SINGAPORE , February 2, 2018, (by Prianka Ghosh, The Culture Trip): Singapore prides itself on its religious diversity and tolerance. Considering this as well as the diversity of Singapore’s population, it did not come as a huge surprise when a 2014 Pew Research report came out stating that Singapore is the most religiously diverse country in the world. The study, performed by the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC, ranked countries on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most diverse. The study measured the Religious Diversity Index (RDI) based on the percentage of the population who fell into the following categories: Buddhists, Christians, folk religions, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, other religions (considered as a group) and the religiously unaffiliated. Singapore scored 9 on the RDI out of 232 countries in the study.
According to the 2015 Singapore General Household Survey, the city-state is 33% Buddhist, 14% Islamic, 19% Christian, 11% Taoist and 5% Hindu, and 18% claim no religious beliefs (Note: the Pew and Household Survey data do not include non-residents, who make up nearly 20% of the Singapore’s population). Singapore also encourages religious diversity by celebrating dates and events significant to each group. Public holidays include everything from Easter to Hari Raya to Diwali, and community associations concurrently organise large-scale events around holidays like Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa, so residents can spend these important days with their loved ones regardless of their beliefs.
HPI note: The Pew survey inexplicably excludes Sikhs, who outnumber Jews globally.