Philippines

Dissolution of Indigenous Culture

Originally, the main islands (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao) were not under a central or national government before the coming of the Spaniards in the 15th century. As individually separate territories, they existed with their own simple form of government, peaceful economic activities, and naïve systems of worship. When the Spaniards came, the Indo-Malay tradition was totally replaced by a European orientation. Society became far more patriarchal and elitist. The islands were lumped together under the new name “Philippines” (after the Spanish king, Philip II). Persons, towns, cities, streets, vessels, and schools were named after saints, priests, Spanish kings or queens, or the Holy Family. The indigenous barangay (unit of government ruled by a datu and composed of 30–100 households) was changed into the rigidity of pueblos (towns) ruled by autocratic friars. The Bible was a secret book exclusive to the friars. Roman Catholicism as the state religion buried in oblivion the Bathala (“God”), the anito (“spirit of dead ancestor”), and nature worship of the indigenous communities. Sacraments and fiestas became important parts of the faith. Mass conversion of the early people was done by force. Muslim leaders in Manila were converted to Christianity, except for the Muslims in Mindanao.

After the Philippines became an American colony in 1898, Protestant Christianity helped disestablish Roman Catholicism as the state religion and introduced the ideas of liberalism and secularism: religious liberty, lay ministry, justice, democracy, public education, equality, and a democratizing religious tradition, namely, Methodism. The occupation by the Japanese in World War II, on the other hand, had little religious impact in terms of the variety of religions since the Japanese control was primarily an expansion of territory and power. The Japanese imperial army did desanctify the religious traditions of the Filipinos, however, by not allowing them to practice their faith.

At the end of the 19tn century, the aspirations of the Filipinos for independence from the Spanish colonizers and a desire for the Filipinization of the Catholic Church helped foment a series of revolts led by Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Bonifacio. Gregorio Aglipay, a Catholic priest, joined the revolt and, later, at the beginning of the 20th century, founded his own religious movement—the First Filipino Catholic Church, also known as the Philippine Independent Church or the Aglipayan Church.

From the early colonization up to the Japanese period, the islands were in indescribable chaos, as [Page 990]manifested by a series of evacuations of people, summary execution, revolts, the death of innocent civilians, and religious prejudices among the Christian converts, Muslims, and folk religionists.

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