RELIGIONS

IN THE
PHILIPPINES:
LOOKING BACK

WEEK 7
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the class session, learners should be
able to:

1. Critically understand the historical development of

Christianity in the Philippines, how it shaped Philippine
society, and a Church that is distinctly Filipino yet
universal.
2. Identify the causes of the separation and division
within the Philippine Church.
3. Evaluate the impact of various religious faiths on
Filipino society and the lives of Filipinos.
OUTLINE:
Religions in the Philippines:
Looking Back
I. Christianity in Philippine
History
II. The Coming of Protestantism
III. The Aglipayan Schism
IV Islam in the Philippines
 ACTIVITY:

A SHORT VIDEO CLIP ON THE RELIGIONS IN THE

PHILIPPINES
(2) RELIGIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES - YouTube
Do you believe that the
diversity of religions in the
Philippines is beneficial to
the lives and faith of
Filipinos?
 I. CHRISTIANITY IN
PHILIPPINE HISTORY
 Pre-Hispanic Filipino
Religion
• In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, rather than
the expedition chaplain, Juan de
Valderama takes the initiative of
preaching and having Cebuanos
baptized.
• Probably this might be a consequence of
Alexander’s bull delegating the Spanish
monarch as his representative in the
colonies.
I. Alexander VI’s Papal Bull
• Inter caetera was decidedly medieval in its concept
of Papal power. It worked with the following
syllogism:
• All authority, spiritual and temporal, was given to
Peter by Jesus, the Lord.
• Peter’s successor in office, the Pope, inherited that
authority.
• The Pope by his own power can delegate that
authority to others, which is what Alexander VI did
when he delegated authority to the Spanish
monarch, Ferdinand and Isabel and to their
descendants.
 Pre-Hispanic Filipino
Religion
• Early Spanish attitude to non-Catholic
religion judges it as the devil’s work.
• Because animists worship the devil, their
likha, images of ancestral and nature
spirits (anito) have to be destroyed.
• Later friar writers learn more about
indigenous culture and present Filipino
religion with more sophistication.
 Pre-Hispanic Filipino
Religion
• Missionary sources on Filipino religions
distinguish between the animists and the
Muslim.
• Better data on indigenous religions are found in
• Juan de Plasencia, OFM, Costumbres de los Tagalos
• Ignacio Alzina, SJ, Historia de las islas e indios
Visayas (Vol. 3)

• Archaeological discoveries related to religion are

available but how to interpret them is uncertain.
 Archaeology and Religion
• Archaeological finds are associated with death, found buried
underground or in caves and hill sides considered sacred
• 895-77 BCE: Manunggul Jar: Manunggul cave, Palawan
• 5 BCE – 225 CE: Maitum Anthropomorphic Jars: Maitum,
Saranggani
• 14th cent BCE: Banton Cloth: Grave goods in Banton Is,
Romblon
• Cordillera Fire Mummies: In caves in Bontoc
• Batanes boat shaped burials: On hiillsides
• Grave furniture:
• Gold masks
• Trade pottery from China and SEAsia
• Beads, also from trade as far as Egypt.
Banto-on or Banton Cloth
Batanes Boat-shaped Burial
Batanes Boat-shaped Burial
Death Mask
Gold Death Mask from Oton, Iloilo
Cebu’s Death Mask
Gold Death Mask from
Cebu
Stone Likha
Bul-ul
 Beginnings of
Evangelization
• Although Magellan had Cebuanos baptized with
their chieftain and leaders, the Catholic Faith does
not take root deeply.
• 1565: Cebuanos resist Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s
attempt to land in Cebu. Bombardment from the
Spanish ships and the burning of the Cebuanos
balay of timber, bamboo and thatch make them
capitulate.
• Legazpi brings Augustinian friars.
First Mass, Painted by Botong Francisco
Erecting a Cross, Symbol of
Possession
Magellan’s Cross
 Beginnings of
Evangelization
• The discovery of the image of the Sto. Niño inside a
box by the Basque soldier, Juan Camus, assured
Legazpi and his companions that Cebu’s conquista
was blessed by God.
• The Sto. Niño is turned over to the Augustinians
who build a church of local material as well as a
residence for the first priory (friary) of Augustinians.
• From 1565 to 1583, structures built by Spaniards use
materials and techniques of vernacular architecture.
Ferdinand and Isabel
Carlos I
• Carlos I of Spain also
Charles V of the Holy
Roman Empire.

