Soft Authoritarianism, Social Diversity and Legal Pluralism: The Case of Singapore

Abstract

Singapore can be described as a sea-port that became a city-state. In the process it has successfully managed religious and ethnic diversity through the use of law to regulate society and to manage religion. Inheriting English common law, Singapore has managed legal pluralism and religious diversity through state agencies, such as MUIS (Islamic Religious Council of Singapore), that seek to modernise the Shari’a, and through the Religious Harmony Act. It has also facilitated Muslim education and family life, strictly controlled religious sites through urban planning, limited aggressive evangelism, rejected ‘shapeless multiculturalism,’ and modestly supported neo-Confucian ‘rule of virtue.’ The chapter explores whether recent political changes will lead to a modification of Singapore’s ‘soft authoritarianism’ and evolution of its policies on diverse religions.