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R3- Cover Letter

Dear Reader,
The thesis of my paper is that the rapid rise of Christianity since the 1980s has largely
only taken place among the ethnic Chinese because government regulation of religion has
resulted in the Singaporean Church only being able to effectively reach the ethnic Chinese
community. As a result, the Singaporean Church embraced the Pentecostal message of prosperity
brought in by globalization because of its appeal to the ideals of blessing, prosperity and
longevity in Chinese culture, resulting in a massive surge of Christianity only among ChineseSingaporeans.
My papers motive is that there has been a surge of Christianity in Singapore since the
1980s but that growth has been contained to only ethnic Chinese-Singaporeans. Within the
current scholarly conversation this phenomenon is under researched and there is an absence of a
complete explanation of why this is happening.
Over the course of my revision process, my motive has stayed the same but has been
refined slightly to speak more to the current dominant understandings of the overall growth of
Christianity. The spirit of my thesis is the same but I have narrowed it and included more precise
and substantive to make it more argumentative.
I structured my paper such that it progresses point to point in a structure which is
evolving and dynamic. In my draft my structure had a lot of compartmentalization and listing. To
improve this I adjusted my thesis to accommodate a more evolving structure and also included
more signposting and transitions.
I am happy with how I was able to restructure my essay and that I feel like I am
contributing something that is truly unique and new to the scholarly conversation. The most
challenging part of the revision process was the restructuring. It took a lot of thinking and
reworking but I am proud of how it turned out.
The revision strategies I used included the magic thesis statement, line of thinking
paragraph, and essay x-ray. I found each one of them quite useful in each of its own ways. For
example, the magic thesis statement was very helpful in ensuring my thesis and motive were
strong and argumentative and the essay x-ray was helpful in structuring my essay. I would maybe
try a writing log if I were to do another revision.
Thank you for taking the time to read this paper. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as
I enjoyed writing it. I appreciate all your feedback very much.
Thanks and Regards,
Brandon Joel Tan

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Brandon Joel Tan
Dr. Brendan J. Wright
WRI 133
18 December 2015
The Puzzle of Chinese-Singaporean Christianity
Contrary to the secularization thesis which posits a decline in religious belief, Singapore
has experienced a surge in Christianity. Over the last three decades from 1980 to 2010, the
number of Singaporean Christians has almost doubled in size, increasing from 10.1% of the
population to 18.3% (Singapore). However, this phenomenon appears to be taking place almost
entirely among the ethnic Chinese, one of the three main races. The proportion of Christians
among Chinese Singaporeans has increased from 10.9% to 20.1%, while the proportions among
Malay and Indian Singaporeans have held steady at about 1% and 12% respectively (Singapore).
83% of Christians in Singapore currently are of Chinese descent (Singapore). While the
astonishing growth of Christianity in Singapore has received some scholarly attention, the fact
that this growth is happening only among the ethnic Chinese has not received similar
considerations. The dominant scholarly interpretation is that Christianity grew because of the
rapid globalization and injection of western influences that took place in the 1980s (Hedlund 6364). However, this understanding does not account for the specific intense growth among the
ethnic Chinese since the whole country was exposed to this phenomenon. In the midst of
Singapores globalization, why were the ethnic Chinese the only ones converting so rapidly to
Christianity? I argue that government regulation of religion indirectly limited the evangelism
efforts of the Singaporean Church to just being able to effectively reach the ethnic Chinese.
Consequently, the Singaporean Church adopted the Pentecostal message of prosperity brought in
by globalization for its specific appeal to Chinese cultures ideals of blessing, prosperity and
longevity, leading to rapid conversions among just the ethnic Chinese-Singaporeans.

