Article 1: Religion in the Philippines

by Jack Miller

The Philippines proudly boasts to be the only Christian nation in Asia. More than 86 percent of
the population is Roman Catholic, 6 percent belong to various nationalized Christian cults, and
another 2 percent belong to well over 100 Protestant denominations. In addition to the Christian
majority, there is a vigorous 4 percent Muslim minority, concentrated on the southern islands of
Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan. Scattered in isolated mountainous regions, the remaining 2
percent follow non-Western, indigenous beliefs and practices. The Chinese minority, although
statistically insignificant, has been culturally influential in coloring Filipino Catholicism with
many of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

The pre-Hispanic belief system of Filipinos consisted of a pantheon of gods, spirits, creatures,
and men that guarded the streams, fields, trees, mountains, forests, and houses. Bathala, who
created earth and man, was superior to these other gods and spirits. Regular sacrifices and
prayers were offered to placate these deities and spirits--some of which were benevolent, some
malevolent. Wood and metal images represented ancestral spirits, and no distinction was made
between the spirits and their physical symbol. Reward or punishment after death was dependent
upon behavior in this life.

Anyone who had reputed power over the supernatural and natural was automatically elevated to
a position of prominence. Every village had its share of shamans and priests who competitively
plied their talents and carried on ritual curing. Many gained renown for their ability to develop
anting-anting, a charm guaranteed to make a person invincible in the face of human enemies.
Other sorcerers concocted love potions or produced amulets that made their owners invisible.

Upon this indigenous religious base two foreign religions were introduced -- Islam and
Christianity -- and a process of cultural adaptation and synthesis began that is still evolving.
Spain introduced Christianity to the Philippines in 1565 with the arrival of Miguel Lopez de
Legaspi. Earlier, beginning in 1350, Islam had been spreading northward from Indonesia into the
Philippine archipelago. By the time the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, Islam was firmly
established on Mindanao and Sulu and had outposts on Cebu and Luzon. At the time of the
Spanish arrival, the Muslim areas had the highest and most politically integrated culture on the
islands and, given more time, would probably have unified the entire archipelago. Carrying on
their historical tradition of expelling the Jews and Moros [Moors] from Spain (a commitment to
eliminating any non-Christians), Legaspi quickly dispersed the Muslims from Luzon and the
Visayan islands and began the process of Christianization. Dominance over the Muslims on
Mindanao and Sulu, however, was never achieved during three centuries of Spanish rule. During
American rule in the first half of this century the Muslims were never totally pacified during the
so-called "Moro Wars." Since independence, particularly in the last decade, there has been
resistance by large segments of the Muslim population to national integration. Many feel, with
just cause, that integration amounts to cultural and psychological genocide. For over ten years
the Moro National Liberation Front has been waging a war of secession against the Marcos
government.
While Islam was contained in the southern islands, Spain conquered and converted the remainder
of the islands to Hispanic Christianity. The Spanish seldom had to resort to military force to win
over converts, instead the impressive display of pomp and circumstance, clerical garb, images,
prayers, and liturgy attracted the rural populace. To protect the population from Muslim slave
raiders, the people were resettled from isolated dispersed hamlets and brought "debajo de las
companas" (under the bells), into Spanish organized pueblos. This set a pattern that is evident in
modern Philippine Christian towns. These pueblos had both civil and ecclesiastical authority; the
dominant power during the Spanish period was in the hands of the parish priest. The church,
situated on a central plaza, became the locus of town life. Masses, confessions, baptisms,
funerals, marriages punctuated the tedium of everyday routines. The church calendar set the pace
and rhythm of daily life according to fiesta and liturgical seasons. Market places and cockfight
pits sprang up near church walls. Gossip and goods were exchanged and villagers found "both
restraint and release under the bells." The results of 400 years of Catholicism were mixed --
ranging from a 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, combining a surface veneer of Christian monotheism and dogma with indigenous
animism. It may manifest itself in farmers seeking religious blessings on their rice seed before
planting or in the placement of a bamboo cross at the comer of a rice field to prevent damage by
insects. It may also take the form of a folk healer using Roman Catholic symbols and liturgy
mixed with pre-Hispanic rituals.

