Reconnecting bridges in a multicultural space

1 January 2017 by
I am the product of an inter-racial marriage. My father is a Malay with a Muslim family. My mother is a Chinese with a Christian family. Both are non-religious unlike the rest of their families. I guess you could say I was born into atheism.

My parents came to the conclusion that the only way not to cause disharmony between both their families was if I was raised in a secular environment and left to discover religion by myself. I won’t deny that there were tensions in the family and some relationships were strained. But I guess that’s the cost that has to be borne. I find that without a religious upbringing, there really wasn’t any big desire to discover God. When I was younger, I simply couldn’t be bothered with that. I had been to church before but it just seemed weird what the people there were doing. Maybe they needed better evangelism techniques.

I spent my time when I was younger watching several atheist YouTubers debunking religious apologist arguments as I found them highly entertaining. I used to be rather militant of an atheist. One of those really nasty guys that would argue with people about how they were wrong, how they believed in a lie, how the science backs me up. In retrospect, I don’t think any of that did much good. In fact, it burned bridges. Recently I’ve been focusing on finding and understanding the role that religion plays in people’s lives and how it influences the choices they make. It’s not a matter of discovering God. I am firm about my atheism. It is about familiarizing myself with religious perspectives and grasping the impact it has. Hopefully this allows me to better work with religious communities to achieve common goals in the future.

Armond Bushfield

This story was first published on ‘Ask An Atheist – SG’ Facebook page in 2016.
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Gender stereotypes: combating irrational hate stemmed from superstitions

1 January 2017 by
My road to atheism was a short but simple one. I was raised in a traditional Chinese Family, full of Buddhist rites, Taoist rituals and worship of ancient Chinese pantheons.

My journey to atheism was triggered, unfortunately, by peer pressure in an opposite direction. In school, I used to be an introverted and closed up student, who was wary of the world around. I was coaxed out of my shell thanks to the help of a friend. However, my other schoolmates had the impression that I was being extremely nice to this person even though I felt like I was treating everyone equally. It began to devolve into rumors saying that I was a closeted homosexual.

All the comments about homosexuality were disgusting and hurtful. This was during a time where sexual education was sparse and gender stereotypes were expected to be conformed with. This was further propped up by the indiscriminate and unreasonable teachings, which contributed to a climate of fear and hate.

At the time, I was uneducated about language and labels used when referring to sexuality. However, I could feel that the negative connotations associated with homosexuality were impossible to repudiate without offending some religious groups. Even though I was not gay, I began to internalized [sic] the damage and hate that was targeted at homosexuals. And as reason and rationality could not convince my friends, I was expelled -forcibly- out of their circle.

Many years have passed. Looking back at my formative years, I now realize that this episode has been especially painful and it took me 8-9 years to recover from it. Until now, none of those ‘friends’ have recognized the damage they have inflicted back then. On the contrary, they have become more homophobic throughout these years. But I have walked out of it stronger and realized that to combat such irrational hate, I needed to combat the superstitions that give rise to it.

Kenny

This story was first published on ‘Ask An Atheist – SG’ Facebook page in 2016.
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On media coverage of LGBT issues

28 December 2016 by

A student working on his thesis project requested our opinion about how the lack of diversified representation in mainstream media affects the perception of LGBTQ people in Singapore. This is our email reply:

The Humanist Society is not a prominent local LGBTQ organisation. It is an organisation dedicated to issues concerning the non-religious segment of Singapore’s population.

However, we have spoken up on national issues such as laws concerning homosexuality as the debate often involves scientific evidence and Singapore’s secular space, two areas which we are concerned about. In addition, Section 377a criminalises a significant proportion of gay men whose own religious beliefs do not conflict with homosexuality, or who are non-religious. Section 377a also applies to homosexual Humanists and freethinkers, whose community and beliefs are supportive of their relationships.

The Humanist Society does not track recent media coverage of LGBTQ topics nor study the invisibility of some parts of the community. However, based on our general observations, the Singapore government is aware that the conservative majority in Singapore are still uncomfortable with the LGBTQ community. The impact of this majority can be seen in many policies, including media policies set by national regulators such as the IMDA.

This results in the lack of positive coverage for LGBTQ individuals on visual mediums such as TV. However, for cinema and print, in general, there’s more space for neutral or positive portrayals of LGBTQ individuals. The government adopts a light touch with regards to internet regulation and LGBTQ communities have used the internet and social media extensively for publicity. The Humanist Society itself has also written extensively to newspaper forums.

We do not know how exactly media portrayal of LGBTQ individuals has affected public perception of LGBTQ community in Singapore. There could be other factors influencing public perceptions, such as religious beliefs, personal experience, the lack of information about LGBTQ within sexuality education in schools, and the continued existence of section 377a itself.

Large numbers of Singaporeans trust the mainstream media, despite the rise of alternate media. The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer has found that 65 percent of the informed public in Singapore trust the media — an increase from 59 per cent in 2011. Thus, the mainstream media still has considerable impact in informing public’s view of LGBTQ communities.