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There has not been a thorough investigation into why the rise of Christianity in Singapore
has been limited to ethnic Chinese Singaporeans besides speculations on the part of a few
scholars whose academic focuses are elsewhere. Anthropologist Tong Chee Kiong, in
Rationalizing Religion, a book focused on investigating the intellectualization of religion in
Singapore, briefly acknowledges this phenomenon and speculates that it might be due to the
ethnic link between race and religion. (Tong 65). Since important to being a part of some racial
groups is also the adoption of a certain religion, Tong suggests that it might be the reason why
the other races in Singapore have not converted to Christianity as the Chinese have (65).
Unfortunately, this explanation can only account for why ethnic Malays have successfully
resisted Christianity. There is a strong link between adoption of Islam and being ethnically Malay
as 98.7% of Singaporean Malays are Muslims (Singapore). This same link is not present among
ethnic Indian Singaporeans where 58.9% are Hindu, 21.7% are Muslim, 12.8% are Christian and
4.0% are Sikh (Singapore). Indians as an ethnic group are not at all religiously homogenous like
the Malays. Being a Hindu is not a critical part of ones identity as an ethnic Indian, like being a
Muslim is to ones identity as an ethnic Malay. In fact, Indians are just as religiously
heterogeneous as the Chinese, where 57.4% are Buddhist or Taoist and 20.1% are Christian
(Singapore). Indian diplomat and politician Shashi Tharoor takes it even further and claims in a
Guardian opinion piece, Indian identity is forged in diversity (Tharoor). He goes on to write, .
. . a Tamil Hindu would feel he has much more in common with a Tamil Christian or a Tamil
Muslim than with, say, a Jat from the state of Haryana with whom he formally shares the Hindu
religion (Tharror). Ones Indian identity is not grounded in being an adherent of a certain
religion. On the contrary, Indians identify with being a religiously diverse ethnic group. Although
there is a significant presence of Hindus and Muslims among ethnic Indians, religion is very

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much secondary to ones identity as an Indian. The link between race and religion is just as weak
for ethnic Indians and as it is for ethnic Chinese, and thus an unconvincing explanation of this
phenomenon. In Christian Movements in Southeast Asia: A Theological Exploration, as
theologian Roger E. Hedlund makes an argument for the myth of secularization in Singapore, he
comments that English proficiency could be a reason why Christian converts are typically
Chinese (Hedlund 71). He suggests that fluency in English allows people to access western
Christianity (71). Although it is true that only 17% of Malays speak English at home, while 33%
of Chinese do, again, this fails to explain the case of ethnic Indian Singaporeans (Singapore).
42% of Indians speak English at home, a greater proportion than that of the Chinese (Singapore).
Since Indians are more proficient in English than the Chinese, it cannot explain why there have
been more Chinese converts to Christianity than Indians.
To fill this gap in the scholarly understanding of the recent surge of Christianity in
Singapore, I studied the conversion stories of Singaporean Christians drawn from the testimony
archives of Faith Community Baptist Church and New Creation Church, two of Singapores
biggest mega-churches in order to identify significant experiences leading to and reasons for
their conversion which are unique to the ethnic Chinese. From this analysis, I first show that
being evangelized to by Christian friends and family is not just a powerful influence in
converting individuals to Christianity but also a necessary factor because of government
regulation of religion. As a result of this, the Singapore Church was limited to only being able to
effectively reach the ethnic Chinese.
Personal evangelism to Christian friends and family is an effective means to bringing
people to faith. In almost all of the testimonies analyzed, a friend or family member sharing the
gospel or encouraging the individual to come to church was an important factor in their

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conversion. Derek Ang from Faith Community Baptist Church writes in his testimony, God
blessed me with a friend named Sung. I was enlightened by his sharing about his encounter with
God, his Christian life and the gospel. I was especially touched by his encounter and I wanted to
know more (Faith Community Baptist Church). Derek would never have been interested in
Christianity if his friend did not share the gospel and his experiences with God with Derek. This
encounter with his friend was the catalyst to Dereks Christian journey to faith. Sim Yi Hui
similarly writes, When I was in Secondary One, my best friend brought me to the church she
was attending. What started out as a social occasions where I got to hang out with friends to
pass the time turned into Sunday mornings that I actually looked forward to because of the
service (Faith Community Baptist Church). Yi Hui would not have stepped into church and
would not have heard the gospel if her best friend did not bring her. Being brought to church by a
Christian friend was a crucial factor in Yi Huis coming to faith. A New Creation Church member
also writes of his first exposure to Christianity, My wife often asked me to attend church . . .
Since it was her birthday wish for me to attend service with her, I could not say no (New
Creation Church). This individual was very resistant to Christianity initially and did not want to
go to church. It took his wifes repeated invites and a birthday wish for him to be persuaded to
attend a service. If his wife was not a Christian, he likely would never have been persuaded to go
to church. His wife being a Christian was critical for his conversion to Christianity. It is clear that
being evangelized to by Christian friends and family is a powerful and important factor in
conversions to Christianity in Singapore. However, the fact that it was a factor in almost every
testimonial suggests that it might be a necessary factor. Why might this be the case?
The reason why being evangelized to by Christian friends and family is a necessary factor
for conversion to Christianity is because government regulation prevents individuals from