When the United States took over the Philippines in the first half of the century, the justifications
for colonizing were to Christianize and democratize. The feeling was that these goals could be
achieved only through mass education (up until then education was reserved for a small elite).
Most of the teachers who went to the Philippines were Protestants, many were even Protestant
ministers. There was a strong prejudice among some of these teachers against Catholics. Since
this Protestant group instituted and controlled the system of public education in the Philippines
during the American colonial period, it exerted a strong influence. Subsequently the balance has
shifted to reflect much stronger influence by the Catholic majority.

During the period of armed rebellion against Spain, a nationalized church was organized under
Gregorio Aglipay, who was made "Spiritual head of the Nation Under Arms." Spanish bishops
were deposed and arrested, and church property was turned over to the Aglipayans. In the early
part of the 20th century the numbers of Aglipayans peaked at 25 to 33 percent of the population.
Today they have declined to about 5 percent and are associated with the Protestant Episcopal
Church of the United States. Another dynamic nationalized Christian sect is the lglesia ni Kristo,
begun around 1914 and founded by Felix Manolo Ysagun. Along with the Aglipayans and
Iglesia ni Kristo, there have been a proliferation of Rizalist sects, claiming the martyred hero of
Philippine nationalism, Jose B. Rizal as the second son of God and a reincarnation of Christ.
Leaders of these sects themselves often claim to be reincarnations of Rizal, Mary, or leaders of
the revolution; claim that the apocalypse is at hand for non-believers; and claim that one can find
salvation and heaven by joining the group. These groups range from the Colorums of the 1920s
and 1930s to the sophisticated P.B.M.A. (Philippine Benevolent Missionary Association, headed
by Ruben Ecleo). Most of those who follow these cults are the poor, dispossessed, and dislocated
and feel alienated from the Catholic church.
The current challenge to the supremacy of the Catholic church comes from a variety of small
sects -- from the fundamentalist Christian groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day
Adventists, to the lglesia ni Kristo and Rizalists. The Roman Catholics suffer from a lack of
personnel (the priest to people ratio is exceedingly low), putting them at a disadvantage in
gaining and maintaining popular support. The Catholic church is seeking to meet this challenge
by establishing an increasingly native clergy and by engaging in programs geared to social action
and human rights among the rural and urban poor. In many cases this activity has led to friction
between the church and the Marcos government, resulting in arrests of priests, nuns, and lay
people on charges of subversion. In the "war for souls" this may be a necessary sacrifice. At
present the largest growing religious sector falls within the province of these smaller, grass roots
sects; but only time will tell where the percentages will finally rest.

For Further Reference

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. Short History of the Philippines. New York: Mentor

Books, 1969.

Carroll, John J., and others. Philippine Institutions. Manila: Solidaridad,

1970.

Chaffee, Frederic H., and others. Area Handbook for the Philippines.
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1969.

Corpuz, Onofre D. The Philippines. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall;

Spectrum Books, paper, 1965.

Gowing, Peter G., and Robert D. McArnis, eds. The Muslim Filipinos. Manila:
Solidaridad, 1974.

Mercado, Leonardo N., ed. Filipino Religious Psychology. Tacloban City,

Philippines: Divine Word University, 1977.

Ramos, Maximo D. Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Quezon City,

Philippines: University of the Philippines Press, 1971.

Sturtevant, David R. Popular Uprisings in the-Philippines, 1840-1940. Ithaca:

Cornell University Press, 1976.

DE: Jack Miller for the Asia Society's Focus on Asian Studies, Vol. II, No. 1, Asian Religions,
pp. 26-27, Fall 1982. Copyright AskAsia, 1996.