More Singaporeans find religion has 'considerable influence' in their lives: IPS study

More Singaporeans view religion as a very important part of their lives and overall sense of identity, a survey has found, with a growing number saying their religious beliefs have considerable influence over their views in other areas.

Researchers from the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) at the National University of Singapore polled 4,000 people from April to August last year about their views on identity, religion, daily experiences in a multiracial society and various policy issues.

The report, released on Wednesday (Aug 20), also compared the findings with prior surveys from 2013 and 2018.  

According to the 2024 survey, researchers found that over three-quarters of people agree that their ideas about religion or spirituality are one of the most important parts of their lives, which in turn have a considerable influence over their views in other areas.

The study also found that 73.9 per cent of people agree that their spiritual beliefs give meaning to their lives’ joys and sorrows, while 68.3 per cent turn to God or religion to find out their best course of action when faced with life choices.

Just over three in four Singaporeans agreed that religion has a considerable influence on their views in other areas, such as how they conduct themselves at work or their business strategy.

The authors of the study, Mathew Mathews, Teo Kay Key, Izzul Haziq Murad and Melvin Tay, said: “The general rate of agreement regarding the influence of religion on respondents’ lives increased in 2024, compared to 2018 for all the statements presented to respondents.”

They found that the largest increase was when respondents were asked if their lives would be meaningless without a sense of spirituality.

62.5 per cent of people agreed with that statement in 2024, compared to the 51.1 per cent in 2018.

The findings of the study, published in a working paper titled Religious Identity and Practice Among Singaporeans, showed that more Singaporeans consider religion to be important to their sense of identity — from 56.8 per cent in 2018 to 61.1 per cent in 2024.

Muslims were more likely to consider their religion to be very important to their sense of identity, with nearly six in 10 saying so.

This is compared to the 38.4 per cent for Christians, 32.9 per cent for Catholics and 32.8 per cent for Hindu respondents.

Older, lower educated and less affluent Singaporeans were also more likely to view religion as important to their overall sense of identity.

However, nationality remained the most important aspect of Singaporeans’ identity across the three surveys.

On the topic of religious traditions versus adaptation, one in three respondents in 2024 felt that religion should be kept as pure or traditional as possible — a slight increase from 2018.

“Christian and Muslim respondents were more likely to prefer preserving religion in its pure or traditional form. Catholics were significantly less likely to indicate as such in 2024,” said the researchers.

The study also found that more respondents in 2024 across all religions and demographics were also accessing religious media such as songs and videos, while fewer said that they were praying daily or attending religious services.

Researchers said that the growth of religious media online was accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, as limited access to physical religious spaces led to religious groups to develop digital methods. 

But they warned that online content should be a matter for careful consideration, especially when the a “great proportion of them come from overseas under different contexts”. 

“If left unchecked, exposure to overseas religious content could foster forms of religiosity that are misaligned with local norms,” they said.

“At the most extreme, these influences risk feeding into religious radicalisation.”

In their concluding remarks, the researchers stated that the “greater salience” of religious identity could lead to the possibility of religious groups pushing more for their beliefs to be considered in policy making.

“Religious individuals may also feel that their traditions should be given greater public attention and space,” they added, citing the example of how Muslim female nurses can now wear their tudung to work.

This was the result "of multiple discussions and conversations throughout the years between relevant agencies and the community", they said.

While this stronger sense of identity and community among religious affiliates can help provide comfort and support, especially through difficult times, there may be implications to religious harmony, if these growing ties also lead to more jostling for space and influence between the various religious groups, said the researchers.

“We expect such tendencies will be mitigated with Singapore’s framework to maintain religious harmony.”

The researchers also acknowledged the importance of engaging religious stakeholders on matters of social cohesion, noting that these stakeholders represent important channels for the dissemination and support of various national priorities, including efforts on vaping and online harms.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com