As of 2020, 20% of Singaporeans have no religious affiliation. [1] The rate of irreligion is different among ethnic groups of Singapore: about 26% of Chinese residents have no religion, compared to just 0.4% of Malay residents and 2.2% of Indian residents. Age is also an important factor, as around 24% of people aged 15 to 24 indicated they had no religious connection, compared to 15% of residents aged 55 and over in the last census. [2]
Singapore's non-religious tend to be atheists, agnostics, humanists, theists, deists or skeptics. Some locals affiliate with no religion, but will still continue practice traditional rituals like ancestral worship, which they do not necessarily regard as religious in essence. The number of non-religious people in Singapore has risen slightly. Census reports show that those who said they have no religion rose from 13% in 1980 to 20% in 2020. In recent years, social gatherings of non-religious people have become more popular in Singapore. [3]
Since 2005, informal atheist groups had organised social gatherings to discuss religion and secularism, and popular books on the topic from authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. One of the earliest groups was called the Atheist Haven, and was formed by three Singaporeans in 2004. [4]
In 2008, the Singapore Humanism Meetup was formed as a social network of secular humanists, atheists and agnostics. [5] In October 2010, the Humanist Society (Singapore) became the first humanist group to be gazetted as a society. Many pioneer members of the society met at gatherings organised by the Singapore Humanism Meetup. [6]
Non-religious groups in Singapore are also linked to other non-religious networks in Southeast Asia. The Singapore Humanism Meetup, Singaporean Atheists and Humanist Society (Singapore) are listed on the Southeast Asian Atheists website. [7]
Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making.
Religious humanism or ethical humanism is an integration of nontheistic humanist ethical philosophy with congregational rites and community activity which center on human needs, interests, and abilities. Self-described religious humanists differ from secular humanists mainly in that they regard the nontheistic humanist life stance as a non-supernatural "religion" and organising using a congregational model.
Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs" in the United Kingdom by campaigning on issues relating to humanism, secularism, and human rights. It seeks to act as a representative body for non-religious people in the UK.
Religion in Singapore is characterised by a wide variety of religious beliefs and practices due to its diverse ethnic mix of people originating from various parts of the world. A secular state, Singapore is commonly termed as a "melting pot" of various religious practices originating from different religious denominations around the world. Most major religious denominations are present in the country, with the Inter-Religious Organisation, Singapore (IRO) recognising 10 major religions. A 2014 analysis by the Pew Research Center found Singapore to be the world's most religiously diverse nation.
Indian Singaporeans are Singaporeans of Indian or of general South Asian ancestry. They constitute approximately 9.0% of the country's citizens, making them the third largest ancestry and ethnic group in Singapore.
Humanists International is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, it is an umbrella organisation made up of more than 160 secular humanist, atheist, rationalist, agnostic, skeptic, freethought and Ethical Culture organisations from over 80 countries.
The Council of Australian Humanist Societies (CAHS) is an umbrella organisation for Australian humanist societies. It was founded in 1965. It is affiliated with Humanists International. The official symbol of CAHS is the Happy Human.
Accurate demographics of atheism are difficult to obtain since conceptions of atheism vary considerably across different cultures and languages, ranging from an active concept to being unimportant or not developed. Also in some countries and regions atheism carries a strong stigma, making it harder to count atheists in these countries. In global studies, the number of people without a religion is usually higher than the number of people without a belief in a deity and the number of people who agree with statements on lacking a belief in a deity is usually higher than the number of people who self-identify as "atheists".
Christianity is the predominant religion in Zambia and is recognised as the state religion by the country's constitution. Before the arrival of European missionaries, the various ethnic groups residing in the territory of modern day Zambia practiced a variety of African traditional religions.
The culture of Singapore or Singaporean culture embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Singapore and Singaporeans. As the city-state lies at the crossroads of several major Asian cultures, particularly of the Chinese, Malay and Indians. Contemporary Singapore was also influenced by British culture, leading it to been dubbed as a country where "East meets West".
Atheism, agnosticism, scepticism, freethought, secular humanism or general irreligion are increasing in Australia. Post-war Australia has become a highly secularised country. Religion does not play a major role in the lives of much of the population.
Irreligion in New Zealand refers to atheism, agnosticism, deism, religious scepticism and secular humanism in New Zealand society. Post-war New Zealand has become a highly secular country, meaning that religion does not play a major role in the lives of many of the population.
Humanist Society (Singapore) is registered in 2010 as a society in Singapore for humanists, freethinkers, atheists, agnostics and other like-minded people. The non-religious make up 17% of the Singapore population as of last available Census in 2010.
Irreligion in the United Kingdom is more prevalent than in some parts of Europe, with about 8% indicating they were atheistic in 2018, and 52% listing their religion as "none". A third of Anglicans polled in a 2013 survey doubted the existence of God, while 15% of those with no religion believed in some higher power, and deemed themselves "spiritual" or even "religious".
Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious, and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian descent have made up the overwhelming majority of the population since the 19th century. The Singaporean diaspora is also far-reaching worldwide.
All-Party Groups (APGs) within United Kingdom politics are informal, cross-party, interest groups of the UK Parliament. APGs have at least 20 members who are all Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords. The All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) is a subject group of the APG whose purpose is to bring together non-religious humanist, atheist and agnostic MPs and peers to discuss matters of shared interest.
The secular movement refers to a social and political trend in the United States, beginning in the early years of the 20th century, with the founding of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism in 1925 and the American Humanist Association in 1941, in which atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, freethinkers, and other nonreligious and nontheistic Americans have grown in both numbers and visibility. There has been a sharp increase in the number of Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated, from under 10 percent in the 1990s to 20 percent in 2013. The trend is especially pronounced among young people, with about one in three Americans younger than 30 identifying as religiously unaffiliated, a figure that has nearly tripled since the 1990s.
Young Humanists International, known as the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organisation or IHEYO from 2002 to 2019, is the youth wing of Humanists International, founded in 2002. It aims to network young humanists around the world together, support training and promote humanist values for the age category of 18–35. It is an umbrella organisation representing around 40,000 young people across the world.
Atheism in the African diaspora is atheism as it is experienced by black people outside of Africa. In the United States, black people are less likely than any other ethnic groups to be religiously unaffiliated, let alone identifying as atheist. The demographics are similar in the United Kingdom. Atheists are individuals who do not hold a belief in God or gods. Atheism is a disbelief in God or gods or a denial of God or gods, or it is simply a lack of belief in gods. Some, but not all, atheists identify as secular humanists, who are individuals who believe that life has meaning and joy without the need for the supernatural or religion and that all individuals should live ethical lives which can provide for the greater good of humanity. Black atheists and secular humanists exist today and in history, though many were not always vocal in their beliefs or lack of belief.
