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CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES 
 
 

Delfo C. Canceran, OP 
(De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines) 

 
 
 
Abstract: This paper will discuss in a broad stroke Christianity in the Philippines. 
According to the 2020 religion census, at least 84% of the population is Christian in their 
religious affiliation.About 79% belong to the Catholic Church while about 6% belong to 
Protestant Churches (Wikipedia). Christianity was an external religion introduced and 
imposed by the Spaniards in the Philippines. As an external religion, it did not completely 
abrogate the indigenous religion in the mentalities and practices of the Filipinos. Our 
Christian religion blends with our indigenous religion. The indigenous religion is 
articulated in our popular religiosity or devotion as we can see in the festivities of the 
Black Nazarene in Manila City and Santo Niño in Cebu City (Canceran, 2016). Although 
Christianity has been introduced for centuries, it did not penetrate the mentalities and 
embed in the practices of Filipinos. Filipinos have been historically Hispanized (1521-
1898) and Americanized (1898-1946). In effect, Filipinos have become hybridized 
identities. The Filipinos have accepted Christianity because it is congruent to the 
indigenous religion believing in Bathala, Diwata and Anito corresponding to God, Angel 
and Saint (Canceran, 1994).    
 
    

HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDS  
 
We start with history since it has an enduring influence on the present and future of Christianity in the 
Philippines (Schumacher, 1979; Anderson, 1969). Colonization is a disturbance or intervention in the 
historical formation of people that eventually formed or deformed our society and church (Cosmao, 
1985). Although such disturbance or intervention already happened in the distant past, we still must 
reflect on its consequences and learn from their lessons, lest we repeat the same history. This return to 
history calls for decolonization. Decolonization frees our minds from captivity and attains the autonomy 
of our country (Alatas, 2006).    
 
SPANISH CATHOLICISM   

 
The Church and the Empire represented by the pope and the king were hierarchized and united in the 
colonization. This hierarchy and unity are based on the relationship between the soul and body. The soul 
is higher than the body and the body depends on the soul. The pope belongs to the spiritual while the king 
belongs to the material. The pope precedes the king. But they are linked. The king was a benefactor of the 
church and the implementor of Christianity.  The church in turn provided privilege to the king. This was 
called the patronato real. The Pope divided the world into two parts, one for Spain and other for Portugal. 
The pope through a papal bull authorized the Spanish king to colonize the new world and lead the 
Christianization. For the church, the main objective of the colonization was Christianization, and 
colonization was only justified by that purpose. Thus, Christianity came to the Philippines through 
colonization (Phelan, 1959).   

The Christianization of the new world showed the achievement of Spain as a global power.  The 
Spanish empire achieved their global power by exploring and discovering the world. However, it did not 
stop in the exploration and discovery of the new world, but continued through eventual conquest and 
colonization. The Spaniards landed in the Philippine Islands and began the colonization. At the beginning, 



Canceran, “Christianity in the Philippines” 

Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  19 

the Spaniards were united in Christianization. The colonizers brought both their weapons and religion 
symbolized by the sword and the cross. Wherever the friars went, soldiers would accompany and protect 
them (Bernard, 1972).   

Having occupied the island, the Spaniards saw the potential economic benefits of the islands. 
They also needed economic support for their existence and survival. They then exploited both the natural 
and the human resources of the land. Thus, glory, God and gold coalesced in the colonization. The 
Spaniards were both material and spiritual conquerors.1 Here we have the satisfaction of both the soul and 
the body through religion and wealth.  They then exacted and collected taxes from the natives. In 
exchange, the Spaniards would protect and evangelize the natives. The encomienda system was a 
privilege given to the Spaniards in exchange for their contribution to colonization. These encomiederos 
imposed and collected taxes from the people.  Unfortunately, the encomienderos failed to deliver these 
duties to the natives. Instead, they abused their privileges at the expense of the natives. The natives 
resisted these taxes and abhorred these abuses. Some natives left their houses and settled in the mountains 
as a refusal to submit to the authority of the Spaniards (Forster, 1956).    

