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Different Under God: A Survey of Church-Going Protestants in Singapore
"Different under God is the first substantial, comprehensive and scientific analysis of Christianity in Singapore, covering religious, social and political attitudes. This survey by Terence Chong and Hui Yew-Foong will be enthusiastically welcomed by today's sociologists and historians in the future. An important and timely contribution to the sociology of religion and to the study of Singapore." - Bryan S. Turner, Presidential Professor of Sociology, the Graduate Centre, the City, University of New York, USA "This is a landmark study of Christianity in Singapore that is sorely needed today, not only to confirm many scholarly guesses, but also to dispel public stereotypes of Christians as homogeneously sheep-like or militant. Scholars and Singaporeans beware, Terence and Yew-Foong have started a fire that will enliven public discourse on religion and society for years to come." - Daniel P.S. Goh, Assistant Professor of Sociology, National University of Singapore "Analysing individual and discussion-group responses from churchgoers in both mainline denominations and independent churches, this study grapples with a number of highly-relevant, even sensitive issues in contemporary issues of moral values and attitudes (including those on sexuality and sexual orientation), money and giving, organizational belonging, governance, and others. While some of the findings and conclusions may reinforce broad perceptions of Christianity and churches in Singapore, others were quite eye-opening. Also useful for researchers, the study contains important data on respondents' socio-economic backgrounds. All in all it is a most welcome scholarly contribution, and I expect that it will be a well-cited resource for future scholarship." - Robbie B. H. Goh, Professor of English Literature, National University of Singapore
- GenresReligion
194 pages, Paperback
First published January 7, 2013
About the author
Terence Chong
27 books2 followersTerence Chong is a Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute where he is coordinator of the Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme. He is a sociologist and his research interests include Christianity in Southeast Asia, heritage, cultural policies and politics in Singapore, and new Chinese immigrants in CLMV countries. He has published in academic journals such as Journal of Contemporary Asia, Critical Asian Studies, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Modern Asian Studies and Asian Studies Review.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 12, 2017
A collection of survey results, with minimal further analysis. Probably good to serve as a primary source for someone's thesis, or a conversation starter.
Key definition of term: Megachurch: defined as churches with >2000 weekly attendance, commonly understood as New Creation, City Harvest, FCBC or The Lighthouse
The interesting thing I realised was that the survey covered far more questions than those analysed. For example, perceptions on contraception were surveyed, but completely omitted in their presentation of findings. Was that because there was no noticeable difference between the denominations' responses? Such unaddressed questions raise more questions (hurhur)
____
Megachurch respondents were most likely (53%) to have been converted in their current church, and least likely to have been born into a Christian family (8.5%).
Megachurch respondents were more likely to see a stronger relationship between giving to God and personal well-being. They were more likely to agree (75.4%) with the statement "By giving to my church I can expect God to bless me spiritually" VS Anglicans (38.7%) and Methodists/Independents (35.8%)
This trend was repeated with them being more likely to agree (67%) with the statement "By giving to my church I can expect God to bless me materially" VS Anglicans (18.5%) and Methodists (17%) /Independents (19.4%).
Megachurch respondents were most likely to agree (85%) with the statement (If I am a faithful Christian, God will bless me with prosperity) compared to 40.8% of Anglicans and 39% of Methodists. These findings support the prevalence of positive confession amongst megachurch respondents.
The practice of privatisation and compartmentalisation of religion occurs when the increased secularisation of society leads an individual to compartmentalise their faith in order to negotiate the civic and public arena with greater ease. This may also result in the privatisation of religion whereby one's faith becomes a private matter and is only shared with people of the same faith or those who show receptivity. In short, the distinctions between church and secular life, the spiritual and the material, the private and the public, believer and non-believer are made with greater clarity. Megachurch participants were more likely to demonstrate such behaviour in matters such as moral and political views. In other words, megachurch respondents preferred to exercise moral influence through their private capacity in spheres that they were active in, rather than by imposing values through the church as a civic organisation.
Conversely, Anglican & Methodist respondents were more likely to agree that Christians should collectively express their views on public policy issues in public. This could be a function of confidence in the cultural capital they enjoy as members of the established middle class.
Most respondents agreed that money was important to them. Megachurch respondents were more likely to agree (69%) compared to 62.1% of Methodists or 55.4% of Anglicans. This may be due to the fact that megachurch respondents are more likely to be socially upwardly mobile, hence attaching more importance to money. Methodist & Anglican respondents were more likely to agree that giving to their church was a form of duty (74%) compared to independents (59.6%) or megachurch respondents (43%). The authors believe that the reason for this discrepancy lies in the understanding of the term "duty". Mainline respondents were more likely to have a positive interpretation of the term, in that giving to the church was taken for granted and one's responsibility.
