***

This is a personal sharing by Mdm Norhaiyah Mahmood, President of the Humanist Society (Singapore).

Dr. Lee Wei Ling, a prominent Singaporean neurologist and the daughter of Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, passed away on 09 Oct 2024. Her many accomplishments in life and her dedication to helping others are remembered by many.

Not many are aware that she was also one of the very few public figures in Singapore who is openly atheist. We recall Dr. Lee’s thoughtful column from 31 March 2013 in The Sunday Times, titled An Atheist ‘Sent by God’.

In this piece, she shared the story of helping a patient, R, who had been exploited and faced legal troubles. Through the efforts of a psychiatrist and a law firm offering pro bono services, Dr. Lee helped reduce R’s sentence from jail time to a fine.

R expressed deep gratitude, calling her “a person sent by God” and gifting her a clay tablet with an inspiring message. In Dr Lee’s own words:

“I continue to take solace in this story, most especially at Easter. In this cynical world, there are still people who want to do what is right, even if doing so will not profit them personally, as my psychiatrist friend and the lawyers who defended R pro bono show. This gives me hope that we can develop into a compassionate society no matter what our religion, or whether or not we believe in God.”

Dr Lee Wei Ling

Her column can be read in these two blog entries:

• https://heresthenews.blogspot.com/2013/04/an-atheist-by-god.html
• https://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.com/2013/04/an-atheist-sent-by-god.html

When Dr Lee’s passing was announced, her family requested no flowers, and all donations were directed to a list of charities that were close to her heart.

***

This brings us to some thoughts about non-religious funerals. In many non-religious funerals, the deceased (even famous personalities) are remembered without specific labels.

In death, the non-religious often don’t emphasize their non-religiosity, nor do they feel the need to. There were no specifically non-religious “verses” pasted on obituary notices for comfort or blessing. If the living chooses, they will be remembered for the person they were, their impact on society, and how they made others feel.

However, one unintended consequence of being silent about non-religiosity is that few people know how non-religious individuals live their values, beyond personal testimonies, leaving much of the broader narrative unfilled. This narrative, unfilled, could be filled by various misconceptions, such as the non-religious being immoral and uncharitable.

We were surprised that Dr. Lee chose to be open about her atheism many years ago. After all, she is a prominent public figure with two Prime Ministers in her immediate family. And while one fifth of the country is non-religious, a huge majority are still religious.

For individuals who face challenges being openly atheist, due to opposition from conservative family members and community, her openness on the national broadsheet was a breath of fresh air.

We are also happy that in her passing, the family has encouraged donations to a list of charities. This is generous and meaningful.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the Lee family. May Dr Lee rest in peace.

[3 min read]

***

The International Humanist Conference 2024 was held from 30 Aug to 1 Sep 2024, including the Humanist International General Assembly on the final day. The theme for this year’s Conference is Secularism and Interfaith Harmony.

Singapore is the third Asian country to host a global Humanist event since the first World Humanist Congress began in 1952 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1999, the World Humanist Congress was held in Mumbai, India. In 2015, the General Assembly was held in Manila, Philippines. 

More than 100 participants from all around the world attended the conference, including about 80+ foreign delegates. This summary captures the tours, social night and dinner from 30-31 Aug.

(For summary of the main conference, read the summary here)

Tours on 30 August

***

To kick off the IHC, three engaging tours were held. The first, the My River Valley Heritage Tour, organized by MyCommunity—a non-profit dedicated to preserving community stories—introduced participants to Singapore’s historic multiracial and multireligious sites, including the Former National Theatre, Sri Thendayuthapani Temple, Teochew Building, 38 Oxley Rd, Former Chung Cheng High School, and Hong San See Temple.

***

Next, delegates visited the Harmony in Diversity Gallery (HDG), established by the Ministry of Home Affairs with community partners to celebrate Singapore’s rich religious diversity.

