Religion

Religion

I INTRODUCTION

World Religions Religion has existed in all human societies from early times. Although belief systems and traditions of worship differ from culture to culture, they also have many common elements. In all cultures, human beings make a practice of interacting with what are taken to be spiritual powers. These powers may be in the form of gods, spirits, ancestors, or any kind of sacred reality with which humans believe themselves to be connected. © Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Numbers of Followers of All Religions Most religions are practiced in fairly specific world regions. The spread of religions occurred mainly due to human migration and the development of telecommunications. This chart shows the percentage of the world's population that adheres to several of the major world religions. About one-third of the world’s population adheres to a form of Christianity. Latin America has the largest number of Christians, most of whom are Roman Catholics. Islam is practiced by over one-fifth of the world’s population, most of whom live in parts of Asia, particularly the Middle East. © Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Religion, sacred engagement with that which is believed to be a spiritual reality. Religion is a worldwide phenomenon that has played a part in all human culture and so is a much broader, more complex category than the set of beliefs or practices found in any single religious tradition. An adequate understanding of religion must take into account its distinctive qualities and patterns as a form of human experience, as well as the similarities and differences in religions across human cultures. In all cultures, human beings make a practice of interacting with what are taken to be spiritual powers. These powers may be in the form of gods, spirits, ancestors, or any kind of sacred reality with which humans believe themselves to be connected. Sometimes a spiritual power is understood broadly as an all-embracing reality (see Pantheism), and sometimes it is approached through its manifestation in special symbols. It may be regarded as external to the self, internal, or both. People interact with such a presence in a sacred manner—that is, with reverence and care. Religion is the term most commonly used to designate this complex and diverse realm of human experience.

II DEFINITIONS

The word religion is derived from the Latin noun religio, which denotes both earnest observance of ritual obligations and an inward spirit of reverence. In modern usage, religion covers a wide spectrum of meanings that reflect the enormous variety of ways the term can be interpreted. At one extreme, many committed believers recognize only their own tradition as a religion, understanding expressions such as worship and prayer to refer exclusively to the practices of their tradition. Although many believers stop short of claiming an exclusive status for their tradition, they may nevertheless use vague or idealizing terms in defining religion—for example, “true love of God,” or “the path of enlightenment.” At the other extreme, religion may be equated with ignorance, fanaticism, or wishful thinking. By defining religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken to be a spiritual reality, it is possible to consider the importance of religion in human life without making claims about what it really is or ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed meaning, or even a zone with clear boundaries. It is an aspect of human experience that may intersect, incorporate, or transcend other aspects of life and society. Such a definition avoids the drawbacks of limiting the investigation of religion to Western or biblical categories such as monotheism (belief in one god only) or to church structure, which are not universal. For example, in tribal societies, religion—unlike the Christian church—usually is not a separate institution but pervades the whole of public and private life. In Buddhism, gods are not as central as the idea of a Buddha (fully enlightened human being). In many traditional cultures the idea of a sacred cosmic order is the most prominent religious belief. Because of this variety, some scholars prefer to use a general term such as the sacred to designate the common foundation of religious life. Religion in this understanding includes a complex of activities that cannot be reduced to any single aspect of human experience. It is a part of individual life but also of group dynamics. Religion includes patterns of behavior but also patterns of language and thought. It is sometimes a highly organized institution that sets itself apart from a culture, and it is sometimes an integral part of a culture. Religious experience may be expressed in visual symbols, dance and performance, elaborate philosophical systems, legendary and imaginative stories, formal ceremonies, meditative techniques, and detailed rules of ethical conduct and law. Each of these elements assumes innumerable cultural forms. In some ways there are as many forms of religious expression as there are human cultural environments.

III HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS STUDY

When the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 1963 against the practice of prayer in public schools, it recommended at the same time that the study of religion should be part of every student’s education. In Europe, new materials for the study of religion were gathered when European explorers first began to make extensive contact with non-Western cultures. Over the past four centuries, innumerable philosophers, anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists have proposed theories of religion. The common factor in their various perspectives is the perception that religion need not be studied from a sectarian or partisan standpoint but may be approached impartially, as a subject for scholarly investigation.

A. Antiquity.

The first recorded Western attempts to understand and document religious phenomena were made by the Greeks and Romans. As early as the 6th century BC, Greek philosopher Xenophanes noted that different cultures visualized the gods in different ways. In the following century, Greek historian Herodotus recorded the wide range of religious practices he encountered in his travels, comparing the religious observances of various cultures, such as sacrifice and worship, with their Greek equivalents. Roman historians Julius Caesar and Cornelius Tacitus similarly recorded the rites and customs of peoples that they met on their military campaigns.