• Carlos belonged to the

Hapsburg Dynasty of
German origin but whose
monarchs ruled the
Iberian Peninsula,
Southern Italy and Sicily
(Dos Sicilias), the
Netherlands, Flanders
(Belgium) and Eastern
Europe
Alexander VI (Rodrigo
Borja)
Finding the Santo Niño
• The Basque
soldier, Juan
Camus, finds
the Sto. Niño
Sinulog
• Celebrating the feast
of the Santo Niño on
the third Sunday in
January, devotees
dance the Sinulog.
• Sinulog from “sulug”
or “sug” = water
current.
Basilica Minore of the Sto. Niño,
Cebu
 Religious Orders in Ph
• Following the preference of Carlos I to send
religious orders to the missions rather than
secular clergy, the Augustinians are followed
by members of other religious orders.
• They arrived as travel companions (barcada,
from Sp barco = ship, boat). The Franciscans
assigned barcada numbers to those that
crossed the Pacific to Manila.
 Augustinians, arrival 1565
• 1565: Augustinians arrive with Legazpi. They
establish the first church and priory in Cebu
named Santissimo Nombre de Jesús, in honor
of the Sto. Niño. From Cebu, Augustinians
establish missions in the whole island in
subsequent years. They expand to Mactan and
Camotes Islands.
• They follow the Spaniards as they travel north
in search of a better site for a capital, which
had a good harbor and abundant supply of
grain.
 Augustinians, arrival 1565
• 1569: Legazpi transfers the capital to
Pan-ay on the island of Panay.
Augustinians follow and establish
mission stations in Iloilo and Capiz.
• 1571: After hearing reports of a good
harbor, discovered on an exploratory
mission by Juan de Salcedo, Legazpi’s
nephew, the Spaniards move to Manila.
There the Augustinians found their
second priory, popularly known as San
Agustín, along Calle Real.
 Augustinians, arrival 1565
• As the sole missionary group in Luzon for more
than a decade, the Augustinians fan out north to
south in their apostolic endeavors.
• In the south, they establish missions stations in
Malate, Las Piñas and Batangas.
• Outside Intramuros, they establish stations in
Tondo, Malabon and Mandaluyong.
• In the north, they establish stations in provinces of
Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan and the
Ilocos all the way up to Ilocos Norte. NB: Tarlac is a
late creation and was carved out of villages of
Pampanga and Pangasinan
San Agustín: The only colonial church that
survived World War II in Intramuros
Augustinian-built World Heritage
Site
 Franciscans, arrival 1578
• Franciscans do not establish schools and
universities as the Jesuits and Dominican do.
Instead, their apostolic effort is toward missions
and parishes.
• The Franciscans pioneered in the study of Tagalog
and published Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala, the
works of Pedro de San Buenaventura, printed in the
Franciscan press at Pila, Laguna.
 Franciscans, arrival 1578

• To the Franciscans is attributed the

introduction of the popular devotions of the
Via Crucis or Stations of the Cross and the
Christmas creche. As custodians of the
Holy Land, the Franciscans are the only
authorized group that blessed a new Via.
The creche or Belén is an original creation
by St. Francis of Assisi.
 Lenten Via Crucis

The Via Crucis or Stations of the Cross originated in the Holy Land
where pilgrims walked the Via Dolorosa. Franciscans spread the
devotion.
Church of San Ildefonso,
Tanay
Tanay’s Via Crucis
Stations 2 & 4
Stations 5 & 6
Station 7 & detail
Stations 8 & 9
Stations 10 & 11
Stations 12 & 14
San Buenaventura, Vocabulario, 1613

