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Philippines Historical Background
Spanish colonialism had, from its formal inception in 1565
with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi, as its principal
raison d'ętre the conversion of the inhabitants to Christianity.
When Legazpi embarked on his conversion efforts, most Filipinos
were still practicing a form of polytheism, although some as far
north as Manila had converted to Islam. For the majority,
religion still consisted of sacrifices and incantations to
spirits believed to be inhabiting field and sky, home and garden,
and other dwelling places both human and natural. Malevolent
spirits could bring harm in the form of illness or accident,
whereas benevolent spirits, such as those of one's ancestors,
could bring prosperity in the form of good weather and bountiful
crops. Shamans were called upon to communicate with these spirits
on behalf of village and family, and propitiation ceremonies were
a common part of village life and ritual. Such beliefs continued
to influence the religious practices of many upland tribal groups
in the modern period.
The religious system that conquistadors and priests imported
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was superimposed on
this polytheistic base. Filipinos who converted to Catholicism
did not shed their earlier beliefs but superimposed the new on
the old. Saints took primacy over spirits, the Mass over
propitiation ceremonies, and priests over shamans. This mixing of
different religious beliefs and practices marked Philippine
Catholicism from the start.
From its inception, Catholicism was deeply influenced by the
prejudices, strategies, and policies of the Catholic religious
orders. Known collectively as friars, the orders of the
Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans, and others, and the
Jesuits turned out to be just about the only Caucasians willing
to dedicate their lives to converting and ministering to Spain's
subject population in the Philippines. They divided the
archipelago into distinct territories, learned the vernaculars
appropriate to each region, and put down roots in the rural
Philippines where they quickly became founts of wisdom for
uneducated and unsophisticated local inhabitants
(see The Friarocracy
, ch. 1). Because most secular colonial officials had
no intention of living so far from home any longer than it took
to turn a handsome profit, friars took on the roles of the
crown's representatives and interpreters of government policies
in the countryside.
The close relationship between church and state proved to be
a liability when the Philippines was swept by nationalistic
revolt in the late nineteenth century and Filipino priests seized
churches and proclaimed the Independent Philippine Church
(Iglesia Filipina Independiente). After the American occupation,
Protestant missionaries came and established churches and helped
to spread American culture.
Data as of June 1991
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