Secular Education

Once, during my stint as a civil servant, I was admonished for using religion in my apology. I had received an SMS asking me to check my email in the afternoon on Good Friday. I replied the SMS that night, apologising for the late reply, explaining that I had had no access to a computer due to the religious nature of that day and stating the fact that I am a Roman Catholic.

I was told that I should not have used religion, because “XJC is a secular school” and hence there was to be no mention of religion.

As far as I know, all government schools in Singapore do not promote religion. Hence female Muslim students are not allowed to wear tudungs in school, and evangelising is definitely out of the question. However, I also do know that racial harmony is part of Singapore’s culture, and the outright criticism of other races is frowned upon.

So what exactly is a ‘secular school’? Yes, there is no prayer at morning assembly. No singing of hymns either. Is that enough for a school to be labelled secular? Does the absence of pork at buffets catered for staff show that XJC is a secular school because of the absence of religious mention?

I’m not really convinced that civil servants are banned from pursuing their own religious activities on their off-days. Not even if they work in ‘secular schools’. And certainly not on public holidays declared so that people of that religious persuasion can observe their religious day.

Oh well, as a good friend of mine once said, “Don’t bother arguing with ‘low IQ’ people.” The same good friend also point out that the government does not pay us to work on weekends or on public holidays, thus said person did not have the authority to compel me to work on Good Friday.

I wonder if that would have had better standing with said person. =P

Oh well. Have a good time with your 100% passes in Biology, XJC =D.