• Pedro San
Buenaventura
published this Tagalog
— Spanish dictionary
in Pila, Laguna, a
Franciscan mission.
 Jesuits, arrival 1581
• 1581: A small party of three Jesuits arrive with
Domingo de Salazar, first bishop of Manila. They
establish a house at Lagyo, an area between
Ermita and Malate, roughly where the Diamond
Hotel on Roxas Blvd is located.
• 1583: Jesuits transfer their house and church
inside Intramuros after acquiring 14 house lots
on the southern flank of Intramuros, facing
Bagumbayan.
• 1591: Franciscans cede Antipolo and surrounding
villages of Taytay and San Mareo to the Jesuits.
 Jesuits, arrival 1581
• 1581: A small party of three Jesuits arrive with
Domingo de Salazar, first bishop of Manila.
They establish a house at Lagyo, an area
between Ermita and Malate, roughly where
the Diamond Hotel on Roxas Blvd is located.
• 1583: Jesuits transfer their house and church
inside Intramuros after acquiring 14 house
lots on the southern flank of Intramuros,
facing Bagumbayan.
• 1591: Franciscans cede Antipolo and
surrounding villages of Taytay and San
Mateo to the Jesuits.
 Jesuits, arrival 1581
• Jesuits open a house at Suarga, Iloilo
in the encomienda of a principal
benefactor, Esteban Rodriguez de
Figueroa.
• 1595: Jesuits take charge of Samar and
Leyte
The establish a central house in Cebu.
Colegio de San Ignacio is founded
• 1596: Jesuits take charge of Bohol.
The Two San Ignacios
Bastion de San Diego
 Dominicans, arrival 1587
• Dominicans establish themselves in Intramuros at the
northeast corner of the city, a site presently occupied
by San Juan de Letran and the Bank of the Philippine
Islands (BPI)
• 1611, 28 Apr: Universidád de Santo Tomás is
established by Abp. Miguel de Benavides, OP, third
bishop of Manila. Its site is presently occupied by BPI.
• Dominicans open missions in Bataan, Zambales and
the coastal town of Pangasinan.
Neogothic Santo Domingo
• The Dominican
mother church in
Intramuros was
designed by
European-trained,
Felix Roxas, who
worked in various
revivalis styles like
Neogothic,
Neorenaissance and
Neoclassic,
 Recollects, arrival 1606
• The Augustinian Recollect is a reformed branch
of the Augustinians. They follow a stricter
ascetical regime, characterized by bodily penance.
One pervading form is to wear shoes but sandals
or go barefoot. Hence, the Recollects aka
Augustinos Descalzados (Shoeless Augustinians).
• Arriving late, there are no lots left in Intramuros,
so they build their first priory outside the walls in
the Tagalog town of Bagumbayan, presently
Luneta Park.
 Recollects, arrival 1606
• 1610: Mindanao is divided into a eastern and western
zone. The Recollects are assigned to the east while
the Jesuits to the West. The division is set by an
imaginary straight line that run from Suluan Point,
in Misamis Oriental to Capo San Agustín in Davao
del Sur.
• The Recollect missions faced challenges of
sea-borne slave raiders and attacks of tribals from
the inland. They fortified their churches in places
like, Culion, Agutaya, and Taytay in Palawan; Linao
in Butuan; Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental.
NS Jesús Nazareno
• The Black Nazarene
came from Mexico.
• It dark colored
features is natural
because the wood
used for carving was
a type of ebony.
Recoletos: Church of San
Nicolás de Tolentino
• Famous for the pipe organ
whose pipes run the length
of the nave, built by Diego
Cera, OAR, the same
builder as the Las Pinas
Bamboo Organ.
• On his feast, the Recollects
oven produced the Pan de
San Nicolás, which was
distributed to the people.
 Organization of the
Church, 1579-1595
• 1579: Diocese of Manila is established with a caretaker
priest until bishop arrives. A church in honor of the
Immaculate Conception is built.
• 1581, Sept: Domingo de Salazar, OP arrives to take
charge of the diocese.
• 1583, Aug: Fire destroys Manila, with temporary
cathedral and bishop’s residence. Rebuilt in stone,
mortar, tiles and hardwood, with assistance of Chinese
artisans under Antonio Sedeño SJ
 Beginnings of
Evangelization
• 1594: Royal cedula of Philip II orders the division
of the Philippines intro zones of evangelization
assigned to different religious orders.
• 1595: Cedula arrives in Manila and is implemented.
Also Manila is raised to an archdiocese with
suffragan dioceses: Cebu, Nueva Segovia (Lal-lo,
Cagayan, in the 18th century transferred to Vigan,
Ilocos Sur) and Caceres (Naga, Camarines Sur).
 Organization of the Church,
1579-1595
• 1595: Cedula assigns the following bishops:
• Manila, raised to a Metropolitan Archdiocese:
Abp. Ignacio de Santibañez, OFM
• Nueva Segovia: Miguel de Benavides, OP (later
Abp. Of Manila)
• Cebu: Pedro de Agurto, OSA
• Caceres: Luis Maldonado, OFM
• FYI: No Jesuit was ever made bishop during the Spanish era as the
Jesuit Constitution forbade it. The first Jesuit bishop was José Clos of
Zamboanga (1910), then James T. Hayes of Cagayan de Oro (1930);
both during the American era.
 Bishop & Archbishop of
Manila
Domingo de Salazar, OP Ignacio de Santibañez, OFM
 th
Model of 19 Century
Manila Cathedral

