Race & Religion

Wah, such a heavy topic for my family-themed blog?

Well, I was teaching my Son No 2 a chapter from his Moral Education textbook and this chapter introduced race and religion. What it describes prompted me to write this post. Let me explain.

In this chapter on "zong jiao" which means religion, there are large pictures on each page because these 7-year-olds do not have the vocabulary to study this topic. On one page, there are 4 sketches of children representing the different races: a Malay, an Indian, a Chinese and a pan-Asian. Then there are four sketches of places of worship: a church, a mosque, a Buddhist (not taoist) temple, a Hindu temple. The children are expected to match the race of the child in the picture with the place of worship.

What I am appalled is that I am expected to tell my son that Malay = mosque, Chinese = Buddhist temple, Indian = Hindu temple and pan-Asian = church. It is fundamentally wrong to ingrain such notions in our young. In reality, there is no one-to-one relationship between race and religion, and should never be.

What I need to tell him is that an Indian can be a Christian as well. So can a Chinese. I also need to tell him that some Chinese/Indian become Muslims. No, no, no... it is too confusing for the poor child. Why is this topic taught in such an early age anyway?

Even before this, my Son No 2 has been grappling with his identity. Having spent much of his early years in predominantly-Chinese Singapore and is now studying in a Chinese school, he had little clue that life can be so complicated. To illustrate, some of the questions that he has asked me before include:

1. I am born in Singapore, why am I a Malaysian?
2. We live in Malaysia, why aren't we Malays?
3. We are Chinese, why do we speak in English?
4. How do we know we are Chinese?

Sigh. And to those who think that they will know better when they grow up, I am not so sure.

Last year, when I went for my medical check-up here, the receptionist did not ask me for my religion when she was entering my biodata. But in the medical report, it was stated that my religion was "Buddhist". She had assumed that being a Chinese, I was a Buddhist. Now where did she get that idea, I wonder?