The gallery features four sections: “Journey of Faith,” “Seeking What Is Common,” “Many Faiths,” and “One People.” The knowledgeable guides enhanced the experience, and delegates provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, finding the exhibits enlightening and insightful regarding Singapore’s approach to religious harmony. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr. James Low, Senior Consultant at the Ministry of Home Affairs, who warmly welcomed our delegates and joined our social night, enriching our event further.

***

The final stop was the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) Gallery. The RRG comprises voluntary Islamic scholars and teachers focused on counseling and rehabilitating radicalized individuals.

The gallery showcases their extensive efforts in this area, providing insights into community-led initiatives that prioritize compassion, education, and dialogue. For us humanists, understanding the role of religious and community leaders in building resilience against extremism is essential. The RRG’s commitment to restoring societal harmony aligns with our values of reason, ethics, and human dignity. We thank the RRG for an informative and engaging tour, which deepened our appreciation for the multifaceted approaches needed to foster peace in an increasingly complex world.

Social Night (30 Aug) and Dinner (31 Aug)

***

As the first day concluded, conference participants gathered in Bras Basah Room 2F for the Social Night—an evening filled with memorable performances and laughter. The organizers adopted an “open microphone” format, allowing anyone to share their stories.

***

This led to spontaneous sharing from about 30-40 attendees, with informal musical performances included. Our President, Nora, delivered a heartfelt rendition of “Where Is It Written” by Barbra Streisand, contributing to the evening’s memorable atmosphere.

The Main Conference took place all day on 31 Aug. Afterward, delegates relaxed at the post-conference dinner held at Enchanted Gardens, a restaurant in Lavender.

***

Delegates from around the globe, alongside local Singaporean Humanists, enjoyed mingling and a lively performance by a local Malay band, with delegates singing along joyfully.

***

Awards were also presented to local volunteers and Humanists worldwide in recognition of their contributions.

Socialising beyond the IHC

Beyond the Conference, the delegates also took the opportunity to travel around Singapore and check out the various landmarks. Here are some photos!

***

[5 min read]

The International Humanist Conference 2024 was held over three days from 30 Aug to 1 Sep 2024.

Singapore is the third Asian country to host a global Humanist event since the first World Humanist Congress began in 1952 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1999, the World Humanist Congress was held in Mumbai, India. In 2015, the General Assembly was held in Manila, Philippines. 

The theme for this year’s Conference is Secularism and Interfaith Harmony, with the Main Conference being held on the second day (31 Aug) at HUONE, an event space nestled in the vibrant Clarke Quay district. More than 100 participants from all around the world attended the conference, including about 80+ foreign delegates.

We are very grateful for Mr Kelvin Wan of K Pixel Photography for contributing photography for this historic event.

Opening Remarks

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Ms Norhaiyah Mahmood (‘Nora’), Humanist Society (Singapore) President, gave an opening speech, welcoming delegates to the IHC. She said it was an honor to host this gathering as the President of the HSS and thanked everyone for their dedication to humanism. She briefly recapped the tours the day before (more info here) and explained that these tours underscored the conference’s theme of secularism and interfaith harmony, reminding us of the importance of mutual respect and dialogue.

***

Next, Humanist International (HI) President, Mr Andrew Copson (above) gave his opening remarks. He expressed delight that the International Humanist Conference is here in Singapore for the first time, and he noted how the local SG humanist movement has gone from “strength to strength” since its early days 14 years ago.

Andrew said Singaporean Humanists have become a great inspiration for others in the region, encouraging them to organize and take bold steps. On the chosen theme of interfaith and secularism, Andrew said that humanists value personal choice and the right to pursue a good life without harming others, naturally leading to a more diverse world. Managing this diversity is essential, and secularism plays a key role in fostering common ground amid diversity.

Watch a video of the Nora’s and Andrew’s opening remarks here.

What followed was 6 presentations and 2 panel sessions, divided into morning and afternoon sessions.

