Religious Harmony: Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple Of Singapore

The Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple of Singapore and Religious Conglomeration

Discuss about the Sociology for State, Religion and Environmentalism.

The Loyang Tua Pek Kong is a temple that is situated in the Loyang region of Singapore. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong stands as an important example of religious harmony. The temple houses deities of varied faiths like Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong is a temple that manifests cultural and religious assimilation. In the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple, the Hindu deities are worshipped alongside the Chinese deities, which meld variegated faiths in Singapore. The development of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong is not an overnight phenomenon (DeBernardi, 2016). The evolution of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple is occasioned by concatenation of circumstances. The inception of the temple can be traced back to 1980s. During that time, the statues of Taoist, Buddhist and Hindu deities were discovered along the coast of Loyang region of Singapore. In the 20^th century, a modest temple was constructed along the beach that contained deities of varied faiths for the matter of worship. In 1996, a devastating fire decimated the temple and reduced it into a ramshackle shack. In 2006, the devotees amassed a plenty of donations and constructed a new temple for worship. In 2007, the temple was drifted to the new location. The temple was built with tiled roofs and brick wall. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore is one such temple that exhibits commingling of diverse cultures and religions. The Loyang Tua Pek temple of Singapore reflects on the concept of religious harmony. The welding of various faiths in one house stands as an important point of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore.

Popularly known for its lottery blessings, the pristine Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore entails something beyond the physical religious domain. The presence of religious conglomeration, fusion of variegated cultures and commercialization within its premise explores transitions in the domain of religious beliefs in Singapore. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore supports the concept of religious conglomeration. The concept entails coalescing various beliefs and practices of different faiths together (Goh, 2013).

At the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple, I was awed by the facade of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple. It exudes a cosmopolitan aura in every way. To my opinion, the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore encompasses three wings with distinct architectural designs. Here, I saw three segments of the temple that are inextricably associated. At the temple, I witnessed that the left wing of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore houses the Chinese deity Tua Pek Kong and the small focal wing contains a Datuk Keramat shrine. At the other end of the spectrum, the right wing of the temple comprises Hindu deities like Ganesha and Durga. The two wings of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore can be discerned by the separate architectural designs and ornate embellishment. Another interesting thing I witnessed that the different deities housed in different architectural spheres clearly define the concept of religious hybridization within the same religious site. In the hindsight, I saw that the interior sphere did not entail physical boundaries between the three wings. Therefore, the devotees could freely move from one wing to another. At the same time, I observed that the devotees use Chinese joss sticks in all three wings for prayers. This shows that the concept of religious egalitarianism is in vogue in the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore. In the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple, of Singapore, I observed other variants of religious synthesis. The Chinese visitors embrace the Hindu cult of Ganesha and Durga and splurge flowers and lamps on the Hindu deities. On the other hand, the Indian devotees (preferably Hindu disciples) use joss sticks and worship the statue of the Chinese deity, Tua Pek Kong of the temple. In addition, the popular Chinese temple displays the advertisement of Hindu offerings (pujas) in Tamil language (Siu, 2013).  At the same time, the Chinese temple workers sell Hindu ‘blessing’ packages offered in Tamil placards. These descriptions testify to the fact of religious hybridization in a syncretised religious forum.

The Nexus between State and Religion in Singapore

The concept of multiculturalism is apparent in the religious domain.  An attempt is made to delineate multiculturalism between different religious beliefs and practises. For example, the presence of a Datuk Keramat shrine in the hallowed ground of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple indicates the historic reminiscence of Keramat worship, as popularized by the Malay population. Delving into the recent context, a fostered sense of cross-culturalism among Singaporeans developed through the prism of religious hybridization. As discussed above, the elegant Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore incepted, inasmuch statuettes of different faiths remained disavowed along the beach in the 1980s (Kong, 2015). Subsequently, a cohort of Chinese attempted to bring the figurines of varied religions within a unified fold. Therefore, one can decipher two important facts from the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore. Firstly, the particular temple of Singapore integrates the heterogeneous facets of varied religions. The temple provides a unified religious space where multiple religious models exist peacefully, reflecting the idea of religious and cultural harmony. Secondly, the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore persists to attract disciples from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This signifies that the government of Singapore plays a pivotal role in infusing the aspect of multiculturalism, like religious conglomeration in one space. Therefore, the concepts ‘religious miscellany’ and ‘religious oneness’ become synonymous. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore composes a stimulating domain where all faiths (Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism) seamlessly coalesced.