In the Synod of Manila, the missionary friars agreed that they would learn the native languages to 
teach catechism to the natives. This strategy deviated the usual method of Christianization in the case of 
the Americas. Instead of the Spaniards teaching Spanish to the natives, they would rather learn their 
native languages and translate the Spanish catechisms into the native languages. The friars would use the 
native languages in the Christianization of the natives. The friars printed catechism books for the use of 
the Spaniards in the Christianization of the natives. This method sounded favorable to the natives and 
seemed to show the benevolence of the Spaniards. However, this impression was not the case. The friars 
learned the native language in order to have more control over the natives. The Spaniards did not just 
conquer the lands but also the natives, minds. Generally, the natives then did not learn the Spanish 
language (Porras, 1990).   

 
AMERICAN PROTESTANTISM 
 
The Philippines was surrendered by Spain to the US in exchange for an amount. It appeared that the 
Philippines was owned by Spain and sold to the US. Only the two empires – one falling and the other 
rising – were representing the country like a seller and a buyer in a market. The Filipinos were non-
existent. Unlike the Spanish unity of the church and empire, the American empire was separated from the 
church. There was a separation of church and state. The American empire occupied the Philippines and 
governed the people. The Americans were preoccupied with the government of the country and engrossed 
with the justification of the colonization. Having witnessed the Spanish atrocities, the Filipinos were 
pursuing their independence from colonization. They learned from the Spanish empire and they 
envisioned their independence. However, the Americans thought that the Filipinos were still unprepared 
for independence. Thus, they still needed to be taught or trained by the Americans. Thus, the 
independence was belated. Just like other colonizers, the Americans invoked the logic of backwardness as 
a justification for the continued colonization. They deployed or mobilized the binary logic of prepared 
Americans and unprepared Filipinos. Thus, the Filipinos who owed their preparation from the Americans 
sacrificed in modernizing or being civilizing by them (Clymer, 1986).   

Comparatively, the American empire did not concentrate on religion but on education. They 
founded public school systems to educate the Filipinos on the American way. They taught English 
language among the Filipinos. Language is the carrier or expression of culture. Thus, Filipinos were 
Americanized. Unlike the Spaniards who learned the native languages, the Americans taught their native 
language to the Filipinos. In a way, the Filipinos were unified by the English language. However, they 
were also pushed into elitism.  Language became the standard or distinction of inclusion. The Americans 

 
1 Aside from economic (gold) and religious (God) motives of Spain as a global power (glory) , the Spaniards were also 

in search for the Spice Islands.  During those times, spices were a luxury item and status symbol of social distinction (Freedman, 
2004).  



Canceran, “Christianity in the Philippines” 

Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  20 

opened their world to the Filipinos through use of the English language. The natives entered into that 
world of the Americans not as co-equals but as “little brown Americans.” That description included the 
body in terms of size (little) and in terms of race (brown) people. Thus, Filipinos were contrasted from the 
Americans as the standard of humanity being tall and white people.  Education became an instrument in 
the colonization of the minds of the Filipinos. In learning the English language, the Filipinos entered into 
their world and inculcated the superiority of the American civilization. They then developed a colonial 
mentality of Uncle Sam as the representation of the American people.    

The Protestant missionaries immediately went to the Philippines for the mission of 
evangelization. They took advantage of the American occupation in the country. They taught that the 
Filipinos were not yet well evangelized; instead, they were taught superstitions. Having that assessment, 
these missionaries justified their presence in the country. Thus, these missionaries propagated the 
Christian faith. They were scattered in various parts of the country and established their churches in those 
areas. Unlike the missionary friars, the protestant missionaries did not limit themselves to religion but 
also included some public services like medical mission to the Filipinos. They wanted to attract more 
Filipinos to their faith by offering services to them. Nonetheless, they were unable to recruit more 
members since the Filipinos were more interested in independence as they were already accustomed to 
Catholicism (Suarez, 1999).   

The protestant missionaries cooperated with the American government by supporting them in the 
occupation. Although they preached religion and acknowledged their separation from the state, they 
nonetheless agreed on the colonization of the Philippines. These protestant missionaries were invited to 
share their views on the American occupation and the Filipino independence, and they were unanimous 
on the continuity of the American occupation of the country. They followed the same American logic. 
The Filipinos were still unprepared, and they needed more education to civilize them in the American 
way. In that logic, they would also justify their presence in the country and continue their mission of 
evangelization. To appease the Filipinos, the American Empire recruited more Filipinos in the 
management of the country. The protestant missionaries trained more Filipino preachers into their 
churches (Apilado, 1999).   

