Raising the Nation: Race, Religion, Language, and Identity in Singapore

This engaging collection of essays explores Singapore's multiracial, multireligious, and multilingual experience as a powerful testament of unity amid diversity. While multiracialism embraces pluralism, diversity, and multiple identities, it also requires nurturing shared values, norms, and a cohesive collective identity to manage differences sensitively and effectively. Providing new insights into Singapore's ongoing nation-building journey, the essays reveal how Singaporeans -- regardless of race, language, or religion -- must continue to develop a unified response to divisive, chauvinistic forces.Written from an interdisciplinary perspective by a scholar who has studied Singapore's management of race, religion, and language for almost three decades, the book's five thematic sections examine various aspects of race, religion, language, and identity in Singapore. The essays tackle topical issues from the past two decades that remain as relevant today as when they were first published in various media outlets. This collection unveils the challenges and nuances of Singapore's identity politics, law, policies, and institutions, showing how Singapore overcame sectarian divides and embrace unity.Raising the Nation emphasises the founding constitutional principle that every community is treated equally and supported in differentiated ways. Essential reading for anyone curious about Singapore's raison d'être as an independent, sovereign nation-state, it serves as an indispensable guide to the rich tapestry of identities that define every Singaporean.