i'm still thinking about my recent tweet about christian conservatives. i'd very much like to not give a shit about America's politics, but i'm also constantly reminded about how often it becomes a frame of reference for politics everywhere else, including Singapore

as far as i can tell, Singapore is a secular state. there's no official religion, and we're proud of our 'multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural' society. there's an inter-religious organisation, and they do adorable things like pray over trains together.

in 2015, PM LHL said in a speech that "Singaporeans are becoming more religious, and taking their faiths more seriously. This is in itself positive, because religious faiths are strong anchors for good morals and caring communities."

"But religious fervour can also lead to separation and mutual exclusion between different groups... So we must temper growing religiosity with greater tolerance, mutual understanding and respect."

"As our society develops and becomes more diverse, from time to time religious issues will overlap with social and moral questions. For example, LGBT issues, or dealing with income inequality. On such issues religious groups will have their views, and yet they are not just..."

"...religious issues, because they are also subjects of public policy, or social policy. In such an environment... the govt must take a watchful, prudent and hands-on approach. it's got to be neutral, secular in its approach, and it has got to be pragmatic in solving problems."

That last bit - "pragmatic in solving problems" - is important, and i'll come back to it.

The religious breakdown of Singaporeans has mostly remained stable over the years, except for one religion – Christianity.

The percentage of Christians was about 12.7% in 1990, to 14.6% in 2000. The 2015 census reported 18.8%. I'm sure it's risen more since. That's roughly 1 out of 5 Singaporeans who probably have a surprising (to others) amount of interest in what's going on in Christian America

In 2008, a study found that nearly half of Christian leaders in SG were 'wary of inter-faith talks'. Some said they would be hesitant to collaborate with a non-Christian leader to run a charity drive because 'it would lead to the perception that "all religions are equal".'

Since 2012, a church in SG has organised an annual 'Kingdom Invasion' conference. The senior pastor of the church once said that "a church that has lost the ability to influence and lobby society would be useless".

One speaker last year was an American, Lou Engle. He made a bunch of Islamophobic comments, so there was police reports and investigations by the govt. This is his twitter account today.

Which brings us back to abortions in Singapore.

Abortions in Singapore have been legal since the 1969 Abortion Act. Women would have to submit requests to an authorization board. In 1974, they were made accessible to anyone with no need for approval. This was part of the govt's family planning programme.

i really gotta come back and finish this thread sometime