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hearing the Gospel and learning about Christianity through any other means. Unlike in most
nations, the Singapore government heavily regulates proselytization. In 2009, two Christians
were sentenced to eight weeks in prison for the public distribution of evangelistic material
(Quek). According to the governments Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, the government
has the right to make restraining orders against anyone causing feelings of enmity, hatred, illwill or hostility between different religious groups of which unwanted evangelism is falls under
(Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act). In Singapore, Christians have to be very careful about
how they share their faith and tell people about Christianity because of the threat of prosecution.
Singaporeans cannot evangelize to strangers or preach publicly freely. As a result, there is an
absence of street evangelism ministries or Christian public outreach initiatives in Singapore.
Community service done by churches in Singapore also cannot have elements of evangelism. By
looking at church documents, one will see that there are many evangelistic events for church
members to bring their friends and family members to, but almost no other avenues for outreach.
For example, one of Singapores mega-churches, Covenant Evangelical Free Churchs 23 August
2015 bulletin announces two outreach events. The first is called Alpha: Who is Jesus? and the
congregation is encouraged to [b]less your family and friends by inviting them! (Covenant
Evangelical Free Church 4). The other is a Dance Outreach where the stated goal is to [b]less
and connect with your pre-believing friends in a causal and fun environment (4). Both of these
evangelism programs emphasis evangelism through direct relationships with friends and family.
If one is not an immediate friend or family member of someone in the church, they will never
have the opportunity to attend one of these events. In Singapore, the only avenue in which people
can hear about Christianity and be exposed to the Gospel message is through direct relationships
with friends and family, thus becoming a necessary factor in Christian conversions.

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Due to the social structure of Singapore, the fact that being evangelized to by Christian
friends and family is a powerful and necessary factor in conversion allows the Singaporean
Church to effectively reach the ethnic Chinese but not other ethnicities. This is because having
friends and family members who are Christian is a factor unique to the ethnic Chinese. Before
the surge of Christianity in the 1980s, over 85% of Christians in Singapore were of Chinese
ethnicity (Singapore). The ethnic Chinese were the only racial group with a critical mass of
Christians within their community. In Singapore there is a low rate of inter-ethnic marriage at
about 4% of total marriages (Kuo 170). There is an especially low tendency for Chinese people
to marry outside their race, most of the inter-ethnic marriages in Singapore take place between
the Malays and Indians (172). As a result, since so many conversions happen due to evangelism
within a family to ones spouse, parents or relatives, the Chinese are far more likely to be
exposed to Christianity and to be brought to the church. There is also very little social integration
between racial groups in Singapore. According to a study done by the Institute of Policy Studies,
a Chinese Singaporean has a median of five close Chinese friends and no close Indian or Malay
friends (Matthews 52). Again, since hearing the Gospel from a friend or being brought to church
by a friend is central and necessary to being converted, non-Chinese Singaporeans have a much
lower chance of coming to faith. Thus, government regulation of religion has indirectly limited
the evangelism efforts of the Singaporean Church to just being able to effectively reach the
ethnic Chinese.
As it became only feasible for the Singaporean Church to effectively reach the ethnic
Chinese, Chinese-Singaporeans became the Churchs targets for evangelism. Most Singaporean
churches have outreach services and events directed at the ethnic Chinese but neglect the other
races. For example, Covenant Evangelical Free Churchs 29 March 2015 online bulletin reveals

