Events

CHAIRPERSON

Dr Michel Chambon, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

PROGRAM

ABSTRACT

At 1.3 billion, the population of Catholics around the world is almost as large as the population of contemporary India or China. Furthermore, the Catholic Church interacts with and influences the life of many more people beyond its members through the establishment of various institutions (schools, hospitals, diplomactic delegations, etc.). Thus, Catholicism remains one of the largest and most complex social actors of our contemporary world.

Yet, scholarly interest and research programs about world Catholicism remain rather limited. While many factors explain this situation, secular biases continue to affect the ways in which religion—and Catholicism especially—is integrated in research on and analyses of contemporary societies.

This roundtable discusses the rise of Catholic Studies across academia. With special attention to Asia, it focuses on the challenges that this emerging field of research faces in the region, as well as on the opportunities Asian societies and political systems provide to enrich this conversation.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

George Yeo is currently Visiting Scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore, and the Founding Patron of its Asia Competitiveness Institute. Mr Yeo was with Kerry Group in Hong Kong from 2012 to 2021. He was Chairman and Executive Director of Kerry Logistics Network from 2012 to 2019. From September 1988 to May 2011, he served 23 years in the Singapore Government, and was Minister for Information and the Arts, Minister for Health, Minister for Trade & Industry and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr Yeo has a BA in Engineering (Double First) from Cambridge University and an MBA (Baker Scholar) from Harvard University. He began his military career as a Signals Officer in the Singapore Army, crossed over to the Air Force, became Chief-of-Staff of the Air Staff, and Director of Joint Operations and Planning in the Defence Ministry attaining the rank of Brigadier-General. Mr Yeo was a Member of the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See in 2013-2014 and the Vatican Council for the Economy from February 2014 to July 2020.

Mr Yeo is a member of the Board of Trustees of Berggruen Institute on Governance, International Advisory Panel of Peking University, Senior Advisory Council of Beijing Forum, International Advisory Board of IESE Business School, International Advisory Council of China’s Eco Forum Global Guiyang, International Advisory Board of Japan’s National Graduate School for International Policy Studies (GRIPS), Global Advisory Board of MUFG, the External Advisory Board of the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance and the Board of Governors of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation. Mr Yeo is an Independent Non-Executive Director of AIA Group listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Pinduoduo listed on NASDAQ and Creative Technology listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. He is an advisor to Brunswick for its Geopolitical Initiative, Singapore’s V3 Group, Huawei International Pte Ltd in Singapore, Winning International Group and Gurin Energy Group and Salim Group. Mr Yeo was the Conference Chairman of the Singapore Summit from 2012 to 2016.

Jonathan Tan is Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He holds a MA in Liturgical Studies from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California and a PhD in Theology and Culture from The Catholic University of America. A native of Malaysia, Jonathan came to Singapore on an ASEAN secondary and pre-university scholarship. He studied at Saint Patrick’s School and Victoria Junior College, graduated with a LL.B. Honours and the Justice A.V. Winslow Prize for Banking and Negotiable Instruments from the Law School at National University of Singapore, and worked as a corporate attorney for four years before heading to the U.S. for postgraduate studies. Jonathan is the author of Introducing Asian American Theologies (Orbis, 2008), Christian Mission Among the Peoples of Asia (Orbis, 2014), and The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC): Bearing Witness to the Gospel and the Reign of God in Asia (Fortress, 2021). He is also the lead editor of World Christianity: Perspectives and Insights (Orbis, 2016) and authored numerous essays and book chapters on various aspects of Catholicism in Asia. An accomplished organist, Jonathan was previously Assistant Organist at Good Shepherd Cathedral from 1988-1996.

Bruce Lockhart‘s teaching and research focuses on the countries of mainland Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos – the three places he lived in before moving to Singapore. He has been especially interested in the topic of kings and monarchy, but he is now spending more and more time thinking about how these countries perceive and write their own history as well. His current research project is a history of the modern Thai monarchy, and once that is completed he plans to go back to writing on Vietnam. Dr Lockhart’s teaching interests focus on Southeast Asia, as well as a module on the history of Christianity. He particularly enjoys teaching the history of culture and religion, including lots of myths and stories to make history come alive. He also spends a lot of time talking to students, and both mentoring and pastoral care are very important in his life at the National University of Singapore.

REGISTRATION

Registration is closed, and instructions on how to participate in this hybrid talk has been sent out to registered attendees. Please write to aritm@nus.edu.sg if you would like to attend the event.