Reverend Father Jude David, co-chaplain of the Catholic Church's Office for Young People, believes that without religion "Singapore would certainly lose a part of her soul or spirit".
Reverend Dominic Yeo, the general superintendent of the Assemblies of God of Singapore, agreed. He said religion teaches its followers to be moral, adding: "We need to guard our nation, our children and the next generation against moral decadence."
Others are concerned about solidarity in households where the parents or grandparents are deeply religious. NUS sociologist Paulin Straughan said disparities in religious ideology could result in intergenerational fault lines and a widening gap "because religion, when it is functional, pulls families together".
Ultimately, the consensus among the various groups is for the need for more dialogue to understand "mutual concerns and find ways to negotiate potential tensions", said Dr Mathews. They said this should be backed by more research to understand the specific make-up of Singapore's non-religious segment.
Communication channels already exist. For instance, the Humanist Society - set up to represent Singapore's non-religious population - has been involved in discussions organised by the Inter-Religious Organisation of Singapore and the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles.
Executive committee member Pearl Lin said the society's role is to provide a voice for the non-religious, whom she said tend to be excluded and forgotten.
But the Buddhist Federation's Venerable Seck is not worried about the growing pool of non-religious Singaporeans. To him, good values and morals are more important.
He said: "As long as there is moral education and the ability to differentiate between what is right and wrong, there will always be common ground among the religious and non-religious."
