Church and State

Contents

I. Introduction 2

A. Religious Views in the Philippines 2

i. Catholic 2

ii. Islam 4

B. Religion’s Effects on the Filipino People 5

i. Catholicism 5

ii. Islam 6

II. Church and State 6

A. Conflict between Church and State 6

B. Churches’ Place in Politics 9

C. Boundaries between Churches and State 10

D. Cooperation between Churches and State 11

E. Church, State and Governance over the People 13

F. Comparison between Church and State in Other Countries 14

III. Conclusion 16

Bibliography 17

I. Introduction

The Philippines’ political history has long been filled with memorable events, both positive and negative, ever since the Americans granted the country its independence. While independence has seemingly given the Filipinos the capability to make their own decisions with regards to running the country, as is often the case with most cultures, there is an invisible hand that controls, or at least influences the decisions made by leaders for the state. At times, these are decisions that unquestionably benefit the people, but there are also times wherein questions of morality, practicality and progress come into play. For every culture and nationality, these questions may take on different forms and perspectives depending on the context, but in the Philippine setting, there is no doubt that the political situation of the country is affected by the influence of the church, Catholic and to a lesser extent, Islamic, in the cultural life of the people. The purpose of this paper therefore, is to examine the effects of Philippines’ religious beliefs on its governance, by looking at the current and past experiences affecting the church and the state, as well as the subsequent actions taken. While it may be easy to pass judgment on one side as correct, it must be remembered that various forces and inculcated practices do affect particular cultures and the integration or absence of these may severely affect the...