ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the Singapore state and Buddhist organisations are engaged in the use of soft power, each according to their own agenda. Buddhist organisations see the provision of charity and welfare services as a form of cultural-religious power by which to reach out and expand their compassionate field in the Singapore community. Buddhist organisations in Singapore have also been looking for new roles to play in twenty-first-century shale modernity, seeking to cater to the new demands of the younger generation of Singapore’s Buddhists. The operation of welfare and care homes for poor, single elderly individuals has been regarded as an essential service by Buddhist temples and organisations since the nineteenth century. Singapore is a multi-religious society and the main religious groups – Christian, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and others – are all involved in delivering care services to the elderly population.
