Many young people are saying that religion was not a large part of their lives.
The Singapore Census 2020 showed that 20 per cent of Singapore residents had no religious affiliation in 2020.
That number reflects the second-largest group after Buddhists, which form about a third of the population (31.1 per cent). The third-largest group comprises Christians (18.9 per cent).
Slightly more than 15 per cent identified themselves as Muslims, 8.8 per cent as Taoists and 5 per cent as Hindu.
The census, which polled Singapore residents who were 15 years and older, also found that younger people were more likely to have no religious affiliation.
In 2020, 24.2 per cent of those aged 15 to 24 years old reported having no religion, which was higher than the 15.2 per cent for residents aged 55 years and above.
From 2010 to 2020, the share of residents with no religion increased across all age groups.
Dr Mathew Mathews, principal research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), said that the increasing number of people without religion is “an expected trajectory”.
The trend has been seen in many societies where there is “a shift away from organized religion as people become more entrenched in a secular world”, he said.
“People rely less on religion to provide them an explanation for the many things that happen in life but instead look to the sciences,” said Dr Mathews.
“Religion as an institution is no longer playing a major role in one’s life and so fewer people will pass faith down to their children.”
The increasing number of people without religion is not a new trend. The share of such people - be they atheists, agnostics or free thinkers - has been increasing since 1980, when it was 13 per cent.
HUMANIST SOCIETY
Members of the Humanist Society (Singapore), including vice-president Tan Ding Jie (third from left). (Photo: Courtesy of Humanist Society)
In 2010, as the proportion of free thinkers reached 17 per cent, the Humanist Society (Singapore) was formed to provide support for people who have no religion.
The group has about 100 to 120 paid members and a growing social media following with nearly 6,500 followers on Facebook.
In a Zoom interview on Jun 22, members of the society told CNA how they started questioning some of the central tenets of the religions they grew up with, and eventually turned to humanism.
“I find sometimes morality from on high taught to you may not be right after all, and sometimes you have to think for yourself, what is moral and immoral?
So that was my step away from religion,” said Mr Paul Tobin, 56, the founding president of the society.
“Labels like atheist and agnostic tell you what you are not ... whereas humanist, in my opinion, tells you what else - you see that as humans we bring value to our lives, we bring meaning to our life.”
He has observed that an increasing number of religious individuals have developed “a good understanding of humanism and atheism”, and the society has been invited to inter-religious dialogues in recent years.
There’s an effort to develop deep friendships and no longer see each other as religious or non-religious, but fellow Singaporeans in pursuit of mutual understanding and self-improvement.