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that besides its main English outreach event it will only be hosting smaller events in Mandarin,
Cantonese and Hokkien which are all Chinese language dialects (Covenant Evangelical Free
Church 4). Churches in Singapore have realized that they are unable to reach other races and
have decided to focus their efforts on evangelizing to the ethnic Chinese. They are no longer
intentional about trying to shape their events or the substance of their services to cater to other
ethnicities. Since ethnic Chinese-Singaporeans were the Singaporean Churchs targets for
outreach, the Church adopted Pentecostal Christianitys theological message of prosperity
brought in by globalization, known as the Prosperity Gospel, to appeal the ethnic Chinese which
led to rapid conversions only among them.
Pentecostal Christianity along with its Prosperity Gospel came to Singapore during the
rapid globalization around the 1980s and was immediately adopted. During this time,
Singaporean churches began to be more strongly influenced by churches from the west,
especially the United States, and there was an influx of foreign preachers and evangelists who
began to come to Singapore to speak (Goh 65-66). Among the foreign churches and preachers
who were influencing the Singaporean church, there were many from the Pentecostal tradition
(65-66). The most prominent of these speakers was evangelist Billy Graham who . . . was and is
a great hero to most Pentecostals according to theologian Roger R. Olson (Olson). Billy
Graham came to Singapore in December 1978 and [p]eople crowded into the 55,000-seat
National Stadium each night to hear Mr. Grahams message, bringing the accumulative
attendance to more than 337,000 . . . At the conclusion of the Crusade, more than 19,600 people
surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, and the face of Christianity in Singapore has never been
the same (Chilton). The overseas influences on the Singaporean Church and the speakers who
came in bringing Pentecostal Christianity to Singapore were powerful and transformative for the

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Singaporean Church. The four largest megachurches in Singapore, New Creation Church, City
Harvest Church, Faith Community Baptist Church and Lighthouse Evangelism, each with
congregations over 15,000 members, are all Pentecostal churches which were planted around the
1980s (Bird). The Pentecostal messages and doctrines brought in were quickly adopted and many
Pentecostal churches were planted. But why were these specific teachings adopted so quickly
and not those of other denominations or traditions? The Prosperity Gospel was adopted because
of its appeal to the culture of the ethnic Chinese who were the Singaporean Churchs targets for
outreach.
Central to the culture of ethnic Chinese all around the world is the Chinese concept of the
Three Stars of Blessing, Prosperity, and Longevity (Fu, Lu, and Shou), which are held as ideals
which the Chinese people long and hope for (China). These Three Stars are deeply ingrained in
Chinese tradition and practices. Statues and idols which are the personified forms of the Three
Stars can be found in the homes and businesses of the ethnic Chinese in Singapore revealing the
high esteem in which Singaporean Chinese hold these ideals. Every Chinese New Year,
Singaporean-Chinese are expected to wish each other blessing, prosperity and longevity
according to the Three Stars. A Chinese-Singaporeans greatest wish is for him and his family
and friends to achieve blessing, prosperity and longevity. Within the Chinese Taoist and Buddhist
traditions, praying to ancestors and idols are also a means to obtain and receive the Three
Stars. The Three Stars represent the desires and dreams of the ethnic Chinese. They are the
goals which the Singaporean-Chinese are pursuing and striving for. Any religion or worldview
which appeals to them must satisfy and fulfill these three ideals.
Pentecostal theology heavily emphasizes blessing, prosperity and longevity which attracts
individuals of Chinese heritage. Theologian Amos Yong explains in his book Pentecostalism and

