Religion and Space

Go back

Professor Lily Kong

27 September 2016

5.00pm - 6.30pm

SMU Mochtar Riady Auditorium

Singapore

The use of space has a significant role in religious practice, with physical areas becoming sacred due to worship and pilgrimage, and even becoming contested locations. Competition for limited space between religious and secular needs can lead to conflict, reflecting the influence of globalisation on religious dynamics.

Professor Lily Kong and Associate Professor Orlando Woods examined these topics in their book Religion and Space: Competition, Conflict, and Violence in the Contemporary World. They explored the claims staked by religious groups over various spaces, and examine how these claims are managed, negotiated, and challenged by secular and religious entities. Prof Kong discussed the intricate interactions among religious groups in today's world, with insights drawn from her book.

Religious competition can be a force for both good and bad, and the outcome depends on how the different groups interact with each other.
The relationship between religion and space is dynamic, and the meaning and significance of religious spaces can change over time.
States play a complex role in managing religious competition by either promoting tolerance or giving privileges to one religion.

Speaker

Professor Lily Kong

Provost
Singapore Management University

On the convergence of technology and religion

Religious groups that are able to harness technology may be better able to reach out to followers and may be able to keep their adherents better, and so a different kind of competition has been enabled through technology.

Religious groups that are able to harness technology may be better able to reach out to followers and may be able to keep their adherents better, and so a different kind of competition has been enabled through technology.

Professor Lily Kong
Provost
Singapore Management University

Religious competition means that different groups are working to provide support to individuals, and religious groups offer social services to enhance societal well-being. What this means is that religion has the possibility to increase the resilience quotient of a society and of an individual.