SINGAPORE, February 8, 2009 – With the world’s economy plunging, religious attendance is surging. In the United States, churches have been filling since September. The same seems to be true here, too: attendance at churches, temples and mosques has grown by as much as 50 percent since the recession hit.
Angie Monksfield, president of the Buddhist Fellowship, has seen her group grow from 2,000 last year to almost 3,000, mostly in the last six months. Last month alone, it welcomed 150 new people. “When things are not going well, people look for deeper meaning to life because materialism doesn’t hold,” she said.
Avinash Mathur, a volunteer at the Shree Lakshminarayanan Temple in Chander Road, said he believes religion is one of the first things people turn to in bad times. “We have a saying in Hinduism that if the good times don’t stay, the bad times will also not remain. It preaches positive thinking, faith, patience. Religion is the only thing we can fall back on.”
S. Nallathamby, chief executive officer of the Hindu Endowments Board, said he expected a bigger turnout this year for Thaipusam, where devotees seek blessings and make vows.
Many churches, mosques and temples are providing material aid, counseling, and talks and workshops on practical matters. Temples that routinely provide free meals are seeing increased need.