B. Ages of Exploration and Enlightenment.

Although the systematic study of religions did not emerge until the latter half of the 19th century, the groundwork was laid in the three preceding centuries. In the 16th century, Western knowledge of other cultures increased dramatically through extensive trade and exploration. Explorers and missionaries reported in detail on the range of religious beliefs and practices around the world. As a result, a great deal of traditional bias against non-Christian religions was challenged as early as the 16th and 17th centuries. In the Age of Enlightenment (early and mid-18th century), thinkers took a special interest in what they termed natural religion—the inborn capacity of all humans to arrive at a belief in the existence of a supreme being and to act on that belief. To thinkers of the Enlightenment, natural religion compared favorably with the supernatural religion of the Bible. For example, French philosopher Voltaire condemned the social effects of revealed religion (religion that is communicated through supernatural authorities such as prophets or sacred scriptures), and German philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder argued that every culture possesses a unique spirit that is part of its religion and its language. In a critique of biblical history, Scottish philosopher David Hume demonstrated the historical difficulties involved in tracing all human cultures to the offspring of the biblical patriarch Noah or in asserting that monotheism is the original form of religion.

C. The 19th and 20th Centuries.

In the mid-19th century, German scholar Friedrich Max Müller, who has been called the father of comparative religion, became the most prominent advocate of historical and linguistic analysis in the study of religion. Beginning in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the scriptures of many non-Western traditions had been translated and published, offering a view of faiths that previously had been inaccessible. In addition, archaeological excavations had revealed new features—including some scriptural texts—of previously obscure religions, such as those of the ancient Middle East. Presented with this mass of information, Müller undertook a critical, historically based investigation of world religious traditions. Although his approach emphasized the view that all traditions were the product of historical development, Müller believed comparative study would demonstrate that every religion possessed some measure of truth. By the end of the 19th century, scholars were making religion an object of systematic inquiry. Müller’s comparative approach was adopted in many European and Japanese universities, and as a result the common features of world religions (such as gods, prayer, priesthood, and creation myths) were the subjects of sustained scholarly investigation. In addition, field anthropologists had begun to compile firsthand accounts of the religions of peoples who previously had been dismissed as savages. The study of tribal religions contributed a great deal to the general analysis of the role of religion in human societies. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, scholars had begun to pose basic questions about the origin and development of religious ideas. Scholars questioned how religion began and the stages of its evolution. Some maintained that it originated with a belief in spirits (animism), then evolved into the notion that there were many gods (polytheism), and ultimately emerged as the ideal of a single god (monotheism). Others held that religion began in a sense of awe at the impressive activities of nature (see Nature Worship), in a feeling of reverence for the spirits of the dead (see Ancestor Worship), or in an attempt to overcome mortality (see Immortality). Many other important questions about the nature of religion were addressed during this period: Can religion be divided into so-called primitive and higher types? Is religion a product of psychological needs and projections? Is it a function of political and social control? Such questions have continued to generate a large number of theories.