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Prosperity: The Socio-Economics of the Global Charismatic Movement, the most significant
characteristic of Pentecostal and charismatic belief is the affinity for prosperity messages. The
so-called prosperity gospel says that God wants to bless Christians spiritually, physically, and
materially (Yong 3). What makes Pentecostal Christianity unique from other denominations is
the message of prosperity, or the Prosperity Gospel. The prosperity gospel teaches that God will
take care of you and make you successful in this world materially not just spiritually. Pentecostal
Christianity offers Chinese people access to and a means of obtaining the Three Stars.
Pentecostal theology promises Christians that God will bless them and make them prosperous,
appealing directly to the first two stars of blessing and prosperity. Joseph Prince, senior pastor of
Singapore mega-church New Creation Church, writes in his article Rich Through Jesus
Poverty, . . . look to JesusHe is the power to get wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18) The presence
of the Son of the living God in your life attracts good things. Because of His grace toward us,
Jesus, though He was rich, was made poor at the cross for your sake so that you through His
poverty might become rich (Prince). Prince teaches that as a Christian, through Jesus, one can
become rich. He teaches that God is a God who out of His love and grace wants and seeks to
bless Christians. For a Chinese-Singaporean, Pentecostal Christianity provides the way to get
what they have been hoping for their entire lives. Pentecostal Theology also provides the
longevity which the Chinese long for. Lighthouse Evangelism, another Singaporean Pentecostal
mega-church, holds a Miracle Service every Saturday where people come to be healed. Unlike
many denominations, Pentecostals believe that it is Gods will for everyone to be healed.
Lighthouse Evangelisms Senior Pastor, Rory Tan writes on his website, There is absolutely not
a shadow of doubt that there is a strong scriptural basis for divine healing. Yes, God longs to heal
you so much so that He has it written in black and white. His part is to give you access to His

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healing power, and your part is to believe and receive (Tan). Pastor Tan teaches that God can
and wants to heal you. This directly appeals to Chinese Singaporeans who are seeking longevity
and health by providing an assurance that there is a God who will take care of your physical
wellbeing. Pentecostal Christianity is the fulfillment of the hopes and dreams of the ethnic
Singapore Chinese, hopes and dreams for blessing, prosperity and longevity.
Pentecostal Christianity and its specific appeal to Chinese culture is the reason why there
has been a rapid growth of Christianity among Chinese-Singaporeans. In State and Social
Christianity in Post-colonial Singapore, Sociologist Daniel Goh explains, . . . the
overwhelmingly popular choice for conversion in recent decades has been to churches that are
Pentecostal (Goh 54-55). Pentecostal Christianitys teachings have brought in most of the
converts to Christianity in Singapore. While most denominations have seen moderate growth
since the 1980s, independent Pentecostal churches have experienced explosive growth, about a
sevenfold increase in size (55). Most of the surge of Christianity in Singapore can be attributed to
the Pentecostal movement and message. This is also evident from the analysis of Singapore
Christian conversion stories. Pentecostal Christianitys appeal to the Chinese ideals of blessing,
prosperity and longevity is a dominant factor in the conversions throughout the testimonials. Ben
Teo writes in his testimony:
In 2005 I received Jesus into my life . . . In 2003, my wife prayed with me as I started my
own IT business and told me that the Lord had told her to give me her support. Today all
glory goes to the Lord who paved the way for my career and business. He is indeed the
Jehovah Jireh who provides every resource I need for my business. The Lord had not
only blessed my business, He has also blessed my wife and I with a son. Timothy is 2
plus years today. He was born with a hole in the heart and the Lord closed the hole when
he was 8 months. He is Jehovah Rapha our healer. (Faith Community Baptist Church)
Critical to Bens conversion to Christianity was the understanding that God would bless him and
bring success to his business. His perception of God as a healing God also played a large role in

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bringing him to faith. It is because Bens desires for blessing, prosperity and longevity were
satisfied that he became a Christian. Ben Teo is one of the many examples of how Pentecostal
Christianitys promise of prosperity and health has brought individuals to Christ. Faith
Community Baptist Churchs Wendy Goh became a Christian because God brought her academic
success in her studies (Faith Baptist Community Church). Gods blessing of academic success
was the reason why Wendy decided to convert. The knowledge that God will continue to provide
for and prosper her was critical to her coming to faith. Greg, another convert from New Creation
Church, became a Christian because God healed him of a 38 year old chronic skin disease (New
Creation Church). Gregs realization that God is able to heal and satisfy his longing for longevity
was why he chose to accept Jesus into his life. The testimonials reveal that Christians attribute
their conversions to the teachings of the Prosperity Gospel which appeal to the ideals of their
Chinese culture.
The conversion testimonials of Singaporean Christians reveal that the rapid rise of
Christianity since the 1980s has largely only taken place among the ethnic Chinese because
government regulation of religion has resulted in the Singaporean Church only being able to
effectively reach the ethnic Chinese community. As a result, the Singaporean Church embraced
the Pentecostal message of prosperity brought in by globalization because of its appeal to the
ideals of blessing, prosperity and longevity in Chinese culture, resulting in a massive surge of
Christianity only among Chinese-Singaporeans. The scholarly community should pay more
attention to this phenomenon and continue build on the findings of this paper which is based on a
qualitative analysis of conversion testimonials. This dimension of the changing religious
landscape in Singapore has been neglected and more attention to it will allow for the
development of a richer and fuller understanding of the rise of Christianity. This research also

