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NUS Orders Suspension of Christian Group's Activities Over Insensitive Remarks

The National University of Singapore has suspended a student Christian group's activities on campus following complaints regarding religiously insensitive remarks directed at Buddhists and Muslims. This decision highlights the tension between freedom of expression and religious sensitivity. Language as a means of communication can either bridge gaps or sow discord, making it crucial to consider the implications of words in a diverse society. The investigation into the group's activities raises questions about censorship, religious intolerance, and the balance between promoting interfaith dialogue and maintaining freedom of speech.

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NUS Orders Suspension of Christian Group's Activities Over Insensitive Remarks

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Presentation Transcript

  1. WAYS OF KNOWING ORAL PRESENTATION

  2. NUS orders Christian Group to stop all activities on campus • NUS ordered a student Christian group to cease all campus activities after complaints of insensitive remarks to Buddhists and Muslims • Religious fervour came at the expense inter-religious tolerance and common spaces, seen in comments on posters and website • Suspension of activities until internal investigation is completed

  3. Language as a Way of Knowing • Language as means of communicating information to a critical mass of student population • Language containing undertones of religious insensitivity when used inappropriately • Insensitive diction being employed • Thailand: ‘a place of little true joy’ • Turkey: ‘much of the population is M’ (Muslim) • Connotations of these words – implies Buddhism and Islam as inferior religions • Weasel words – ambiguity in language as a tool for aggressive evangelism, fails to mask religious insensitivity • Turkey: ‘much prayer and work’

  4. Making Connections • Incidents raised in Sec 3 Assembly • Christian couple giving out pamphlets, offended Muslim population • Racially insensitive blogging incidents • Perception of religious intolerance • Seen to be a move to stopping such religious intolerance, but what about the mission of the Christian group? • Censorship of their publicity for the sake of religious sensitivity but what about infringing on their mission?

  5. Making Connections • Perception of religious intolerance • Censorship employed: where do we draw the line? • Repercussions on artistic expressions and creative industries • Political critique on nanny state, greatly restricts freedom of expression • Discretion of the government to determine what constitutes “religious/racial intolerance” – ambiguous • Exacerbated by law (ISA) – parallels to Operation ColdStore (for the sake of “social stability”) • Implications on religious segregation • Halal canteen, Hindu swimming pool, Christian bus stop

  6. Weaknesses of using Language as a Way of Knowing • Value-laden means of communication, might have unintended consequences • Ambiguous and open to interpretation, allows for willful misrepresentation • Not an objective way of knowing, cannot attain perfect knowledge of “real world” (intention of NUS Christian group) • Negative portrayal of group’s intentions and values in their mission

  7. Benefits of using Language as a Way of Knowing • Notwithstanding connotations of religious insensitivity, it can be an objective form of transmitting knowledge • Cultural agreed meanings of nouns and verbs • Rapid means of transmitting knowledge: common agreement in language enables those with literacy to understand knowledge • Possesses great potential to be used positively if thought and discernment went into crafting the advertisements

  8. Discussion! • Can language truly transmit information without bias or values embedded within it? • If language is open to interpretation, then whose fault is it? The Christian group or those will willfully misinterpret? • Is “racial intolerance” sufficient justification for censorship? • How does language defuse or exacerbate religious tension?

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