Statement on a Facebook post made by NUS Atheist Society

You may have seen the article regarding a recent police investigation involving a post made by an ‘NUS Atheist Society’ Page on Facebook.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/nus-atheist-society-facebook-post-offensive-shanmugam-police-12560286

The Humanist Society (Singapore) finds this post unhelpful amid the current crisis. We are a community of non-religious people, founded upon values of reason and compassion. The post made by NUS Atheist Society is neither reasoned nor compassionate. NUS has also since stated that the Page is not affiliated with the university.

The evolving Covid-19 situation affects us all, regardless of race or religion. We would like to encourage productive and rational dialogue during this crisis. We should focus on disseminating facts, providing comfort, and promoting public unity amidst the pandemic.

Executive Committee
Humanist Society (Singapore)

Separating Science from Nonsense: A Guide for Dummies

“There’s so much uncertainty in life,” said Dr Teja Celhar, a research scientist at A*STAR, at the end of the latest public lecture held by the Humanist Society Singapore (HSS) on Saturday (Sep 28). “Knowing how some parts of life works – that is comforting to me.”

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Speech: Protecting Vulnerable Groups against Religious Intolerance, Overreach of Minister’s Powers and Inclusion of Non-Religious Persons

The following speech was delivered by NMP Anthea Ong on 7 Oct 2019 in Parliament, in support of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony (Amendment) Bill. The speech marks the first time the Humanist Society (Singapore) was mentioned in Parliament, in recognition of our many years of interfaith efforts.

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HSS’ most viewed Facebook posts

In 2015, we have compiled a list of our most viral posts on Facebook, as part of efforts to understand the humanist community better. Here’s a second round of compilation, based on the number of views per post.

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Migrant Cultural Show – A big “Thank you !”

Migrant Cultural Show, 7 January 2018, Syed Alwi Road. Pictures courtesy of the organizers.

The Humanist Society (Singapore) was invited to the Migrant Cultural Show that took place two Sundays ago. Tatt Si, our president was one of the VIPs , along with Ms Jacqueline Loh, the chief executive of  Aidha; Mr Shivaji Das, founder of Migrant Worker Poetry Competition; and TWC2 executive committee member Debbie Fordyce.

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Interfaith Memorial Service for Rev Yap Kim Hao @FCC

(TattSi walked to centre stage, lit a candle, and turned to the mic)

“Hi everyone, I’m TattSi, and I’m from the Humanist Society.

I just want to reassure Mao that while you knew Rev Yap only for a short while, you still beat me in that department. I never met Rev Yap, and only knew him for less than a year, on Internet, on Facebook.

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How to herd cats? The humanist experience in Singapore

As the saying goes, gathering atheists is like herding cats. Although the number of groups dedicated to the non-religious is growing worldwide, it’s still a hair-pulling experience organising large groups of atheists together (or any other type of non-religious people).

[Read more…]

TOC: Narrow path walked by the non-religious just got narrower

President Tatt Si wrote this column for theonlinecitizen (TOC) on Oct 13, 2017, where he talked about the difficulties faced by the non-religious in expressing their views in Singapore and other issues they face.

Link to TOC: https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2017/10/13/narrow-path-walked-by-the-non-religious-just-got-narrower/

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TODAY: Religious or not, S’poreans’ morality is growing

Our President, Tatt Si, wrote a letter in response to former civil servant Lim Siong Guan’s speech on Lessons for S’pore on the rise and fall of empires. (IPS version here)

URL to our letter: http://www.todayonline.com/voices/religious-or-not-sporeans-morality-growing

TODAY: Religious or not, S’poreans’ morality is growing

I refer to the article “Lessons for S’pore on the rise and fall of empires” (Sept 13).

In it, former top civil servant Lim Siong Guan discusses Singapore’s future in reference to Sir John Glubb’s essay, The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival, which analyses the rise and fall of great nations.

Mr Lim cites Glubb’s remarks about the “weakening of religion” and proceeds to note that Singapore’s non-religious population is increasing, implying that this is a possible sign of the Age of Decadence.

I have some points to make. First, our morality has roots in our ability to empathise with others. This quality of empathy is, in turn, a result of natural selection, behavioural evolution, education and literacy.

Mr Lim should not be surprised that ethics change as society progresses. For example, humanity no longer finds concepts such as slavery, racial segregation or religious genocide tenable.

Second, non-religious Singaporeans continue to do good.

At the Humanist Society, we have helped the needy, taken care of our environment and raised funds for aid organisations, all without supernatural motivations.

We believe that humans are responsible for giving meaning to and shaping their own lives and, in doing so, building a better world. Many within our non-religious community have found ways of living moral, productive and meaningful lives.

There should not be any insinuation about their lack of a belief system, and they should not be seen as pre-believers, either to be proselytised to or ridiculed.

Lastly, intellectual debates are vital because they expose our biases, blind spots and irrationality. One feature of a resilient country is its ability to ask difficult questions about itself and adapt to changing circumstances.

During Singapore’s formative years, questions about merger and independence, communism and capitalism, national identity and cultural identities were raised.

Though we have been successful in walking the path we did, we should not think that to be the only path. Glubb’s essay, published in 1978, should be tempered by the present social and geopolitical dynamics.

We look forward to Mr Lim’s next two lectures.

Taiwan approves a Pastafarian organisation, the first in Asia to do so

Last month, the Taiwanese authorities became the first government in Asia to recognise a Pastafarian organisation. Called the Humanistic Pastafarianism in Taiwan (台灣人文煮意麵團), the group has attracted about 30 sign-ups and has more than 2,000 fans on Facebook. The Humanist Society (Singapore) talks to one of its representatives, Kevin Feng (酆景文), to find out more.  [Read more…]