Singapore is a multi-cultural society, comprising a diverse mix of ethnic and religious groups. The Chinese in Singapore mostly practice Buddhism or Christianity. Just as the majority, my family and I adhere to Buddhism. However, I realize that our common practices such as ancestor worship and that of numerous deities are similar to the practices of Taoism. These are also prevalent in numerous Buddhist families that I am aware of. Due to the peaceful coexistence of Buddhism and Taoism, there seems to be a blurred line of distinction between the two religions amongst the Chinese, resulting in a "hybrid" religion. Despite of this, most of the adherents usually declare themselves as Buddhists.
To me, I strongly believe that all religions generally preach about the same things: the right ethics and morals. Therefore, we should respect other religions and their cultures as well. Even though my family and I are devoted Buddhists, we interact actively with our friends and neighbors from other religions. Sometimes, we even discuss about our religions so as to have a better understanding of their religions.
Often, a Chinese pastor and his colleague from a nearby church will usually do house visit at our area on the last Sunday of every month. They will visit any household to preach about Christianity. Normally, we will invite them into our house to discuss about Christianity. However, there is one visit which resulted in an intercultural conflict between my mother and a pastor.
On that day, a Caucasian pastor who just came to the church from overseas turned up at our house, instead of the usual Chinese one. Nevertheless, my mother and I invited him in and started our discussion about Christianity. As this was his first visit to our house, he asked about our religious beliefs. Upon learning about our faith, he began to question our Buddhist concepts of karma and rebirth and kept highlighting the benefits of Christianity over Buddhism. He seemed to be very aggressive in his preaching and I could sense that my mother was starting to get uncomfortable with him. Halfway through the conversation, our ancestral tablet caught his attention and he actually found the idea of placing offerings in front of a piece of wooden block laughable. It was at that instance whereby my mother lost her cool, went back to her room and slammed her door. I was taken aback by my mother's reaction as she had never treated any guest in such a way.
After that, I immediately explained to the pastor that we believed in ancestor worship and that piece of wooden block is actually an ancestral tablet.In addition, I also offered feedback about his aggressive preaching which may offend other religion believers in Singapore. Upon hearing that, he was apologetic to my mother about his earlier preaching. In the end, my mother forgave him and offered him a word of advice: Respect others' religions when preaching.
To me, the pastor may have felt strongly that Christianity is a religion that offers salvation to mankind. Therefore, he would be able to help more people by trying to convert them to Christianity. Thus his aggressive preaching. In addition, he may have used this approach in his culture and it does not result in any adverse feedback. However, he should realise that he is actually preaching in another country with a multi-religious culture whereby people maybe sensitive towards his preaching. Therefore, he should study about the country's cultures and religions before devising his preaching methods so as to minimise intercultural or inter-religious conflicts.
To me, I strongly believe that all religions generally preach about the same things: the right ethics and morals. Therefore, we should respect other religions and their cultures as well. Even though my family and I are devoted Buddhists, we interact actively with our friends and neighbors from other religions. Sometimes, we even discuss about our religions so as to have a better understanding of their religions.
Often, a Chinese pastor and his colleague from a nearby church will usually do house visit at our area on the last Sunday of every month. They will visit any household to preach about Christianity. Normally, we will invite them into our house to discuss about Christianity. However, there is one visit which resulted in an intercultural conflict between my mother and a pastor.
On that day, a Caucasian pastor who just came to the church from overseas turned up at our house, instead of the usual Chinese one. Nevertheless, my mother and I invited him in and started our discussion about Christianity. As this was his first visit to our house, he asked about our religious beliefs. Upon learning about our faith, he began to question our Buddhist concepts of karma and rebirth and kept highlighting the benefits of Christianity over Buddhism. He seemed to be very aggressive in his preaching and I could sense that my mother was starting to get uncomfortable with him. Halfway through the conversation, our ancestral tablet caught his attention and he actually found the idea of placing offerings in front of a piece of wooden block laughable. It was at that instance whereby my mother lost her cool, went back to her room and slammed her door. I was taken aback by my mother's reaction as she had never treated any guest in such a way.
After that, I immediately explained to the pastor that we believed in ancestor worship and that piece of wooden block is actually an ancestral tablet.In addition, I also offered feedback about his aggressive preaching which may offend other religion believers in Singapore. Upon hearing that, he was apologetic to my mother about his earlier preaching. In the end, my mother forgave him and offered him a word of advice: Respect others' religions when preaching.
To me, the pastor may have felt strongly that Christianity is a religion that offers salvation to mankind. Therefore, he would be able to help more people by trying to convert them to Christianity. Thus his aggressive preaching. In addition, he may have used this approach in his culture and it does not result in any adverse feedback. However, he should realise that he is actually preaching in another country with a multi-religious culture whereby people maybe sensitive towards his preaching. Therefore, he should study about the country's cultures and religions before devising his preaching methods so as to minimise intercultural or inter-religious conflicts.