19th century earthquakes toppled the detached bell tower but left
the façade unscathed
Pedro de Agurto, OSA
• The Augustinian,
Bp. Agurto, was
the first bishop of
Cebu.
• Seeing the great
need for
missionaries, he
opened Cebu to
other religious.
 Conquista & the Struggle for Justice

• Assertion has been made that “the conquest of

the Philippines by Spain was peaceful and had
little of the cruelties which punctuated the
conquest of America” (Schumacher, 1987, 22)
• This assertion counters a trope from the 19th
century propaganda movement that friars and
churchmen were avaricious and materialistic,
lascivious sex maniacs, masters of intrigue and
political manipulation. The quintessential
figure are Rizal’s Padre Damaso and Padre Salvi
of rhe Noli me Tangere.
 Augustinians vs.
Conquistadores
• While admitting atrocities and violence against the
native population of the Philippines, esp. during
the early decades of colonization (pacification), the
role of the Augustinians (and other religious) in
standing up for native (Indio) rights cannot be
denied.
• How effective was their defense? This needs more
research to answer. Methodological problem:
Primary sources are not neutral; they represent the
Spanish point of view.
 List of Revolts against Spanish
Rule
• 1500s
● 1565: Beginning of Spain's rule over the Philippines.
• 1567: Dagami Revolt.
• 1568: The Portuguese attack Cebu and blockade the port.
• 1570: The Portuguese launch a second attack and fail.
• 1574: Manila Revolt.
• 1585: Pampangos Revolt.
• 1587-1588: Conspiracy of the Maharlikas.
• 1588: Another Revolt, attempting to expel Spaniards.
• 1589: Revolts against the Tribute.
• 1596: Magalat Revolt.
 List of Revolts against Spanish
Rule
1600s • How are we to interpret the
• 1601: Igorot Revolt. almost yearly revolts during
• 1602: Chinese Revolt. the Spanish era?
• 1621-1622: Tamblot Revolt.
• 1621-1622: Bancao Revolt. • Are these proofs of mass
• 1625-1627: Isneg Revolt. discontent and therefore
• 1639: Cagayan Revolt.
pointing to massive
• 1643: Ladia Revolt.
• 1649-1650: Sumuroy Revolt.
repression, violence and
• 1660: Maniago Revolt.
evil?
• 1660-1661: Malong Revolt.
• 1661, Jan: Almazan Revolt.
• Was colonialism (and the
• 1661: Ilocos Province Revolted.
accompanying
• 1662: Chinese Revolt. evangelization) of the
• 1663: Panay Revolt. Filipinos one long horror
• 1681-1683: Sambal Revolt. story?
 List of Revolts against Spanish
Rule
1700s
• 1719: Caragay Revolt.
• 1744: Dagohoy Revolt.
• 1762: The Provinces Rebelled.
• 1762, 3 Nov: Rebel against Sain imposition
on the tribute.
• 1762-1765: Palaris Revolt.
• 1774: Marked Revolution in Bohol.
• 1787: Lagutao Revolt.
 List of Revolts against Spanish
Rule
1800s
• 1807: Ambaristo Revolt.
• 1829: Dagohoy Revolt ends.
• February 17, 1872: Three Filipino priests are
executed.
• 1872: Revolt in Cavite Province.
• July 7, 1892: Katipunan was formed/
established.
• 1892: Jose Rizal founded Liga Filipinas.
• 1895: Bonifacio organized the Katipunan.
• 1895: Aguinaldo joins Katipunan.
 List of Revolts against Spanish
Rule
1896-98: Philippine Revolution
• 1896: 23 Aug: First phase of the Revolution of Spain. Katipuneros
attack the Polverin at San Juan but are repulsed.
• Late 1896: Revolt against Spain.
• Armed struggle in Manila began.
• 1897:, May: Bonifacio brothers are executed.
