Religion and Modernity: Ritual Transformations and the Reconstruction of Space and Time

• Main Authors: Tong, Chee Kiong, Kong, Lily
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2000
• Subjects: Chinese Religion; Modernity; Rituals; Singapore; Space; Time; Asian Studies; Human Geography; Religion; Urban Studies
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1820; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3077/viewcontent/Konglily_2000_ReligionModernityRitualTransformations.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In this paper, we use the case of Chinese religion in Singapore to examine the relationships between religion and modernity, and between social processes, on the one hand, and spatial conceptions, forms and structures and temporal practices, on the other. Specifically, we look at how traditional Chinese rituals are being modified, reinterpreted and invented to fit with modern living. Such ritual transformations entail reconstructed notions of space and time. Through such transformations, modernity does not simply lead to the demise of religious beliefs and practices but allows for a continued role for religion in providing a meaning system for Chinese religionists in Singapore.