November 17, 2025

#741 ft. IPS Researcher - Why Religion is Rising in SG & Can AI Replace God? | Dr Mathew Mathews

1 hour 8 minutes

Dr Mathew Mathews joins us to unpack Singapore’s latest race and religion survey by IPS, from national identity trends to why many still rank religious and ethnic identity above being Singaporean. He’s the Head of the Social Lab & Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about. We explore sensitivities around discussing race and religion, as well as public backlash to some of his past studies.

𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗣𝗦 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿

Religious Identity and Practice Among Singaporeans

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆
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(00:00) Folklory Christmas SALE
(01:12) Intro
(06:11) Research on Race and Religion
(09:13) Insights on Social Systems and Religion
(15:23) Challenges and Responsibilities of Research
(20:13) Analysis of Survey Results
(21:26) Identity and Religion Trends
(23:18) Recent Survey and Its Impact
(25:37) Revivalism in World Religions
(26:20) Online Engagement with Religion
(27:23) Religious Harmony in Singapore
(29:42) Secularization Thesis and Its Impacts
(32:52) Religious Diversity in Singapore
(36:11) Public Perception of Ethnic Policies
(41:43) Role of Religion During Economic Uncertainty
(43:56) Young Singaporeans and Digital Religion
(49:53) Public Discourse on Race and Religion
(52:17) Religions Role in Civil Society
(53:38) Religion and Political Manipulation
(57:00) One Shiok Thing
(01:05:23) Post-Interview Review