Secularism practised in S'pore 'does not exclude religion': Thio Li-Ann

Secularism practised in S'pore 'does not exclude religion': Thio Li-Ann
[2009] 27 May_ST

RELIGION and politics should not mix, but that does not mean religion has no place in public life.

Nominated MP Thio Li-ann argued at length in Parliament yesterday that secularism, as practised in Singapore, did not exclude religion.

Referring to Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng's recent reiteration that religion and politics must not be mixed, she said that while this was sound, 'there are difficulties of definition as no bright line demarcates 'religion' from 'politics'.

She added: ' 'Secularism' is a protean, chameleon-like term. What it means depends on the context and who is using it; it can be a virtue or a vice. It is timely to eschew glibness and examine the Singapore model of secularism with precision.'

By way of elaboration, she pointed out that during the parliamentary debate a few years ago on whether or not to have casinos in Singapore, many MPs prefaced their speeches by stating their faiths.

'Everyone has values, whether shaped by religious or secular ideologies; all may participate in public discourse to forge an ethical social consensus. This is democratic and cherishes viewpoint diversity,' she said. 'While religion is personal, it is not exclusively private and has a social dimension which is not to be trivialised.'

A debate on the role of religion in the public sphere erupted recently after a group of women seized power at the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware).

Some saw the coup as religiously motivated as several members of the new executive committee attended the same church. This new guard said their motive was to return Aware to its 'original' purpose, as they saw it as having veered towards promoting a gay and lesbian agenda.

On May 2, the 'new' executive committee was ousted in a rowdy extraordinary general meeting attended by thousands.

The Government subsequently issued a statement responding to questions from The Straits Times, urging restraint from all sides and stressing that religion and politics must be separate in political engagement.

Professor Thio's mother, lawyer Thio Su Mien, mentored the group of women who took over Aware. Calling herself the 'feminist mentor', she said that she had been concerned about what she saw as Aware's pro-gay stance and had urged women she knew to challenge its attempts to redefine family and marriage.

In her 30-minute speech, Prof Thio did not mention that Dr Thio Su Mien was her mother.
While quoting Shakespeare, Dante and Voltaire, she set out her own philosophical take on the terms of engagement for religion and politics, and made a distinction between secularism and secularity.

She also spelt out distinctions between 'thick' and 'thin' secularism, as well as between 'agnostic secularism' and 'militant secularism'.

The speech came with a sting in its tail, as she reserved some choice words for the press and the way it covered the Aware saga. She accused the press of being biased and irresponsible.

Said Prof Thio: 'The feedback I received from friends and strangers on the reporting of the Aware controversy, which was disquieting enough for the President to reference, was that much of the reporting, particularly in one paper, was biased; it largely lacked a diversity of views in singing the same chorus that religious groups should not get involved in secular organisations.'

She did not name the paper.

She added: 'The proper limits of religious activism is certainly a valid issue that arose, but there were other issues, such as whether a religious group was involved, as opposed to individuals with a religious faith.'

She went on to suggest that journalists had let their personal opinions affect the way they reported the issue.

She said: 'It was hard to shake the impression that certain journalists were playing the 'I don't like your views so I will play the religionists are imposing their values card'. This was very disappointing. When is a reporter reporting, and when playing an advocate?'

No 'bright line' between religion and politics,

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