Every year, on the 21st of July, Singapore observes Racial Harmony Day commemorating the tragic 1964 race riots, which, half a century ago, threatened to tear our city apart. Since then, Singaporeans have worked hard to prevent history from repeating itself by rebuilding trust between ethnic groups and fostering harmonious interracial relations.
[Read more…]
On 21 June 2020, Archbishop William Goh of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore delivered an online sermon titled “Fear God or Fear Man.” The sermon was followed by a written sermon published on the website. As of 1 July, the online sermon has attracted over 5,500 views on Facebook and 5,100 views on Youtube. Given the widespread viewership, the Humanist Society (Singapore), or HSS for short, would like to respond to some of the points delivered.
[Read more…]
From 21-27 June 2020, the Humanist Society (Singapore) will hold World Humanist Week, combining our World Humanist Day with our Pink Dot activities and a third event that will hold discussions on humanism. With the continued Covid-19 pandemic, we will also be distributing ear savers to our members who need it.
[Read more…]
Recently, Mubarak Bala (above), the President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested for “blasphemy” after he allegedly posted criticism of Islam on his Facebook page.
[Read more…]The year 2019 is the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles’ founding of modern Singapore. On Darwin Day 2019, the Humanist Society (Singapore) invited Dr John van Wyhe to deliver a lecture on Raffles’ lesser known side – a naturalist in Southeast Asia. Dr John is a British historian of science, with a focus on Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, at the National University of Singapore. We have published a transcript of his lecture below:
As part of our #HumanismAtHome initiative, we held a Skype group chat (‘Skype Party’) on 25 April (Sat) to discuss the Covid-19 outbreak in foreign workers dormitories in Singapore, as well as their living conditions.
Today, Christians worldwide celebrate Easter, one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Although the Humanist Society (HSS) was founded as an organisation for the non-religious, small numbers of Christians have been regularly attending our events for years. They are independent-minded, well-read, and supportive of many Humanist causes. Their perspectives are valuable because they have spent considerable time in both Christian and Humanist environments.
Three years ago, we conducted an interview with John Hui on his experience as a Christian and a regular participant of HSS events. This Easter, we had a chat with our good friend Dr Mathia Lee (left), another Christian who had attended many HSS events over the years.
[Read more…]
As part of our #HumanismAtHome initiative, we encourage you to show your moral support to frontline staff, especially medical staff, who are risking their lives to keep us safe. You may do one of the following:
[Read more…]
We held our first Skype Party on 11 April 2020 during the Circuit Breaker in Singapore. After 10 straight years of monthly events, this is our first event completely held online. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, all physical events were cancelled and the Humanist Society adapted by launching our Humanism At Home initiative, consisting of Skype discussions (‘Skype Party’) and Watch Parties on Facebook.
The topic of the discussion:
How did various societies, religions and cultures handle the plagues of the past, and what lessons can we draw from the Black Death and the Spanish Flu?
[Read more…]In March 2020, the Singapore Police began investigating a Facebook post linking holy texts to toilet paper. Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam deemed the post offensive to Muslims and Christians.
The Facebook page named NUS Atheist Society had posted an image of the Bible and Quran, which are holy texts in Christianity and Islam respectively. An accompanying caption read: “For use during toilet paper shortages.”
Read the news article here:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/police-probe-facebook-post-linking-holy-texts-toilet-paper
The Straits Times quoted the Humanist Society (Singapore) statement:
In a statement on its website, the Humanist Society (Singapore) said the post was “neither reasoned nor compassionate” and unhelpful given Covid-19, which affects 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.”
Our full statement can be read here.