Let us now summarize the Spanish and the American empires. In the Spanish empire, the 
missionary friars were more powerful than their civilian counterparts. The logic then was the hierarchy 
between the spiritual and the temporal and the primacy of the spiritual over and above the temporal. The 
spiritual realm belonged to the domain of the church while the temporal belonged to the realm of the 
State. Thus, the friars claimed ascendancy in the colony.  Moreover, they also had bigger numbers than 
their civilian counterparts. Since they were widely spread all over the islandss, they had direct interaction 
and control over the natives. In their respective territorial assignments, they exercised tremendous powers 
over the natives. Their presence was felt by the people in their respective parishes. They then 
overpowered the civilian authorities in many ways.   

In the American empire, the protestant missionaries were separated from their civilian 
counterparts due to the provision of the separation of the church and state. Although these missionaries 
were consulted by the civilian government on colonization, they were independent from the state in their 
mission efforts. They were then subservient to the government and dependent on the policy of the state. 
They joined the government in the extension of the colonization since they also benefited from that 
option.  

The missionary friars were able to enter into the world of the natives by learning their language. 
This decision seemed advantageous to the natives since they were not required to learn the Spanish 
language, and friars seemed to acknowledge the potential of the native language in Christianization. 
However, the learning of the native language added more power to the friars since they increased their 
power in control of the minds of the natives. Moreover, learning the native language was not automatic. 
They cleansed the native language from traces or intrusion of native religion since they considered it as 
paganism. They replaced pagan terms with Christian words or equivalences. Since the contents of the 
catechism was composed of both native and Catholic terms, they created a barrier of effective 
communication. Thus, the natives interpreted their words from their local knowledge. There was then a 



Canceran, “Christianity in the Philippines” 

Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  21 

sort of  hybrid linguistic encounter. This may be the reason why the indigenous religions have remained 
in the form of popular religiosity or devotion among the Filipinos.2  

The Americans established the public school system and taught English language to the Filipinos. 
The Filipinos learned their language and that, in a way, unified the people. The Americans opened their 
world to the Filipinos by teaching them their language and by learning English. However, such opening 
of the American world to the Filipinos did not necessarily mean equality between them. The Filipinos 
remained subordinate to them. They were just accommodated by the Americans.  Since English language 
is a foreign or second language, Filipinos did not comparatively possess the same linguistic performance 
and competence of native speakers. There remained a gap of communication in their interaction. This gap 
might have hindered their understanding of their evangelization effort.  

Using the categories of Bonaventura de Sausa Santos, the Spaniards established an abysmal 
relationship with the natives by separating themselves from them. This separation was symbolized by the 
Intramuros in Manila where the Spaniards belonging to the elite class resided. The Spaniards put up a 
wall around their city and lived in that secluded place among themselves. In short, the Spaniards created a 
separate world from the natives. The natives remained outside consigned to a lower class of subhuman 
people. The Spaniardsrefused to teach thenatives their Spanish language. Rather, they learned the native 
language so that they could also invade the cognitive world of the natives. Their learning of the native 
language did not mean that they considered the natives as equal in status or in a respectful attitude. Using 
again the category made by Santos, the Americans established a non-abysmal relationship to the Filipinos, 
not by separating them or excluding them, but by relegating them to an inferior or subordinate class. In 
contrast, by teaching the English language to the Filipinos, the Americans opened their world to the 
Filipinos by accommodating them into their world. The Filipinos did not achieve equal status or get 
respect to for their differences. They were included in the world of the Americans by discriminating 
against them. In both the Spanish and American empires, the Filipinos suffered from racism being labeled 
as indio and small brown Americans. The colonizers and the colonized remained in an asymmetrical 
relationship in a social hierarchy. In both cases, there was inclusion by exclusion (Spaniards) and  
marginalization (Americans). For the Spaniards, there was exclusion by division. The Spaniards and the 
natives belonged to separate worlds while the Americans and the Filipinos belonged to an unequal world 
(See De Sousa Santos, 2018).   

    
IDEOLOGICAL INFLUENCES  
 
It is not just history that affects society and church; there are also other factors. We are also influenced by 
the social transformations around us. These influences come via communication like written publications 
and movements such as scholarship abroad. Scholars are influenced by their socialization in their studies 
and from their peers. These are communicated to the communities and pulpits. Some join the groups and 
movements.    
 
INFLUENCE OF MARXISM 
 
During the period of martial law, many priests and sisters were exposed to the poverty of the people and 
they commiserated with them. With the influence of the Vatican II documents, especially the church in 
the modern world, church people went to the native people and witnessed their joys and their sorrows. 
They were also influenced by Marxism in understanding poverty. They were infiltrated or taught by the 
leftists on this matter. Moreover, aside from leftism, these church people were also influenced by 
liberation theology from Latin America. Liberation theology deployed Marxist theory in understanding 

 
2 Although the Spaniards learned some native languages as their foreign languages, they could not possess the linguistic 

competence and linguistic performance of the native speakers. They would only know the surface structures but not necessarily 
the deep structures of these foreign languages (Hale, 2010; Chomsky, 2013). 



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Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  22 

pervasive poverty among the people. Having similar history of colonization and underdevelopment, these 
priests and sisters joined the leftist movements and some of them went underground (De La Torre, n.d.).  

Many priests and sisters were dissatisfied with the government and with its economic policies 
since these policies were indifferent to the plight of the poor. Coming from traditional politicians and 
family dynasties, these politicians in the government were motivated by their self-serving interests or 
class interests forgetting their campaign promises to the people. They were engaged in unchecked graft 
and corruption. Moreover, the government followed the dictates of some international institutions like the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) 
that disadvantaged the developing global north through imposition of structural adjustments to the 
advantage of the global north. Instead of developing the Philippines, they worsened the economic plight 
of the already poor (Aguilan, 2013).      

Religious people who were socialized in the Catholic institutions found themselves in a 
contradictory situation. Having been trained in elite institutions, the priests and sisters were also 
socialized in an elite class and transformed into an elite group. They lived in elite institutions that formed 
them into part of the elite class of priests and sisters and exalted them to elevated positions in society. 
However, knowing the debilitating plight of the poor, they underwent transformation of their lifestyles 
and opted to align themselves to the marginalized people. Having no other option, they made their 
individual decision to join the left and protest this injustice. This was not only impelled by the social 
teachings of the church on the church of the poor or option for the poor, but they experienced this poverty 
by either comingfrom poor families themselves or from being exposed to the poverty of the people.  
While waiting for the transformation of the Catholic institutions, these religious people walked both in the 
social transformation of their religious identities in line with the church and with the poor and the option 
for the poor. They needed to unlearn their elite baggage and re-socialized themselves to the plight of the 
poor (Nadeau, 2002).  

Due to ideological differences, the left was polarized. The polarization consisted of three factions: 
the reaffirmists, the rejectionists, and a third force. The reaffirmists consisted of the loyal members of the 
founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), namely, Joma Sison; the rejectionists consisted 
of the separationist members of the founder, and the third force consisted mostly of church people who 
split from the leftist group. The progressive or radical church people formed their own group unlinking 
themselves from these two groups. These church people continued their work with the poor and struggled 
with the poor independent from the other groups. Although there was a third force, it did not mean that all 
the progressive or radical church people joined it. Some stuck to the founder of the party, while some 
joined the separate group. This division of the left affected church people since that polarization was 
extended to their congregations, and religious people were ideologically divided among themselves in 
their alliances. This polarization remains today (Jong, 2016).  

  
INFLUENCE OF FEMINISM 
 
Church people were also influenced by feminism and the feminist movement. This brand of feminism 
came from the west. A debate sparked in the leftist circle on the relationship between class analysis and 
gender analysis. Some wanted to subsume gender analysis under the umbrella of class analysis while 
others questioned this subsumption. This subsuming would mean the continuing subordination of women 
since their concern was secondary. For class analysis believers, class analysis precedes gender analysis 
since many Filipinos were literally or economically impoverished and needed immediate response and 
help. When they already met or satisfied their basic needs, then they could attend to gender analysis. 
Thus, gender analysis was postponed. Some viewed gender analysis as separate from class analysis. In 
this case, women and mothers belonged to poor families and due to that class belonging, they suffered 
from poverty. Others argued that gender analysis and class analysis can be done simultaneously and 
complementarily since there is the phenomenon of the feminization of poverty wherein women and 
mothers have suffered more from the impact of poverty. In this case, the intersection of gender and class 
could enrich their analysis of the condition of women and mothers. Religious sisters joined the feminist 



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Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  23 

movements like General Assembly Binding Women for Reform, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and 
Action (GABRIELA)and worked with women and mothers to alleviate their plight in the areas of human 
trafficking and domestic violence (Roces, 2012).   

This feminist movement came or grew from liberation theology. Some members of religious 
people who embraced liberation theology and feminist theology integrated class analysis and gender 
analysis. The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) espoused liberation 
theology that attracted scholars from the Philippines. This association is participated in by some religious 
women who contributed to journals and books on the poverty of women and advocacy for their welfare. 
They expanded their analyses and included gender in class analyses and deployed these analyses. They 
criticized both the injustice of poverty and the inequality of women. However, they had to criticize not 
just the injustice and inequality in society but also in their own backyard, that is, intheir own churches and 
their own associations. In this case, they had to criticize the prevailing unjust and sexist practices within 
their churches and associations. These women religious also experienced difficulty coming to terms with 
their own institutions and movements characterized by social hierarchy and gender divisions. Women 
religious occupied a subordinate status in the institutional church and in the social movement. The men 
occupied a privileged position for the simple reason that they are male. Their masculinity provided them 
an unmerited privilege. Women could easily and actively join advocacy groups and protest movements 
for women’s causes such as human trafficking and domestic violence because they could resonate with 
their subordinate status. They could share in the sufferings with other marginalized groups or sectors 
(Sanchez, 2022).    

 
INFLUENCE OF POSTCOLONIALISM 
 
Postcolonialism came to the Philippines from the west, specifially from the United States (U.S.) and 
United Kingdom (U.K.). Scholars from western universities embarked on postcolonial discourse initiated 
and influenced by Edward Said in his Orientalism. Orientalism is a western construction of the non-
western other. This construction was produced during the colonial period where the colonizers 
represented the colonized. The other is subordinate or inferior to the west. Filipino scholars have picked 
up this orientation and applied it to the Philippine situation. Being a colonized country by Spain and the 
US, they can immediately identify with postcolonialism (Brazal 2019).   

Postcolonialism examines the colonial and western representation of the Filipinos. Spain labeled 
the Filipinos as indios. Indo was a name for inferior others. The indio collectively referred to the natives 
of the islands. Indio was the lowest rank in a social hierarchy. The “pure” Spaniards occupied the superior 
rank followed by the “impure” mestizos. The Americans used the expression “Little Brown American” in 
referring to the Filipinos. Filipinos were Americans, but they were little in stature and brown in color. 
Thus, they were an inferior type of Americans. Both labels Indio and Little Brown Americans were 
racialized representations of the colonized natives or Filipinos (Camacho, 2011). They never equaled the 
colonizers, but they were always belittled. These labels were not complimentary but subordinate names 
for the natives or Filipinos. In the case of the Indio, the natives were excluded as being subhuman, while 
in the case of the Little Brown Americans, the Filipinos were marginalized as being inferior (Tupas, 
2022).   

Basically, postcolonialism examines or analyzes the western or colonial representations of the 
natives or the Filipinos. The colonizers unilaterally represented the colonized as inferior peoples. It was a 
representation of the colonized by the colonizers. The colonized were reduced into silence and 
subservience. That representation is unequally made since it emanated from the colonizers and 
convertedthem into their reality and imposed on them  the colonized fate. Using Foucault and Lacan, 
postcolonialism understands this representation as discourse of power that controls the production of 
knowledge, subjugating the natives and as the western unconsciousness that projects their fear to the 
colonized. Spivak distinguishes two types of representation, one as a portrait-like picture that represents 
someone, and two, as a proxy-like politician whorepresents his/her constituents (Barnett, n. d.).        



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CONTEMPORARY TIMES 
 
Catholicism remains the majority religion of the Filipinos, while Protestantism remains a minority 
religion. Filipinos have been socialized and accustomed to the Catholic religion and our ancestors have 
handed down and brought up the succeeding generations in this religion. Thus, they still practice this 
traditional religion despite the atrocities and abuses of the Spaniards. The Protestant religion exists side 
by side with the Catholic religion, and there are ecumenical dialogues and movements going on between 
these religions. The Vatican II documents have opened the doors of the Catholic Church to ecumenical as 
well as interreligious dialogues. Most collaborations have focused on social issues and social justice in 
the service of the ordinary people. In the past, the Catholic religion has been influential through the 
leadership of the Catholic Bishops Conference in the Philippines (CBCP) and the Conference of the 
Major Superiors of the Philippines (CMSP). Comparatively, the CMSP has been more vocal and active in 
their engagement with social problems and advocacies. But in the present, the influence of Catholic 
religion has dwindled among the people (World Faiths Development Dialogue, 37).   

During the Marcos era, the Catholic leadership was a staunch critic of the administration. Marcos 
had been accused of gross violation of human rights and unchecked graft and corruption. The Catholic 
church under the leadership of the late Cardinal Sin joined the opposition headed by widow of the slain 
Senator Benigno Aquino, Sr., the late Corazon Aquino, in calling the people in unseating and toppling the 
dictator. People had been mobilized to join the so-called People Power. People went to EDSA (Epifanio 
de los Santos Avenue) demanding the immediate stepping down of Marcos. The snap election that he 
called to legitimize his administration was believed to have been rigged. The Filipinos called for his 
immediate resignation from the presidency and installed the new leader, President Corazon “Cory” 
Aquino (Abinales, 1996).   

The Aquino administration was a friend of the Catholic Church. The church reestablished its 
good relationship with the government under the new administration who restored democracy in the 
country. Generally, there was a smooth relationship between the church and state during the Aquino 
government (Youngblood, 1987). In fact, after the demise of the president, there are sectors who are 
pushing for his sainthood. However, this push died out eventually (Sotelo, 2009).   

Under the Estrada administration, the church again joined the opposition in criticizing the 
president for corruption charges. The President was accused of being a jueteng (gambling) beneficiary. 
The church was against gambling. In the Senate, the senators initiated the investigation of the jueteng 
charges and the impeachment complaints against the sitting President. After a series of senate hearings, 
majority of the senate members voted for the impeachment against the president. He was eventually 
ousted from the presidency (Arugay, 2004).  

President Estrada was succeeded by the Vice President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. President 
Arroyo was also a friend of the Catholic church. The church again regained its influence in the 
government Ruiz Austria, 2004). Some bishops even received some privileges such as the infamous SUV 
bishops. The Senate invited some bishops to attend the investigation. In the hearings, these bishops 
admitted their faults and eventually returned these cars. The bishops learned a lesson from that practice. 
After that experience, they decided to refuse any financial aid from the government (Associated Press, 
2011).   

When President Benigno Aquino, Jr. ascended to the presidency, he endorsed the reproductive 
rights bill (RH Bill). This move antagonized the church hierarchy since they opposed the bill because it 
contradicts the moral teaching of the church on artificial contraception. The bishops considered the bill 
contradictory to the doctrine which only allows the natural method and not the artificial method of 
contraception. In the survey, a majority of the Filipinos approved the reproductive rights. Even other 
religions supported it. The Catholic church received its backlash. People did not listen to the Catholic 
hierarchy. Rather, they acted based on their consciences (Zialcita, 2019).   

During the time of the Duterte administration, the Catholic church was openly antagonized by the 
president. The Catholic church criticized the war on drug policy of the president. In spite of that open 
opposition, Duterte still received a consistently high trust rating and approval of his notorious war on drug 



Canceran, “Christianity in the Philippines” 

Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  25 

policy. The Catholic church joined with the other human rights advocates such as the Commission on 
Human Rights (CHR) in denouncing that policy. Most victims of that policy belonged to the poor sectors 
of society. The Catholic church opposed the war on drug since it contradicts the commandment of God: 
You shall not kill. Only God can give life and take that away.  President Duterte enforced its policy and 
disregarded the criticisms (Willis 2018).   

With the election of the team party of Bongbong Marcos, the namesake of the late dictator, and 
Sara Duterte, the daughter of the anti-drug leader, the Catholic church was generally silent. Perhaps, 
church people are still observing the movements of the new leadership using the strategy of wait and see. 
Although in the past we have seen the conflict between the church and Marcos and the church and 
Duterte, we cannot also attribute the same relationship with their son and daughter. During the national 
election campaign, some church people were openly declaring their support to the candidacy of the 
opposition party, namely, Leni Robredo and Kiko Pangilinan under the Liberal Party. Some church 
people were criticizing the clergy for that open campaigning to their congregations. Perhaps, it is still 
early to assess their leadership. Although there are already criticisms lodged against them (De Guzman, 
2022).     

In these instances, we see the ebb and flow of the influence of the church hierarchy or clergy in 
the government and in society. This fluctuation does not only mean the temporality of the power of the 
church but, also, it also manifests its instability. Although the church is seen as a trustworthy institution, it 
cannot automatically command agreement or assent to its doctrine or position in some issues besetting the 
people. The people can make their own choices or form their own positions even if contrary to the official 
stand of the hierarchy or clergy. The hierarchy or clergy can no longer impose its doctrine or position on 
the people. Some Church members may still belong to the Catholic Church, but they do not just believe 
the church doctrine or hierarchy.  

This is the thesis of secularism. Secularism is no longer referring exclusively to the traditional 
sense of privatization or decline of religion but the empowerment of people to make their independent 
decisions and choices that affect their lives. The people have become secular in their views in the sense 
that they provide themselves with their own space in decision-making and empower themselves in 
forming their views on some issues.  The people know their situation and trust their experience. They no 
longer depend on or consult the clergy for guidance and enlightenment. Not only because the priests are 
inaccessible, but the priests are human like them who also struggle on some hurdles in their lives. The 
sexual scandals in the church are a case in point. Priests also commit sins or crimes just like anybody else. 
They are not exempted.   

The church is just one among the many institutions in our society. It cannot claim priority or 
ascendancy with the rest. It must relate to other institutions like the government, the media, the market 
and the family. It can no longer impose its doctrine and expect obedience from other institutions. 
Institutions have separate rules. Although the church may still enjoy the trust of the people, it cannot 
always expect submission to its authority. Some members may belong to the church, but they do not 
believe the doctrine.  They attend the Sunday masses, but they question the homilies of the priests.  They 
do not just believe but they engage. For example, in the Reproductive Rights Law, the church hierarchy 
opposed the bill then, but it lost in the votes. The bill was finally approved into law.  

 
PROSPECTS 
 
Christianity in the Philippines should be studied in its historical contexts. We factor in the history of the 
Spanish empire and the U.S. empire that introduced Christianity into the country, first Catholicism and 
then Protestantism. They have conditioned or influenced our brand of Christianity (Hispanic and 
American). Moreover, we also factor in the movements in society and in the church. These movements on 
the ground have entered or infiltrated church people, mostly as individual members in their congregation 
or diocese.  Social events influence the church and clergy. Moreover, church documents have also 
influenced church people. These documents were received differently by the church, both lay people and 
consecrated people who are sympathetic to the marginalized sectors in society and aligned with the papal 



Canceran, “Christianity in the Philippines” 

Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  26 

pronouncements. They are determined to continue the ongoing transformations in society and in the 
church.   

Changes must come from below and not from above. Those from above should only support and 
accompany those from below. There are more people from below who could bring about changes in 
society and in the church. The Pope has been encouraging the youths to make a noise and get involved in 
the church. Unfortunately, the youths are not getting the message of the pope and are afraid to make 
noises. They are more preoccupied with social media. They spend more time and express themselves in 
social media. The ordinary people are also preoccupied with their struggles for survival. They need to 
work and earn their living for their daily needs.  In this case, the middles class people like religious priests 
and sisters can initiate the education and conscientization of these marginalized sectors. This move is 
risky since people are being red-tagged if you oppose the government.   

We cannot expect a total or grand transformation. But we can do bits and pieces of changes here 
and there. These changes may face some resistances, oppositions and indifference from the traditional or 
conservative camps but committed Christians have to sustain their actions and continue their endeavors. 
The minority can influence the majority by their commitment and persistence. Before liberation theology 
was a taboo in the institutional church. Now it has become acceptable. That small group or individual 
initiatives can expand by their witnessing. People will be convinced of the legitimacy of their movement 
or initiative. This is prophetism.  We do not expect to have automatic acceptance and immediate 
transformation. Prophets testified and suffered for their commitment in building the Reign of God on 
earth.  

