Pulse
18 Aug 2025
This speech was delivered at a panel discussion on religious harmony and social cohesion organised by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). The event, which brought together delegates from ASEAN member states, was held at the Maghain Aboth Synagogue at Waterloo Street.
The other panellists were: Rabbi Netanel Rivni (Maghian Aboth Synagogue), Venerable Seck Kwang Phing (President, Singapore Buddhist Federation), and Ramasamy Dhinakaran (Director, Indian Heritage Board; former Nominated Member of Parliament, February 2012 – August 2014). The discussion was moderated by Associate Professor Eugene Tan (Singapore Management University) who is Singapore’s representative to AICHR.
Honoured guests and fellow panellists,
Interfaith harmony and social cohesion have always been the cornerstones of Singapore’s nation-building project. As the world’s most religiously diverse country and as a multicultural society, the continued stability and flourishing of Singapore as a nation depend heavily on fostering unity amidst diversity.
The Christian community in Singapore has always regarded contributing to the nation’s social harmony as an integral aspect of its witness. For Christians, living peaceably with people of different faiths is not only a civic duty, but a moral calling.
For Christians, this attitude can never be reduced to mere social etiquette. It is profoundly grounded in the Christian understanding of the dignity of the human being, based on the explicit teachings of Holy Scripture.
In the opening pages of the Bible, we find the profound description of the human being created in the image and likeness of their Creator (Genesis 1:26-27). This implies that every human being – regardless of their ethnicity, social and economic status, or religious belief – is bestowed with an inviolable dignity and must be valued and protected.
Christians are also to obey the command that Jesus gave to his disciples to love their neighbour as themselves (Mark 12:30-31). It is on the basis of this radical command to love the ‘other’ with a love that is at once unconditional and responsible that the foundation of Christian ethics is established.
The expression of Christian love for the neighbour who bears God’s image is for the Christian the basis of all human relationality. It is the ethic upon which civic life is to be conducted. Christian engagement in interfaith and intercultural spaces must always be motivated and disciplined by such generous and responsible love.
Three fundamental principles emerge from this concept of Christian love – all of which are vital to social harmony.
The first is the pursuit of the common good. The ‘common good’ is the set of conditions that allow the members of a particular society to flourish.
In the Christian tradition, this concept cannot be reduced to the sum of individual goods or measured by a utilitarian calculus of happiness. It is rather a reflection of what God has intended for every human being – that they should live in a community characterised by justice, peace and love.
The pursuit of the common good lies at the heart of Christian social teaching. It is grounded in the Scriptural injunction found in 1 Corinthians 10:24, where we read: ‘Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour.’
The second principle is solidarity. This is a powerful and enduring concept in Christian social thought.
For Christians, solidarity is more than a political ideal. It arises from the call to love all people as those made in God’s image.
Solidarity points to our moral and social responsibility. It reminds us that we are not autonomous individuals but persons bound to one another in love and justice.
The third and final principle is what some Christian writers have called ‘principled pluralism.’
This refers to the idea that in a diverse society such as Singapore, multiple worldviews and belief systems must be allowed to co-exist and contribute to public life.
Principled pluralism does not forbid the Christian from sharing the Gospel. But it urges Christians to do so in the spirit of 1 Peter 3:15.
Writing to the Christian diaspora in Asia Minor, Peter exhorts them to ‘always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’
Principled pluralism encourages us to have the courage to articulate our deepest convictions while also maintaining the humility to learn from others and to respectfully engage those whose views differ from our own.
In conclusion, the Christian commitment to religious harmony and social cohesion in Singapore is rooted not merely in pragmatism, but in deep theological convictions about human dignity, love of neighbour, and shared life in community.
Grounded in the principles of the common good, solidarity, and principled pluralism, the Christian witness seeks to contribute meaningfully and respectfully to the flourishing of our diverse society—always with gentleness, humility, and love.
Thank you!
Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor at Trinity Theological College (Singapore) and Theological and Research Advisor of the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity.