Second Minister for Finance and Transport Minister Lim Hwee Hua addressed some 360 students from 54 secondary schools

Asked by a student to elaborate on laws to protect secularism here, she referred to the recent leadership tussle in the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) and said, “In this common space, we cannot impose our religions on others. All of us have to carefully guard against that.”

What is the situation in Singapore? DPM Wong emphasised the secular nature of the political arena and how keeping ‘religion’ and ‘politics’ separate was a key rule of political engagement.

What this means specifically is that laws and policies derive their legitimacy not from divine sanction but from a democratically elected government. Law generally applies to and equally protects all citizens, regardless of race, religion or social status. Clearly, the Singapore model of secularism is anti-theocratic in that religious tenets and secular law are separated, not conflated.

While anti-theocratic, the Singapore secularism is not anti-religious. This is a vital distinction.