Public
Life and Religion
Social science is replete with questions of how much of
politics and religious matters should mix when it comes to determining public policies.
For although the two appear separable and by law ought to be, contemporary Philippine
political history is a witness to how much influence religious groups or movements have on
some of the most urgent and vital national issues. This is not without precedent in this
predominantly Catholic land as Jose Rizal's undying novels, still taught in the country's
secondary schools, bear witness to.
At the very heart of the citizen
In fact one could say that the
hundreds of years of Christianity and other faiths in the country have gone to the very
essence of being Filipino. Citizenship has been as much a responsibility of the churches
to promote as well the government's, in great measure perhaps owing to the poverty of the
people and inability of government to attend to each and every inhabitant. No religious
group fails to establish doctrines and opinions on every significant secular matter. No
Administration, from the national government down to the village level, has assumed
power and exercised it without an eye to the preferences and political muscle of the
different churches and religious movements.
This does not mean that every Filipino
belonging to a certain faith observes his group's tenets, religious or political; but in
the Philippines one cannot fail to notice how voting and non-voting adults have some
awareness of each group's political leanings. Or how certain government policies bear on
the beliefs of certain groups. Thus to be a citizen in the Philippines means being aware
not only of matters of government, but also of religious dynamics from the level of the
neighborhood prayer associations to the politico-religious internecine at the
nation's capital, Manila.
| Religion
and the birth of the nation |
For centuries, when Spain ruled the archipelago using both
soldiers and friars, politics and economics were dealt with in consultation with the
authorities of the religion of the Empire, Roman Catholicism. The souls of the
"indios" or the indigenous people were the domains of priests, but sometimes
even the former's management of personal businesses, particularly if they were from the
more endowed class and aspiring to be closer to the Spanish rulers. A reading of the
Spanish colonial history may not indicate which had the upper hand in governing this
colony at any one time: the church hierarchy or the civil government. Collision between
the two interests often ended up in ways that favored the religious establishment.
|
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The Heroic Confession: A Novel
by Teodoro M. Locsin |
| Nationalistic movements against Spain thus had to confront not
only the secular authorities; pro-independence fighters must struggle against the
influence of a pacific religion whose doctrines called for the submission of the
individual will to the current hegemony of Spain and its colonial government all over the
world. A nation that emerged from this context carried its idiosyncrasies to the present
where politician and priest speak the same language. |
Cues and ties
It is therefore not surprising that in the country
today, Filipinos unconsciously look for cues from their religious leaders about how to
regard politicians, their platforms, and their activities. The power of spiritual advice
drawn from centuries of experience reverberates in varying measures among different
religious classes. Such influence, nonetheless, has sometimes made governing
difficult and confusing at best, and captive to the inefficient patron-client system at
worst. Some might say that intermingling of the spiritual and the secular is good neither
for government nor for church; but then wouldn't it be hard to practice your faith if the
government neglects you? And, conversely, wouldn't it be difficult to participate in
politics if your beliefs predispose you towards one spectrum alone? Thus both the
religious and the political appear to have certain claims from each other.
Definitely it is central to issue of viability of democracy for Third World countries such
as the Philippines.
The Philippines is not alone in experiencing the
consequences of mixing the Roman faith with systems of governance; Spanish conquests in
other parts of the world like Latin America also made effective use of the doctrines of
the Church to facilitate [cultural] colonization. The cross, with its "impressive
display of pomp and circumstance, clerical garbs, images, prayers, and liturgy" was
even better than the sword in enticing the natives to the new rulers. Read the essay: Religion in the Philippines
Religion had also been used by the Americans when
their turn came to be imperial in the world stage. In the Philippines, the use of religion
by the American masters was more subtle and oriented more towards the capitalist system.
Read: Religion and Secularization in the
Philippines and Other Asian Countries
Government and soul: the policy nexus
 
Photos by: hoydigiteer.org,
2001
<http://www.geocities.com/hoydigiteer/edsa2/>
This module is unable to catalog the political
opinions held by the different religious groups in the country. However, a casual glimpse
at some political battles and direction of programs in the following areas will show that
religious influence is alive and well:
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