IV RELIGIOUS LIFE

Religious life reflects an individual’s attempt to live in accordance with the precepts of a religious tradition. For example, Buddhists imitate the Buddha; Christians strive to be Christ-like (see Jesus Christ); and followers of the mystical Dao (or Tao, the Chinese term for the ultimate way of the universe) practice noninterference with the natural course of things (see Daoism). Religious experience also reflects the variety of cultural expressions in general: It can be formal or spontaneous, solemn or festive, hierarchical or egalitarian; it can emphasize submission or liberation; it can be devotional or contemplative; it can involve fear or joy; it can be comforting or disruptive; it can encourage reliance on powers outside oneself or on personal responsibility. The idea that sacredness is an individual experience and the idea that it is influenced by environmental factors are not necessarily in conflict. Religious life is given distinctive form both by the power of a community’s social bonds and its traditional objects of veneration, and by an individual’s personal interaction with those objects. In addition, mythic language and ritual serve as a focus for religious experience. The attempt to isolate the distinctive qualities of religion can be seen in the work of a number of influential thinkers. Considered together, these approaches offer a representative picture of the ways in which modern investigators have understood the place of the sacred in human life. A Religion as a Function of Society In many cases, the things that people consider sacred are determined by the community to which they belong. The holiest things in the world to one group—its gods, saviors, scriptures, or sacraments—are not necessarily seen as sacred absolutes by another group. The notion that sacredness is a value that a given society places on objects, that such objects shape and generate the religious feelings of its members, and that religiousness is therefore a function of social belonging was first suggested by French sociologist Émile Durkheim. According to his classic theory, set forth in Les Formes élémentaires de la vie religieuse: Le système totemique en Australie (1912; translated as The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, 1965), the distinguishing mark of religion in its most basic form is not belief in divinity or in the supernatural but the existence of objects considered to be sacred by a group of people. In Durkheim’s view, it is the authority and beliefs of a society that make things sacred or nonsacred (in his terminology, profane). Religion is consequently best understood neither as the result of supernatural revelation (although Durkheim recognizes that this may be a personal view held by the member of a religion), nor as an illusion or set of mistaken ideas (which might be the viewpoint of a skeptical outsider who does not accept the religious beliefs). Rather, religion is best understood as the power of a society to make things sacred or profane in the lives of its individual members. According to Durkheim, the social and religious power of sacredness are one and the same, since to hold something sacred is to demonstrate one’s commitment to and respect for the authority of one’s tradition. Sacred things are those objects and symbols, including principles and beliefs, that must be preserved from violation because they represent all that is of most value to the community. All cultures hold something sacred. In secular Western societies, the sacred might be embodied in certain principles, such as individual rights, freedom, justice, or equality. In Durkheim’s view, therefore, religion is not a matter of claims about the universe that are either true or false, but is the normal way that a society constructs and maintains its cherished tradition and moral values. B Religion as Numinous Experience A very different approach, emphasizing individual experience, was developed by German theologian Rudolf Otto. In Das Heilige (1917; The Idea of the Holy, 1958), Otto argues that the experience of the numinous (Latin numen,”spiritual power”) is the distinctive core of religiousness. Such experience is marked by a sense of awe in the face of the mysterious other reality that dramatically intersects our limited, vulnerable existence. According to Otto, it is this reality that religious traditions symbolize by concepts such as God. The numinous can be experienced as something fearful and alienating, but also as something comforting with which one feels a certain communion or continuity. Religious ideas such as the wrath of God or the peace of God express these different aspects of numinous experience. In Otto’s view, the capacity for such awareness lies within each person, and it is the purpose of religious language and observance to shape and elicit this awareness. In formulating this approach, Otto followed in the tradition of earlier thinkers such as German theologian and philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher. In his book Über die Religion: Reden an die Gebildeten unter ihren Verächtern (1799; On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers, 1893), Schleiermacher argued that religiousness is only secondarily a matter of doctrine or morality; he claimed that it is primarily a matter of intuitive feeling, an immediate experience that was prior to language itself, and a sense of the infinite. C Religion as an Individual Phenomenon For many people, religion is best understood at the level of individual spiritual life. An influential book employing this approach is The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), by American philosopher and psychologist William James. James attempted to study all the different forms that religious experience can take, from extreme asceticism (practice of self-denial) and mystical union with the divine, to modern techniques of positive thinking. He gave special attention to conversion experiences, or life-changing encounters with spiritual forces. James documented his study with hundreds of cases in which individuals reported that they had experienced contact with something divine or transcendent and that their lives had been changed decisively. Many of these episodes came in the form of a sudden and unsolicited consciousness of spiritual unity or insight. They were mystical experiences and were ineffable (incapable of being described in words). James also hypothesized the existence of a wider, subconscious dimension of the self that could help account for the source of apparently supernatural visions, voices, and revelations. The notion of a creative unconscious, understood as an element of the mind surrounding the individual ego and often expressed through religious symbols, was also described by the influential Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. D Religion as Experience Mediated by the Sacred Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade, who taught at the University of Chicago from 1957 to 1985, emphasized that religious people experience the ordinary world differently from nonreligious people because they view it as a sacred place. In Eliade’s view, believing in the divine foundations of life transforms the significance of natural objects and activities. He believed that for homo religiosus (Latin for “religious man,” a term used by Eliade to designate a person who lives according to a religious worldview), time, space, the earth, the sky, and the human body can all come to have a symbolic, religious meaning. Like Rudolf Otto, Eliade held that the study of religion must not reduce its subject matter to something merely social or psychological, but must take seriously the idea that in the believer’s world the experience of sacredness defines a distinctive reality. For Eliade, myth and ritual represent the central language by means of which religious worlds are structured (see Mythology). In his approach, myth is not merely fiction or folktale but the powerful words and stories that recount the actions of gods and founders and the guidelines they set down for human life. In this sense, myth describes not what is simply fantastic but what is most real, naming the spiritual forces that established the world and that continue to permeate it. Religion has its own language to describe the spiritual order of the universe, just as science has its descriptions of the physical world. Moreover, the purpose of describing the divine time of origins is not only to provide an explanation for how the world began, but also to provide a reference point—in a sense, a script—for living in the present world. Religious people aspire to live in the time of divine origins: For observing Jews, Friday night is not only Friday night, but also the beginning of the Sabbath as instituted by the Creator at the beginning of time; and for observing Christians, Christmas becomes the time of the birth of Christ. Ritual times and places create opportunities for religious people to come into contact with the sacred and its regenerative power.

