Religion and Politics in the Philippines Essay

I. What Struck Me?i. The Roman Catholic church building as an organized and institutionalized religion has had a significant role in and impact on Filipino political life. In recent quantifys it served as the primary locus over against the dictatorship of the Marcos governing and facilitated the 1986 People Power revolt that restored democratic structures and processes.ii. The performs efforts to befriend balance and establish boundaries of power in the Filipino polity rove around the axis of clean, h whizzst and fair elections.Key church leaders do not call for the patience to study issues in depth and, comparable ordinary citizens, lose interest once the winning candidates take office.iii. .the to a greater extent win over explanation for the uncouths poverty and underdevelopment lies much with how the elite group factions compete for control over people, production, markets and resources and the success with which the winning faction, acting as patrons to government bu reaucrats and politicians, uses the apparatus of the state to pass or enforce laws and policies which maintain or promote their class interests.2. Agree or Disagree?i. With the prototypical point I consider striking, I agree with it because I cogitate its an obvious fact, entirely I would like to comment on the fact itself. faith, most of which, if not all, was Roman Catholic, played a life-sized part in the Filipinos fight for body politic. Without the countless nuns and other unearthly reputation uttering their respective prayers while holding their rosary, the result of the People Power alteration could have been different,not to mention the fact that Pres. Corazon Aquino, herself, was a devoted Christian. provided now, the religious sect failed to be of great help in maintaining the democracy we all once fought for. Its salutary too ironic to experience that while Roman Catholic built back Democracy, it might just be the same background for its downfall.ii. I agree . Its not a secret to Filipinos that church leaders are one of the most important personalities in terms of choosing a candidate for election. Worth the mention would be the Iglesia Ni Cristo group who are known for voting the candidate coveted by their leader. Once their head announces his choice, everyone would be saved from wasting time thinking about what name they should write in their ballots. But later election, not a ruckus will be heard again about the relationship of the INC leader and the candidate he chose, no one would even know if they could still re section each others name. What the author posits in his contention is that the church, of whatever religion it whitethorn be, should not leave everything to the candidate after e has won. If church leaders unfeignedly are for a good government, they shall not end their quest for it in just choosing a candidate. What lies ahead of that candidate after election is a bigger deal, something not a even an acolyte should ign ore.iii. The last one may be the most interesting one. When were asked about what we think is the reason why our country has neer gone farther than being a developing country, we often order its the lack of discipline on the side of the Filipinos, the unresolvable unemployment, or CORRUPTION. The last one is the most frequently-heard response, plainly the author here says that theres a more convincing reason as to why we remain poorthe elite factions of the country and their ways of running the economy which then reflects to our current global standing. This has been unequivocal in the Philippines, may just not be known to everyone but reality speaks, this country is ruled by oligarchs, and how weve become now economically, its their doing. This has been opened up once by the late Angelo Reyes, that cabinet member who shot himself when he has been faced by countless accusations which included development the money of the government which amounted to billions for personal purpo ses.3. Authors Conclusion and My discernmentThe author concludes that the church should widen the scope and breadth of practicing what it seriously preaches. I believe that yes, they should go beyond what they normally do and what they thought the solo thing they could do. What priests preach shall reflect what church does. Philippines is undeniably a religious country, not to mention her being the Asian country with the biggest number of Christians, and with this, we could say that what the church says is a big deal for everyone. Democracy and religion may be two different planets, but what we have here is a religious Filipino who lives in a democratic Philippines, so the church plays and may continue to play a big role in the democratization of the Filipino polity, and she can do big.Questionsi. I may have agreed to the contentions of the writer, but all those time, I was wondering if letting the Church meddle in the affairs of the state, specifically political, would not viola te the purvey on Article II, Section 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which declares that detachment of State and Church shall be inviolable.ii. The author often asserts that the social teachings of the Church would be the best tool in changing this country to be more democratic. Isnt he aware of the fact that these teachings are never even proven to have penetrated the corrupt hearts of an individual, how much more a polity?iii. The Church is said to be one of the agents for nation-building, what travel has the Church taken to live up to her purpose as a nation-builder? 2 . See, for instance, the three papers presented in the 1989 symposium on religion and governance in the Philippines sponsored by the Association of Asian Studies, namely Gretchen Casper, The Changing Politicization of thePhilippine Roman Catholic Church, 19721988 Robert Youngblood, Aquino and the Churches A Constructive Critical Solidarity? and Lela Garner Noble, Religion and Opposition to the Marcos Regi me, in Pilipinas 13 (Fall 1989) 4355, 5772 and 7387 respectively.