Religion and the Modern World

- from "Twin Verses" in
Anthology of World Scriptures by
R. Van Voorst (2000:91)

No doubt, the terrible tragedies that have befallen Israel, the United States, Afghanistan, and other countries at the beginning of this new century have made religion a hot topic in people's minds. Throughout history, one finds that  most people and nations have acted in varying accordance with their known religious beliefs in conducting their private lives and in relating with those outside of the self, the family, the group, even the nation.

Although a sizeable but unknown percentage of the American population, for instance, is said to be composed of atheists or non-members of any religious groups, religion or spiritual longing and interpretation is deeply ingrained in the customs and habits of different cultures worldwide.

Some countries have official religion for the land, or so-called state religions. Those who adhere to the principle of separating matters of government from spiritual matters nonetheless have religious underpinnings in their systems of governance, ethics and law.

In the Philippines, no individual passes from birth to death without experiencing the impact of religion in daily affairs, whether he belongs to a certain group or not. One observer notes:

"The results of 400 years of Catholicism were mixed -- ranging from deep theological understanding by the educated elite to a more superficial understanding by the rural and urban masses. The latter is commonly referred to as Filipino folk Christianity..." (Miller, 1982)

Religion - or the profession of a body of faith or beliefs organized into doctrines and  manifested in a collection of norms and rites - intended to guide particular behaviors or interpretation of particular events - performed a vital function in ancient world and which continues to this day. In earlier epochs, religion was present among our ancestors as they performed elaborate and mythical rites in anticipation of, or gratitude for, things like victory, rain or a good harvest. It helped to make unexpected or strange phenomena intelligible at a time of raw and unsophisticated knowledge. In the Philippines,

"(t)he pre-Hispanic belief system of the Filipinos consisted of a pantheon of gods, spirits, creatures, and men that guarded the streams, fields, tress, mountains, forests and houses. Bathala, who created eath and man, was superior to theses other gods and spirits." (Miller 1982)