Class(ify)ing Christianity in Singapore: Tracing the interlinked spaces of privilege and position

• Main Authors: WOODS, Orlando, KONG, Lily
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: Christianity; class; identity; interlinked spaces; positioning; Singapore; Asian Studies; Religion; Sociology of Religion
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3574; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4832/viewcontent/ClassifyChristainitySingapore_sv.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This paper considers how two facets of identity – religion and class – are performed, (re)produced and negotiated within the spaces of the Christian school, home and church in Singapore. We show how the social structuring of one space can inform and influence the structuring of another. Spaces of Christianity in Singapore tend to be mutually reinforcing, strengthening the linkages between religion and class, and in particular reifying the position of Christianity as a religion of the privileged classes. However, the ways in which Christian spaces are reified can become problematic when space is in fact shared with less privileged groups, such as Christians from lower socio-economic classes, and foreign domestic workers. In such instances, the interlinked spaces of Christian privilege and position can cause differences within the community to become points of negotiation and compromise. As a result, they can lead to the social (re)positioning of individuals, and the reproduction of both inclusionary and exclusionary forms of religious citizenship.