Coronavirus: in Singapore, small religious groups pray for survival as donations dry up

Some are dipping into their reserves to keep operations running as the pandemic poses an existential threat

In contrast, religious groups with thousands of followers and millions in savings are well buffered, with some even providing financial assistance to worshippers

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Priests at Sri Krishnan Temple conduct prayers for devotees who are at home. Photo: Sri Krishnan Temple

Published: 9:00am, 11 May 2020Updated: 10:49am, 11 May 2020

This was supposed to be a momentous year for the Sri Krishnan Temple, a Hindu temple located in downtown Singapore. It was planning to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a big bash, with bursaries slated to be given out to tertiary students.

Then the coronavirus outbreak hit. With a blanket ban on all religious gatherings enacted in the city state since March 26, the temple has been empty and eerily quiet.

Collections fell by 45 per cent between January and March this year, compared with the same period last year. The Sri Krishnan Temple is burning through cash reserves to pay for utilities and wages for its 10 workers. The only inflow of cash currently comes from payments made by devotees for temple prayers.

If the situation does not improve quickly, the temple could even resort to tapping a sum of money that has been set aside to extend the lease of the land it sits on, when it expires in 2028.

“We hope we don’t have to touch the fund,” said temple chairman P. Sivaraman. “We have no idea how long this pandemic will go on and how fast we can recover. A hand-to-mouth situation could arise.”

On the other side of the island, the 16,000-member City Harvest Church (CHC) is flexing its financial muscles to help affected members.

Coronavirus: in Singapore, small religious groups pray for survival as donations dry up

Some are dipping into their reserves to keep operations running as the pandemic poses an existential threat In contrast, religious groups with thousands of followers and millions in savings are well buffered, with some even providing financial assistance to worshippers

Some are dipping into their reserves to keep operations running as the pandemic poses an existential threat

In contrast, religious groups with thousands of followers and millions in savings are well buffered, with some even providing financial assistance to worshippers