands that Catholicism falls under Christianity as well, instead of 'Christians and Catholics'.

[fragilez]

@the57people In Mark 8:29-30, Jesus affirms the fact that He is the Christ., The Son of God. Thus equating Himself to God. Also in John1:1 and John 1:14 tells us that the Word= God= Jesus. John 5:30 is seen by all Christians Jesus' explanation of the trinity. Though the Christ is equal to God, He submits under God the Father

[jai7231032]

but so popular they dont know who is their god lol



[jai7231032]

but so popular they dont know who is their god lol

[InDaClub12]

@TheSingaporeCultures I wonder why you had to quote that 3 times?

[the57people]

jesus performed miracles by permission of God so do moses and other prophets of God but they never never claimed themselves God, only the christians say that jesus is God because the christians are SECRETARIES OF GOD! they acted like as though they know things more than God Himself.

jesus says, " I CAN OF MINE OWN SELF DO NOTHING....I SEEK NOT MY OWN WILL, BUT THE WILL OF GOD WHO HAS SENT ME." (John 5:30)