The Humanist Society hopes there can be a gradual increase in space to raise awareness of and respect for LGBTQ persons through public education and media coverage. LGBTQ persons, including children, are often subject to arbitrary discrimination, bullying and harassment, because of personal prejudices and ignorance. The impact of LGBTQ discrimination is also greatly felt by the friends and family of LGBTQ persons, who share in their struggle for acceptance.

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Tatt Si’s speech at the EU Delegation to Singapore

10 December 2016 by

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Our President Tan Tatt Si delivered this speech at a dialogue regarding the ‘Freedom of religion or belief in Singapore and ASEAN’, organised by the EU Delegation to Singapore on Dec 9, 2016, at Raffles Hotel. Photos courtesy of European Union Delegation to Singapore. [Read more…]

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Jerry Coyne at Yale-NUS College

9 December 2016 by

Written by Nic Das, photos and video by Tatt Si

Professor Jerry Coyne took part in a dialogue regarding evolution, science and faith at Yale-NUS college. Dr Philip Johns from Yale-NUS moderated the dialogue, held on the evening of November 1, 2016. During the dialogue, Dr Coyne argued that the scientific method and religions are incompatible means of understanding the world. It is also difficult to separate science and religion into two neat categories answering different life questions because religious makes scientific statements. Dr Coyne also addressed several questions during the QnA segment.

[Read more…]

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

White Ribbon Letters: Letter to Jay

1 December 2016 by

In 2016, the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) launched White Ribbon Letters, an initiative to encourage men to pen their thoughts about creating a more gender-equal and violence-free world for a young boy or man in their life. It encourages men to be positive role models for the young men and boys in their lives by redefining masculinity and manhood in more compassionate and inclusive terms. Our President Tan Tatt Si (left) contributed by writing this letter to his eldest son, Jay (centre). Tatt Si’s wife, Betty Chew, is seated right.

You can view the original letter in PDF or read the letter below:

“Dear Jay, my first born,

Since mom revealed she was pregnant with you 22 years ago, I’ve watched you grown. You, and younger brother Jin’s arrivals are the happiest moments of our lives.

Father-son relationships are special, and grandpa and I are still very close. A man of a bygone age, his prejudices run deep, and some of these memes rubbed off on me, e.g. wanting a male offspring to carry on the family name, when a girl is just as much blood line. Gramps has never been physically abusive, something that I appreciate and deliver the same to Jin & you. Violence tend to run in families with a history of that. “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you”, the Golden Rule says.

You were a lively boy, getting into trouble when given a chance. As a toddler, you once smacked an older Malay girl on her back. Besides shocked, I was bewildered, wondering where mom and I had gone wrong ? Racism, ageism, misogyny, what was it? Eventually, we felt your action was “innate”, for you also had a similar tyrannical hold over Jin then. However, you grew into a caring older brother. This is when I knew you learned the Silver Rule: “Don’t do unto others what you don’t want to be done unto yourself .”

A society is defined by how it treats its weak; a person, by how much restraint he wields when he has power. You will learn, as you meet more people, to savour differences, and to forge commonalities.

Being alone in the UK can be daunting, but we know you are now fully equipped to deal with the challenges in life. Temptations are part of life, and you must guard yourself and others, always. A few pints at the pub may sound innocuous, but be vigilant of herd mentality and peer pressure, especially when drunken women feel like easy preys. Never just be concerned about what is legal, but about what might be hurtful, to others and to yourself.

Rules and edicts these are not, not from a father to a son at this new stage of our relationship. I find comfort that the young man reading this letter now, will question things and internalise the conclusions, and the resulting actions will be honourable, and with dignity.

Love, Papa ”

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Acceptance of evolution is weak, even in the first-world: Dr Jerry Coyne

3 November 2016 by

LKC-NHM from ThatMoment.sg on Vimeo

While not all religious people oppose evolution, religion remains the obstacle towards public acceptance of evolution in “large swathes” across the world today, said evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne. (Watch the full lecture above)

Speaking at a public lecture at National University of Singapore (NUS) on Oct 31, Dr Coyne lamented that despite the overwhelming empirical evidence in favor of evolution, public acceptance of the theory remains weak even in many first-world countries. [Read more…]

Blog, Featured Articles/Letters

Creationism in Singapore: What we know so far

26 October 2016 by

creationist-slide

Over the past decade, the creationist movement in Singapore has largely been led by local churches and the Australian-based Creationist Ministries International (CMI). Many local creationists have drawn inspiration and arguments from American-based creationists, organising seminars in local churches and schools, putting up posters and writing many letters to the press. [Read more…]

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On humanism and the easily-offended

25 October 2016 by

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  • Read Dr Paul Hedges’ speech here.
  • Read Mr Mohammad Imran’s speech here.

Speaking at the launch of Dr Paul Hedges’ book, Towards Better Disagreement: Religion and Atheism in Dialogue, Humanist Society founding President Paul Tobin said there is a need in Singapore for the voices of non-believers. Although this group forms about 18.5% of the Singapore resident population, they have been left out of national discussions. [Read more…]

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Young Humanists SG meetup #2

18 October 2016 by

Young Humanists SG held a second meeting at Humanist Cafe on November 10, 2016, building on discussions conducted at our first meeting. About 8-10 students and alumni were present at the meeting. Key points: [Read more…]

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