Talking about the nexus between state and religion, Singapore presents a secular state. The Singaporeans subscribe to the aspects of multiculturalism and peaceful coexistence with the rest of the society. These two aspects are given the higher priorities in Singapore and the state aims to corrode any form of fanatical sects. The state gives emphasis to the concept of ‘religious singularity’ or ‘religious oneness’, as there is no real ‘Taoist’, ‘Buddhist’, ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’. On top of that, the religious leaders have no legal powers to dissolve legal sanctions related to matters like ‘erroneous religious practices’. Conversely, the neighbouring states have the legal right to do so. Therefore, the people of Singapore can observe practises or beliefs of any religious community (Chan & Islam, 2015).  Such practices do not pose any legal threat to the devotees. In addition, the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore receives handsome donation from the state politician for instilling the concept of religious agglomeration in one space (Yeoh, 2013).

Festivals and Multi-Culturalism

The 21^st century stands as the era of religious fanaticism, racial and religious dogmatism. The world witnesses internecine strife and ruthless bloodbath that revolve around race and ethnicity. In the heated climax, the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore takes an initiative in fostering multi-culturalism among the people of Singapore (Fox, 2015).  The Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore fuses diverse religious faiths and weaves them in a single thread. The premise of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore observes varied festivals that pay respect to multiple religions (Lim et al., 2014).  The temple has a massive ground that hosts several festivals like the birth anniversary of the main deity (Tua Pek Kong) in the month of March. The month of February witnesses the birthday of the Jade Emperor. In the successive months of July-August, the Hungry Ghost Festival is observed with pomp and grandeur. In addition, the temple observes festivals of other faiths (Hinduism). As far as Hinduism is concerned, the festival of Sri Maha Chandi Yagam (an incarnation of Goddess Durga) is celebrated on the hallowed ground of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple (Quah, 2016).  At the same time, the festival of Navaratri and Diwali are very much popular on the holy premises of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore. The Tamilian priests observe various rituals and customs while paying elaborate offerings to the popular Hindu deities (Lord Ganesha), Kartikeya and Goddess Durga (Miksic, 2013). The Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore has the popular deities of the Hindu pantheon, alongside the Chinese deities. Therefore, the Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple of Singapore sets an important paradigm of religious and cultural assimilation (Pritchett et al., 2013).

Summing up, the assignment hinges on the juxtaposition of practical observation and theories. The practical observation is corroborated by the theories derived from the latest journal of sociology. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong is a sanctuary that is arranged in the Loyang district of Singapore. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong remains as an essential case of religious congruity. The sanctuary houses gods of changed religions like Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong is a sanctuary that shows social and religious osmosis. In the Loyang Tua Pek Kong sanctuary, the Hindu divinities are adored close by the Chinese gods, which merge variegated beliefs in Singapore. The advancement of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong is not an overnight wonder. The advancement of the Loyang Tua Pek Kong sanctuary is occasioned by connection of conditions. The origin of the sanctuary can be followed back to 1980s. Amid that time, the statues of Taoist, Buddhist and Hindu divinities were found along the shore of Loyang district of Singapore. The ideas ‘religious fusion’ and ‘religious unity’s turned out to be synonymous. The Loyang Tua Pek Kong sanctuary of Singapore creates a fortifying space where all religions (Taoism, Buddhism and Hinduism) consistently blended.

Reference 

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