Morning Session

Next up, there were 3 speakers in the morning.

***

The first presentation is by Dr Paul Hedges (above), Associate Professor in Interreligious Studies in the Study of Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies at Nanyang Technological University. Dr Paul offered a framework for understanding the necessary types of dialogue to engage both groups. He clarified key terms such as “atheist” and “religious people” and differentiated interreligious dialogue from interworldview dialogue. Dr Paul emphasized that such dialogues are vital for addressing social cohesion, environmental concerns, and peacebuilding, especially in Singapore.

Watch a video of the speech here.

***

Mr Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib (above), Founding Director, of Dialogue Centre, examined the phenomenon of “falling out” of religion and how attitudes towards faith are evolving globally, including in Singapore.

Imran concluded that improved dialogue between religious and non-religious individuals requires epistemic humility, reformed institutional leadership, and the protection of religious and non-religious freedoms through a democratic political culture.

***

Ms Nazhath Faheema (above), Founder, Hash.peace shared personal encounters as a religious person with individuals identifying as atheist, agnostic, spiritual but non-religious, and non-religious.

Faheema emphasized the use of interfaith dialogue through the Trialogue method, which creates a “third space” for deeper understanding, breaking down binary oppositions. She also discussed the “temporary suspension of belief” technique, which allows for open, judgment-free dialogue, fostering empathy and common ground.

Watch a video of the speech here.

Panel Session #1

After the morning session, there was a panel session featuring the 3 morning speakers. The discussion revolves around how to build mutual respect and cooperation between the religious and the non-religious in an increasingly diverse society. The 1hr panel session can be viewed here:

After the panel, the delegates enjoyed a delicious lunch and engaged in networking.

***

Afternoon Session

After lunch, there were 3 more speakers.

***

Dr. Ichioka Takashi (above) presented his research on interracial and interfaith relations in Singapore since 2013, identifying two main approaches: friendship building and dialogues. Friendship building involves organizing race and faith-based events, such as Iftar and the Dumpling Festival, where leaders foster mutual friendships.

However, opportunities for mingling beyond community leaders are limited. Dialogues, in contrast, bring together people from various backgrounds to discuss sensitive topics in a civil manner, fostering deeper mutual understanding.

Dr. Ichioka emphasized that both methods are important: friendship-building events increase participation at the community level, while dialogues deepen understanding. He concluded that interfaith activities should combine both approaches to enhance the breadth and depth of interfaith relations.

Watch a video of the speech here.

***

Next, there was a heartfelt sharing from Dr Pepper Lim (above), Senior Manager, Educator and Author, about his experience in Malaysia. Dr. Lim went through the history of Malaysia, including the tensions between the three major races (Malay, Chinese, Indian), his experience with Malay culture, and the growing Islamic religious conservatism in Malaysia, where Islam is synonymous with the racial identity of being a Malay. He also shared his views on the impact of conservatism on freedom of expression, religious pluralism, and the rights of minorities in Malaysia.

Watch a video of the speech here.

***

Mr Paul Tobin (above), founding President of the Humanist Society (Singapore), addressed the issue of offence-taking in his speech. He highlighted the challenges humanists face in religious environments, where the non-belief aspect of humanism often creates tension. Tobin posed three key questions:

• Can offence be avoided?
• Should it be avoided?
• And can one be free from being offended?

He argued that offence-taking can be used strategically to halt discussions, as it garners sympathy and silences criticism. Tobin urged people to develop thicker skins, as the offence is inevitable, and to reject retaliation. He called for rethinking the concept of “respecting each other’s beliefs,” advocating instead for respecting the right to hold different beliefs or non-beliefs. This, he argued, is key to fostering tolerance.

Watch a video of the speech here.

Panel Session #2

The 2nd Panel session discusses: How can we better engage and protect non-religious individuals at risk?