Meanwhile megachurch respondents were more likely to view giving to the church as a chore or compulsion. (derived from post-survey focus group interviews).
Megachurch respondents are less likely to agree that the Singapore government is becoming too liberal in terms of moral values (28%) VS Anglicans (42.7%), Methodists (46%) and Independents (45.2%)
While megachurch participants are as likely as respondents from mainline and independent churches to allow their Christian values to influence their views on public policies, they are less likely to view the moral character of public policy in Singapore with concern, and are also less likely to support intervening in public policy matters through the public sphere.
Key definition of term: Megachurch: defined as churches with >2000 weekly attendance, commonly understood as New Creation, City Harvest, FCBC or The Lighthouse
The interesting thing I realised was that the survey covered far more questions than those analysed. For example, perceptions on contraception were surveyed, but completely omitted in their presentation of findings. Was that because there was no noticeable difference between the denominations' responses? Such unaddressed questions raise more questions (hurhur)
____
Megachurch respondents were most likely (53%) to have been converted in their current church, and least likely to have been born into a Christian family (8.5%).
Megachurch respondents were more likely to see a stronger relationship between giving to God and personal well-being. They were more likely to agree (75.4%) with the statement "By giving to my church I can expect God to bless me spiritually" VS Anglicans (38.7%) and Methodists/Independents (35.8%)
This trend was repeated with them being more likely to agree (67%) with the statement "By giving to my church I can expect God to bless me materially" VS Anglicans (18.5%) and Methodists (17%) /Independents (19.4%).
Megachurch respondents were most likely to agree (85%) with the statement (If I am a faithful Christian, God will bless me with prosperity) compared to 40.8% of Anglicans and 39% of Methodists. These findings support the prevalence of positive confession amongst megachurch respondents.
The practice of privatisation and compartmentalisation of religion occurs when the increased secularisation of society leads an individual to compartmentalise their faith in order to negotiate the civic and public arena with greater ease. This may also result in the privatisation of religion whereby one's faith becomes a private matter and is only shared with people of the same faith or those who show receptivity. In short, the distinctions between church and secular life, the spiritual and the material, the private and the public, believer and non-believer are made with greater clarity. Megachurch participants were more likely to demonstrate such behaviour in matters such as moral and political views. In other words, megachurch respondents preferred to exercise moral influence through their private capacity in spheres that they were active in, rather than by imposing values through the church as a civic organisation.
Conversely, Anglican & Methodist respondents were more likely to agree that Christians should collectively express their views on public policy issues in public. This could be a function of confidence in the cultural capital they enjoy as members of the established middle class.
Most respondents agreed that money was important to them. Megachurch respondents were more likely to agree (69%) compared to 62.1% of Methodists or 55.4% of Anglicans. This may be due to the fact that megachurch respondents are more likely to be socially upwardly mobile, hence attaching more importance to money. Methodist & Anglican respondents were more likely to agree that giving to their church was a form of duty (74%) compared to independents (59.6%) or megachurch respondents (43%). The authors believe that the reason for this discrepancy lies in the understanding of the term "duty". Mainline respondents were more likely to have a positive interpretation of the term, in that giving to the church was taken for granted and one's responsibility.
Meanwhile megachurch respondents were more likely to view giving to the church as a chore or compulsion. (derived from post-survey focus group interviews).
Megachurch respondents are less likely to agree that the Singapore government is becoming too liberal in terms of moral values (28%) VS Anglicans (42.7%), Methodists (46%) and Independents (45.2%)
While megachurch participants are as likely as respondents from mainline and independent churches to allow their Christian values to influence their views on public policies, they are less likely to view the moral character of public policy in Singapore with concern, and are also less likely to support intervening in public policy matters through the public sphere.
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October 9, 2021I wish there was more research available on religion in contemporary Singapore and how it intersects with race and class. sometimes I have thoughts based on a buildup of anecdotal observations but it seems quite dangerous to draw conclusions as an individual.
July 12, 2026
A seminal study on Protestant Christianity in Singapore, probing their attitudes and views. A helpful dataset and primer to understanding specifically the Christian demographic in the country. However in 2026, these 2013 findings is now dated. Would love to find more recent findings, beyond the government’s own General Household Survey data (most recent data was for 2025, published on 30 June 2026).
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews