Clergy should steer clear of partisan politics and not use their pulpits to advance secular causes, the Archbishop of Singapore said last week.Archbishop John Chew’s statement, released as president of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS), comes amidst a squabble over an Anglican congregation’s involvement in a hotly contested election battle to replace the leadership of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) --- a women’s advocacy organization.
Last month the Rev Derek Hong, vicar of Church of Our Savior in the city state, encouraged members of his congregation to join Aware and back a slate of candidates from the church that promised to curtail the organization’s promotion of homosexuality --- a charge the organization has rejected.
In a statement signed by Archbishop Chew and the general secretary of the NCSS Mr Lim K Tham they stated the NCCS “member churches are not involved in the present saga. In fact, our heads of churches have very recently reiterated to their clergy the standing instruction on the proper use of the pulpit.
“We are concerned that religion has been dragged into the unfortunate situation” with the advocacy group, Dr Chew and Mr Than said, noting “the matters related to Aware should be solved by its own members.”
The Straits Times reported that Mr Hong urged the women of his congregation to back the conservative slate of candidates who were opposed to the liberalization of views on homosexuality in Singapore. “It’s not a crusade against the people but there’s a line that God has drawn for us, and we don’t want our nation crossing that line.”
While upholding the church’s teaching on homosexuality, Dr Chew warned that inserting religious tests into secular organizations could have deleterious consequences in multi-ethnic Singapore.
The Archbishop’s comments were endorsed by Buddhist, Taoist and Muslim leaders in Singapore, and by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, who said Dr Chew’s statement “will help prevent any misunderstanding that the churches are backing one side in the Aware dispute, or that this is a dispute between Christians and other Singaporeans.”
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