Mr Gary McLelland (above), HI Chief Executive, shared about The Humanists at Risk programme by Humanists International (HI). Gary shared there are 3 domains:

1. Personal domain: HI supports individual humanists facing prosecution for their beliefs. Last year alone, 163 people reached out for help, including monetary support, legal aid, and assistance with asylum—a significant challenge for a small organization.
2. Social domain: While HI is effective in supporting persecuted individuals, there is a need to build stronger communities around them, especially for those relocating to the West who face difficulties integrating. Creating a community that provides ongoing support is vital.
3. Policy and legal domain: HI advocates for freedom of religion or belief at institutions like the UN, a contentious issue in many parts of the world where non-religious individuals are often marginalized.

Addressing humanist challenges requires efforts in all three domains, as no single aspect can solve these complex issues alone.

The rest of the 2nd panel session (50mins) can be viewed here:

The Main Conference concluded around 530pm with delegates heading off for the Dinner at V Hotel Lavender.

Appreciation to HUONE

***

For a successful event, the location and venue play a crucial role, and HUONE exceeded our expectations in every way. The staff at HUONE were not only courteous and friendly but also incredibly accommodating, even when we had some last-minute requests.

Their professionalism and willingness to go the extra mile made a significant difference in the overall experience. We truly appreciate their support and dedication, which contributed to the success of our event.

* * *

Religion can be a source of comfort and support for many, but it also has a dark side unbeknownst to most. Melvin knows first hand the dangers of dogmatism and intolerance.

Melvin Lim, 26, had led the majority of his life in the church.

He was brought into the fold at the tender age of 4, long before he “knew any better”. The churches he attended were of the more fundamentalist variety. Melvin describes their extremism as more “insidious” than other churches, and their rules can get inordinately strict. For instance, they prohibit the use of electric guitars and drums in worship music as they consider them sinful, and they will excommunicate anyone who supports the LGBT movement.

Melvin’s childhood was governed by fear and filled with restrictions. His freedom was severely curtailed; and the various means and mediums for him to have fraternized with his peers in school, or eke out a sense of belonging in secular settings, were thwarted by the various taboos set in place by his church, such as the condemnation of the popular childhood media franchise — Pokémon, as satanic, and leaving him bereft of knowledge considered common to his peers, such as music that united them, but that he was prohibited from enjoying as they were not hymns — or in his church’s words, “Glorified the flesh”.

Melvin found his world shrinking as the things that brought him joy were slowly wrested from him, one by one.

The first cracks

The first cracks he discovered in Christianity is that they teach children at an early age how to hate with a capital “H”. Homosexuals and transgendered persons are seen as abominations. “It did not stop there. In fact, any professing Christian who says otherwise was a so-called false christian and we were also told to hate them, to shun them and avoid them,” he said.

He lived in fear of incurring the wrath of God and being condemned to burn for eternity in hell. When the prospect of eternal suffering is drilled into the minds of impressionable children, it becomes deeply ingrained and difficult to expunge. Not only was it the cause of nightmares, it also warped the way he constructed his sense of morality, such that he acted out of fear rather than the desire to better himself. Despite starting to fear questioning the wrong things, even more terrifying at that time was the fact that said desire to question such matters could not be quenched — a mark of not ‘truly being saved’.

The other children in his church were no better off; if they were not as godly as their parents wished them to be, they would be pulled aside and singled out for shaming and name-calling. Under such an oppressive environment, the children’s natural curiosity was stamped out.

* * *

The Black Sheep

By the age of 12, skepticism had started to creep in.

It started off with innocent questions such as “Why is Pokémon bad?” It then transitioned to questions challenging the veracity of the Bible:

“How do you know that what is written in the Bible is actually true? Is there any demonstration of it? Or is there any way I can actually feel the effects in my life?”

The church spoke of the Holy Spirit who is supposed to help believers experience God. Try as he might, Melvin was never able to experience this feeling and he could not comprehend how others could feel it. When he asked about it, all he received was non-committal answers telling him “if it happens, it happens” or “it’s not time yet”.

