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Philippines Protestantism
From the start, Protestant churches in the Philippines were
plagued by disunity and schisms. At one point after World War II,
there were more than 200 denominations representing less than 3
percent of the populace. Successful mergers of some denominations
into the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the
formation of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines
(NCCP) brought a degree of order. In the 1990s, there remained a
deep gulf and considerable antagonism, however, between middleclass -oriented NCCP churches and the scores of more evangelical
denominations sprinkled throughout the islands.
Protestantism has always been associated with United States
influence in the Philippines. All major denominations in the
United States, and some minor ones, sent missions to the
Philippines, where they found the most fertile ground for
conversions among some of the upland tribes not yet reached by
Catholic priests and among the urban middle class. Most American
school teachers who pioneered in the new Philippine public school
system also were Protestants, and they laid the groundwork for
Protestant churches in many lowland barrios. Filipinos who
converted to Protestantism often experienced significant upward
social mobility in the American colonial period. Most were
middle-level bureaucrats, servants, lawyers, or small
entrepreneurs, and some became nationally prominent despite their
minority religious adherence.
Protestant missionaries made major contributions in the
fields of education and medicine. Throughout the islands,
Protestant churches set up clinics and hospitals. They also
constructed private schools, including such outstanding
institutions of higher education as Central Philippine
University, Silliman University, Philippine Christian College,
and Dansalan Junior College in Marawi.
The denominations planted by the early missionaries numbered
among their adherents about 2 percent of the population in the
late 1980s. Their influence was supplemented, if not
overshadowed, by a number of evangelical and charismatic churches
and para-religious groups, such as New Tribes Mission, World
Vision, and Campus Crusade for Christ, which became active after
World War II. Increased activity by these religious groups did
not mean that the country had ceased to be primarily Catholic or
that the older Protestant churches had lost their influence. It
did indicate that nominal Catholics might be less involved in
parish activities than ever, that the older Protestant churches
had new rivals, and that, in general, religious competition had
increased.
An indication of this trend is seen in the change in the
affiliation of missionaries coming to the Philippines. In 1986
there were 1,931 non-Roman Catholic missionaries, not counting
those identified with the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day
Saints. Of these, only sixty-three were from the denominations
that sent missionaries in the early 1900s. The rest were from
fundamentalist churches or para-church groups (the terms are not
necessarily exclusive).
Data as of June 1991
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