Catholicism In The Philippines Under Spanish Rule: Colonial Expansion And Religious Syncretism

Under the context of European overseas expansions and Catholic Mission to the East in modern era, this paper focuses on the overwhelming dissemination of Catholicism in the Philippines, analyzes the political and non-political factors which promote the spread of Catholicism, explores the indigenization of Catholicism from the views of cultural accommodation and religious syncretism.Firstly, it's well known that the Catholicization of the Philippines was the outcome of Spanish colonial rule as well as the product of Catholic Mission to the East in Modern era. The advance of Catholic mission to the Philippines in modern era was inextricably tied with European colonialism, On the one hand, Catholic universal ideology and European colonialism in modern era promoted their expansions to the East in which clergy served obviously as the "spiritual weapon" of European colonialism. On the other hand, although clergy undauntedly in the colonization of the Philippines played very important role, through dissemination of Catholicism that functioned as the "spiritual weapon" in the process of islands -conquering and colony -consolidating, in the Philippines under Spanish colonial yoke, clergy meanwhile served as spreader of European culture and religion, which is obviously much more developed than Filipino indigenous culture and religion.Secondly, social environment is a main fact that promote or block the spread of Catholicism. On the one hand, pre-Hispanic social and political environment in the Philippines offered the soil for the overwhelming spread of Catholicism. Before Spanish arrival, Luzon and Bisayan islands in the Philippines were at the stage of primitive society in which the main social organization was "Barangay" linked by blood ties rather than a united nation. Thus, This kind of social organization was obviously weak in terms of defending the much more powerfuland advanced colonial forces. Meanwhile, Catholicism, which is characterized by strong universalism, also conquered animistic practices and beliefs in primitive tribes quickly. On the other hand, the Southern Muslim peoples staunchly and effectively resisted the advance of Spaniard, and finally they succeeded in resisting the invasion of colonial power and the dissemination of Catholicism, which revealed developed social and political organization and united belief was not a negligible factor absolutely, at least in the case of the Philippines.More importantly, in the process of dissemination of Catholicism, abiding by the rule of cultural accommodation and religious syncretism, clergy took appropriate means to promote the evangelization of the islands, which also inevitably promoted the emergence of Philippine Folk Catholicism -an admixture of elements of pre-Hispanic animistic practices and beliefs with Catholic ritual elements, even as well as with Mexican religious elements. This phenomenal evolution of Catholicism in the Philippines made it popular in the folk, revealing that non-political factor greatly promoted the spread of Catholicism.As an indispensable organization of Spanish colonial administration, regular clergy inevitably confronted the hostilities and oppositions from Filipino nationalism in 19th century, which is characterized by secularization of parishes followed by claim of freedom and equality, both politically and legally, and finally led to Revolution of 1896 and collapse of Spanish rule and clericalism in the Philippines. One of significant achievements of Revolution of 1896 was the establishment of rule about the separation of Church and politics, which terminated church's intervention in administration during Spanish era in the Philippines, and became an important principle in national politics afterwards.In conclusion, this paper analyzes the influence of colonial rule based onCatholic clericalism in the Philippines briefly, pointing that Church as an important part of colonial heritage in the Philippines has been playing very important role in the social and political life, even in after-colonial era, Philippine Chu...