Church people need to engage with other groups. Those marginalized groups such as the young 
and the poor – are potential members since they are the affected and marginalized people in society and in 
the church. These people desire change that would eventually include them. They resist this exclusion and 
marginalization. They want to be active participants and partners in changing our society and church. 
However, they are not consulted and tapped so they remain marginalized and excluded. Changes come 
from them. It will not just be an inclusion as accommodation or assimilation but a partnership and 
cooperation. We are equal since baptism is the basis, not ordination.  

We can also connect with our Protestant brothers and sisters. They have been active in the area of 
social justice and social transformation. The Catholic people can join them. In fact, there are already 
existing cooperation between Protestants and Catholics. In that case, we expand our group and 
membership and strengthen these initiatives and collaborations. Catholics have been talking about 
ecumenical and interreligious dialogues. These dialogues are encouraged by Catholic documents. 
However, they should not remain as documents and in academies. They should be translated into action 
and movement. If the initiatives gain more members and expand the movements, then churches can 
influence and demand more changes in the process. We need to dialogue with all people who are 
interested in social transformation.  

Most intellectual influences on the Catholic church come from the west such as US and UK. 
Without being critical on the consequences of these influences, Filipino scholars reproduce western 
representations or discourses. Liberation theologians were influenced by the political theology in the 
Europe, specifically in Germany like Johann Baptist Metz and Jűrgen Moltman. Moreover, Marxist 
theory came also from the west since Karl Marx lived in England and reflected on the impacts of 
industrial revolution to the workers.  In this case, the western influence still operates in our institutions. 
Filipino scholars have not yet explored the full potentials of non-western sources and scholars. They have 
to link with the Global South and explore the decolonial scholarship and the indigenous people as. 
sources of new production of knowledge.  

 
CONCLUSION 
 
The church as an institution or organization is not a monolith, but is fragmented by theological beliefs, 
political affinities and religious concerns. There are those who belong to the traditional or conservative 
camp, those who identify with the liberal and open camp, and those who belong to the progressive and 



Canceran, “Christianity in the Philippines” 

Global South Theological Journal 4, no. 2 (2025):  27 

radical camp. Although they profess their faith in the Trinitarian God, they view that God through 
different lenses. There are those who identify with scholastic theology, liberation theology, feminist 
theology, postcolonial theology and decolonial theology. These differences create spaces for alliances and 
movements and adjustments. With the leadership of Pope Francis, we are beginning to see some 
transformations taking place in the Catholic church. The pendulum swings to the liberal persuasion. In 
this persuasion, liberation theology, feminism and postcolonialism find their place in the church. In 
various occasions, Pope Francis has supported the marginalized sectors like the poor, women, queers and 
indigenous peoples.  He encourages the church to be demasculinized, to engage into dialogue with 
women, queers, Marxists or communists, to bless same sex unions and irregular couples. These gestures 
indicate some changes in the direction of the church toward inclusivity and solidarity.   

However, these transformations have been initiated from abovefrom the  , and the marginalized 
sectors from below welcome this development. The middle leadership of the local clergy has a significant 
role in linking the papacy  to the marginalized sectors in their respective countries, dioceses and parishes. 
This middle leadership needs to cascade these pronouncements to the congregations and firm up these 
pronouncements in specific programs on the ground. If the middle leadership of the local clergy supports 
the pope, then it would greatly facilitate the push for transformation in the church. The grassroots or the 
ordinary peopleare crucial to this transformation process. They are not just the majority that compose the 
church, but they are the actors in this transformation. We do not expect an automatic or fast change in the 
church. There will be a number of individuals or small groups of religious men and women (priests and 
sisters) who will pursue that path of transformation. But as usual, they will be in the minority and will be 
marginal in the church. Documents need to be translated into action. There will be more changes in the 
church as we move forward toward this synodal church. The church is on the move toward changes.  

 
 

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	Historical Backgrounds
	Spanish Catholicism
	American Protestantism

	Ideological Influences
	Influence of Marxism
	Influence of Feminism
	Influence of Postcolonialism

	Contemporary Times
	Prospects
	Conclusion
	Bibliography