• 18 Nov - 15 Dec: Truce with Spain (Pact of Biak-na-bato)
• 1898 January : Philippine Republic declared.
• 15 Feb: United States called for war against Spain.
• 24 Apr: Spain –American War
• 1 May 1: Spanish fleet defeated in the Battle of Manila Bay.
• 6 Jun: United States controls The Philippines.
• 12, Jun: Philippine independence declared in Kawit, Cavite
• 8 Aug : End of the Spanish American War.
• 10 Dec: Treaty of Paris and gave ceding Spanish colonies to the USA.
 Philippine Revolution,
1896-98
• But even the Philippine Revolution were many
independent revolts.
• Strictly, the Katipunan Revolt involve 8
provinces around Manila Bay symbolized by 8
rays in the Philippine flag.
• Negros had its own hacendero led revolt, 5 de
Noviembre 1898. Negros declared
independence and even printed its own money,
• Iloilo declared independence at Sta. Barbara, 17
Nov. 1898.
 The Synod of Manila Defends
the Filipinos
• Genuine concern of Philip II that the pacification
of the Philippines be humane and that the Gospel
was preached.
• Philip, esp. as he aged became increasingly pious.
He had a window opened from his bed chamber
to the chapel of San Lorenzo so that the last thing
he would see was the sanctuary lamp flickering in
the sanctuary.
• But the king is far away so the mouse will play.
 The Synod of Manila Defends
the Filipinos
• First bishop of Manila, Domingo de Salazar calls for
the Synod or Junta of Manila, intermittently from
1582-86. But the bulk of the work is done in 1582 and
83, hence, this meeting of ecclesiastics and leading
civic leaders is known the Synod of Manila of
1582-83.
• Synod up held Dominican jurist Francisco de
Vittoria’s natural law teaching and re-iterated that
the basis for Spanish rule in the Philippines was
evangelization and civil rule was the veneer that
protected this task.
 Bishop Salazar as Champion
of the Filipino People
• 1591, Salazar’s representation to the king.
• Solution to Spanish control of the
colonies: Send more friars and
missionaries. Evangelization will precede
colonization. Because colonization is best
achieved thru persuasion.
 Methods of Evangelization
The methods used by the missionaries in the
propagation of the faith can be reduced into
the following:
1. Catechism
2. The introduction of liturgical practices,
fiestas, etc.
3. Preserving the native’s political structure
 Methods of Evangelization
• The missionaries also introduced many of the
religious and liturgical practices that they
themselves had in Spain but not without
innovations to fit the native culture.
• Fast and abstinence during Lent and the Holy
Week, sanctorum (religious contribution during
confessions), feast days of obligation, devotion
to the saints, and the misa de
aguinaldo(Christmas dawn masses).
Methods of Evangelization

• Missionaries came as innovators and saw

Christianity as a very effective means of
incorporating the natives into Spanish culture.
And besides, the missionaries were themselves
product of the Council of Trent and
self-proclaimed agents of the Catholic
Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries.
II. THE COMING OF
PROTESTANTISM
 Demographics

● Protestant Christians make up

nearly 6% of the Filipino
population
● Include a wide variety of
Pentecostal, Evangelical, and
independent churches
 American Influence