Later on, he progressed to questions of logic such as “Who made God?” and “What difference is there between the Bible and a fairytale or historical fiction?” It was always hand-waved away with “faith”. He could not tell the difference between faith and blind faith, leaving him dissatisfied and disillusioned.

By then, Melvin was all but a Christian in name only. He felt like an outsider within the church. Older members would show him concern and build rapport with him, only to attempt to lead him back to their straight and narrow.

“To put it bluntly, I was a ghost member of the church, so to speak. I was not a member that the church would have wanted,” he admitted.

He would leave church services surreptitiously and be caught and punished for it. He then tried to appease his mother and made a sincere attempt to see where she was coming from. He went to his pastor’s office – even during weekdays – to ask questions, but he too, had no answers.

* * *

Leaving the Fold: Deconstruction

After he had completed National Service (NS), Melvin made the leap to come out publicly as an agnostic despite the ensuing backlash he knew would come his way. His mother had tried to guilt trip him and threaten him with hell in a bid to pressure him to return to the fold, but he stood his ground. “You know what, the way I think is no longer the prerogative of my mom’s. My parents set out to do their utmost to raise an independent, mature child. I will not deny their efforts.”

The process of deconstructing and re-examining the beliefs he had known all his life was no easy feat. For years he was denied peace of mind from being emotionally coerced into believing that hell existed.

To deprogram himself of this fear, he reasoned his way out.

Firstly, since no one has been able to definitively prove that they had died and gone to hell and came back to tell the tale, he concluded that his fears were unfounded, akin to a child being scared of the monster under the bed.

Secondly, he asked himself what was so special about the Christian hell that demanded that he be scared of it, when he is not afraid of the Buddhist 18 levels of hell, or the Greek hell, or the Nordic hell?

He believes the greatest thing he had been deprived of was the opportunity to develop his decision making faculties. The church instructs its members to pray or read the Bible for answers, but this hardly helps one to make sound decisions. Melvin had missed out on a lot of searching, introspection and reflection that could have been honed over the years when he was still young and therefore more cognitively open and absorbent of new information.

* * *

An Understanding Long Overdue

Melvin had to learn to construct frameworks of his own, and he owes a lot to secular humanists Matt Dillahunty and Seth Andrews for pointing the way. He wanted his journey through deconstruction to be what his upbringing in the church was not—namely, he did not want it to be a one-way transmission of dogmas from an authority figure in an echo chamber.

So instead of only tuning in to atheist voices, he listened to debates between theists and atheists. He would then decide whose views and logic were more reasonable and compelling and more closely aligned with what he believed a decent person would follow.

In leaving behind the black and white moral absolutism of the Biblical commandments, he discovered a new paradigm that was founded on more logical, adaptable and inclusive grounds—secular moralism.

Objective morality says that there is a greater good that we are supposed to adhere to, whether it is passed down from a higher authority or simply how the universe is supposed to work. Secular moralism centres human well-being and anything that works toward this objective is moral.

This model helps us make moral decisions from a more logical perspective as opposed to an emotional one. Furthermore, even if it is applied from a perspective of selfishness or self-centredness, it still can lead to moral behaviour, which makes it easier to understand and uphold compared to other models.

* * *

Moving forward

Experiencing the brunt of religious abuse first hand has motivated Melvin to join the Humanist Society (Singapore) to provide a support system to others seeking to deconstruct their faith.

He knows how challenging it can be to leave a religious community that has known all their lives, and how much more difficult it is to catch up on developing and repairing one’s damaged faculties of reason and logic after a better half of a lifetime lived with the wholesale acceptance of fallacies and biases wrapped in the alluring veneer of comforting ‘faith’.

There are not many dedicated avenues for support and education in this regard, and Melvin hopes that he can meet this unaddressed need for the people he sees his past self in — and carry forward just how others too, refused to give up on him.