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brings to light issues with the outreach and evangelism efforts of the Singapore Church over the
last few decades in that there has been a failure to breakthrough racial barriers. Churches who
have a heart for reaching out to and sharing the Gospel with non-Chinese Singaporean
communities should consider that these findings point towards the importance of appealing to
culture in evangelism. The Singaporean Church should look for theological messages which
resonant with the cultures of other ethnicities in order to effectively lead them to faith.

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Works Cited
Bird, Warren. "World Megachurches | Leadership Network." Leadership Network. Leadership
Network. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
Chilton, Ann Marie. "Tens of Thousands in Singapore Open Homes to Share Christ." Billy
Graham Evangelistic Association. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 24 Dec. 2008.
Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
China. Ministry of Culture. "Fu, Lu and Shou, Three Stars of Blessings, Prosperity and
Longevity." Chinese Culture. Ministry of Culture P.R.China. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Covenant Evangelical Free Church. "Sunday Bulletins." Covenant Evangelical Free Church.
Covenant Evangelical Free Church. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Faith Community Baptist Church. "Baptism Testimonies." Faith Community Baptist Church
(FCBC) Singapore. Faith Community Baptist Church. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Goh, Daniel. "State and Social Christianity in Post-colonial Singapore." Journal of
Social Issues in Southeast Asia 25.1 (2010): 54-89. Print.
Hedlund, Roger. Understanding Southeast Asian Christianity. Christian Movements in
Southeast Asia: A Theological Exploration. Ed. Poon, Michael Nai. Singapore: Genesis,
2010. Print.
Kuo, Eddie C. Y. The Contemporary Family in Singapore: Structure and Change. Singapore:
Singapore UP, 1979. Print.
Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, 167A (Attorney-General's Chambers Singapore
1992). Print.
Matthews, Matthew. "Indicators of Racial and Religious Harmony." Institute of Policy Studies.
Institute of Policy Studies. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.

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New Creation Church. "About Us." New Creation Church. New Creation Church. Web. 21 Nov.
2015.
New Creation Church. "New Creation Church - Testimonies." New Creation Church. New
Creation Church. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Olson, Roger. "Pentecostalisms Dark Side." Christian Century (2006): 27-30. Print.
Prince, Joseph. "Rich Through Jesus' Poverty." Joseph Prince Ministries. Joseph Prince
Ministries, 22 Dec. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Singapore. Department of Statistics. Singapore Census of Population. Department of
Statistics, 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
Tan, Rory. "What Is the Scriptural Basis for Divine Healing?" Rory Tan. Rory Tan. Web. 28
Nov. 2015.
Tharoor, Shashi. "Indian Identity Is Forged in Diversity. Every One of Us Is in a Minority." The
Guardian. The Guardian, 17 Aug. 2007. Web. 18 Dec. 2015.
Tong, Chee Kiong. Rationalizing Religion: Religious Conversion, Revivalism and Competition
in Singapore Society. Leiden: Brill, 2007. Print.
Quek, Carolyn. "Seditious Tract Duo Jailed Eight Weeks." Asiaone. Asiaone, 11 June 2009.
Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Yong, Amos. Pentecostalism and Prosperity: The Socio-economics of the Global Charismatic
Movement. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print.
This paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations
- Brandon Joel Tan

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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Professor Wright for the conferences and for talking to me in class
to help me solidify and narrow the direction of my paper. I would like to thank the writing fellow
that I saw so gave me advice on my paper. I would also like to thank my friends for letting my
bounce my arguments and support of them to ensure that they were convincing. I would also like
to thank Simeon and Parker for the draft conference.