● American leadership strongly influenced

by Protestant values
● Anti-Catholic sentiment in the U.S. during
the late 19th and early 20th centuries
● Christianized Filipinos seen as not fully
Christian until they became Protestant
 Missionary Activity

● Protestant missionaries arrived after

the establishment of the 1901 Comity
Agreement
● Missionaries learned local languages
and translated texts
● Local converts took on leadership
roles, forming the foundations of an
indigenous Protestant clergy
 Challenges and Frustrations

● Racial tensions and frustrations among

Filipino converts
● Protestant missions as an alternative to a
perceived corrupt Catholic society
● Institutions like the YMCA and seminaries
played a role in shaping the Protestant
community
Education and Advocacy

● Protestants strongly supported the

creation of a public school system
● The National Council of Churches in the
Philippines (NCCP) was formed in 1963
to represent Protestant Filipinos
● NCCP officially condemned the Marcos
regime in 1973
Pentecostalism and Charismatic Movements

● Pentecostal Protestantism emerged

in the 1970s
● Parallel rise in charismatic
Catholicism
● Influence of American evangelical
figures like Pat Robertson on
charismatic movements
 Tensions with Catholicism

• However, the relationship between

Catholicism and Protestantism has
been fraught with tension throughout
the century. Among the largest
Philippine Protestant movements is the
Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ),
which is resolutely anti-Catholic and
claims nearly two million members.
III. The Aglipayan Schism
 AGLIPAY CHURCH
• The Independent Philippine Church (IPC) or
Aglipayan Church is a popular schismatic Catholic
church founded in 1902 by the priest Gregorio
Aglipay and Sr. Isabelo de los Reyes.
• The schism was a function of the native Filipino
clergy’s resentment of Spanish Catholic orders
during the late Spanish colonial period, and
received early support from some Filipino
nationalists as well as American Protestants.
• Aglipay himself clearly underscored that the
schism’s roots were in the treatment of the
native clergy by the Vatican.
• During the 1930s Gregorio Aglipay was
drawn to Unitarianism and associated the
IPC with the American Unitarian
Association, disavowing Trinitarian views
and in the years that followed, adopting
other positions that diverged from the
Catholic Church.
• After Aglipay’s death in 1940, his successors rolled back
many of these changes and shifted alliances to the
American Episcopal Church, becoming a member of the
global Anglican Communion. Nonetheless, the past
century has seen numerous doctrinal schisms in the
church.
• Cleavages that took place in the 1990s—largely over
support for breakaway factions in the American
Episcopal church—led to the emergence of the
separate Philippine Independent Catholic Church.

• The IPC maintains ecumenical partnerships with the

Anglican Communion, the Union of Utrecht of Old
Catholic Churches, the Church of Sweden, and others.
Notable members of the Aglipayan church include
Ferdinand Marcos who later converted to Roman
Catholicism.
 IV. ISLAM IN THE
PHILIPPINES
See separate ppt
Assignment: Research Report on the Religious
Affiliations of Filipinos
Week 8 Topic:Religious Affiliations of Filipinos
1. Iglesia ni Cristo
2. Seventh Day Adventist
3. Iglesia Filipina Independiente/ Aglipay
4. Bible Baptist Church
5. United Church of Christ in the Philippines
6. Jehova’s Witness
7. Church of Christ

Instructions: The class will be divided into 7 groups. Each group will research one
of the Filipino religious affiliations from the list and present it to the class for 10
minutes. The reports should include the following:
Introduction.
Body: Beliefs and Religious Practices of the assigned religion.
Conclusion.
Members are expected to master their report and be prepared to answer questions
related to their report.
 REFERENCES:
• Fast, W. (September 2022). Religions, religious
experiences, and spirituality - The role and impact of
religions and spirituality on human history and personal
life. -https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363885840
• Schumacher, J. (1987). Readings in Philippine Church
History.Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila
University.
• LST notes Fr. Rene Javellana, SJ 2nd Sem. 2020
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tji6AufRCMo
• https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/protestant-christianity-philip
pines
• https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/aglipayan-church#:~:text=T
he%20schism%20was%20a%20function%20of%20the%2
0native,treatment%20of%20the%20native%20clergy%20b
y%20the%20Vatican.