V PATTERNS IN RELIGIOUS LIFE

When religion is observed across many cultures, certain common themes and patterns of activity appear. Significant differences within those patterns are also evident. A Sacred Histories Most religious systems are organized around certain past events and models. Each religion has its own account of the history of the world—the great time when gods, creators, sages, ancestors, saviors, founders, or heroes established or revealed the essential elements of the religion. These collective memories are ordinarily preserved in carefully maintained oral traditions or in the classic accounts known as scriptures or sacred writings. In Christian histories, the key event of the past is the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, whose teachings, death, and resurrection set the model for the meaning of Christian life. In Judaism the great time was the Exodus (the flight from Egypt under Moses) and the subsequent receiving of the Law at Mount Sinai (see Ten Commandments). The enlightenment experience of the Buddha and the revelation of the Qur'an (Koran) (Islamic scripture) to the prophet Muhammad are defining events in Buddhism and Islam, respectively. The Islamic calendar begins with the birth of Islam in AD 622 (see Hegira), the Christian calendar begins with the birth of Christ, and the Jewish calendar begins with the biblical time of the Creation itself. B Renewal Observances Religions provide for continual renewal by setting aside special times for their adherents to recollect and demonstrate what they hold sacred. These occasions may take place annually, monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly. Muslims are expected to pause for prayer at five different times every day, and during the holy month of Ramadan—which honors the month when the Qur'an was first revealed—they are expected to observe a fast (see Fasting) every day from sunrise to sunset. For Jews, the High Holy Days—a ten-day period in autumn celebrating the new year and concluding with the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)—is a major time of spiritual renewal, as is Passover in the spring. Jews dedicate the seventh, or Sabbath, day to recalling the divine basis of life. Christians follow a similar seven-day cycle but give special prestige to Sunday, honoring the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which, according to the Christian scriptures, occurred on the first day of the week. Every religion, large or small, has regular major festivals and observances that celebrate and display its fundamental commitments and that intensify and renew the spiritual memory of its followers. C Sacred Space Religions not only create sacred times that define the calendar and occur throughout the year, intersecting with ordinary time, they also establish special places that localize the sacred in the midst of ordinary space. Sometimes these are places of natural beauty or imposing power, such as mountains, caves, or rivers. They may also be sites that commemorate great religious events of the past—for example, the birthplace of the Hindu god Krishna; the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment; or the spot where Muhammad is believed to have journeyed to heaven (memorialized by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem). Sometimes they are places where miraculous spiritual appearances are believed to have occurred, as in the case of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, France. They may also be shrines and temples built to house the gods or their representative symbols, such as the Parthenon in Greece, which was dedicated to Athena, patron goddess of Athens. Holy places also become objects of pilgrimage, such as the Kaaba, the holiest shrine of Islam, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. For Muslims, the Kaaba is the symbol of true monotheistic religion and is believed to have been built by biblical patriarch Abraham. All Muslims are expected to visit it at some time in their lives. Sometimes the act of building a sacred place occurs each time the rite is performed and is thus part of the ritual itself, as in the case of the annual Native American Sun Dance ceremonies, for which a new lodge is erected each year. The use of space reveals a great deal about a religious worldview. Some structures, such as Pueblo kivas (ceremonial chambers), are built into the ground, acknowledging the earth as the place from which human beings emerged and as the source of sustenance for the Pueblo’s agricultural society (see Native American Religions). Others, such as the European gothic cathedrals, through their delicate architecture and skyward reach, suggest the transcendence of the divine realm. Shinto shrines in Japan express reverence for nature in the harmonious way they blend with the natural environment. On the other hand, some so-called megachurches (churches with huge congregations) of modern North America have taken the form of corporate office complexes geared for efficiency of organized service. Some holy places are understood to be the actual dwelling place of the god. Others—as in certain branches of Protestant tradition—are understood to be primarily places of gathering for the faithful (see Protestantism: Beliefs and Practices). In such cases, a plain architectural style follows naturally from the desire to de-emphasize the importance of the physical building itself. D Religion in Life Religious cultures generally ascribe spiritual significance to all parts of their worlds. This is especially obvious in rites of passage. Through ritual, each major change in life is incorporated into the domain of the sacred. For example, birth rites might involve bestowing the blessings of the god on the child or giving the child a special religious name. Rites of entry into adulthood also connect the individual to the sacred tradition of the culture. For example, in Buddhist Thailand, young men become sons of Buddha through a ceremony in which they reenact key parts of the historical Buddha’s search for enlightenment (see Theravada Buddhism). In Jewish bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs, adolescents, having reached the age of 13, read from the Torah, the primary scripture of Judaism. Christian youths participate in First Communion, in which they take part in the Eucharist (a ceremony involving blessed bread and wine, which represent the body and blood of Christ) for the first time. Weddings and funerals are two other ceremonies of passage laden with sacred meaning. All of life—including food, work, suffering, human relations, sexuality and marriage, education, the arts, and government—can be given religious significance. Many religions have detailed rules of purity that bear on every aspect of behavior. In this way, the religious reality—whether conceived as a divine commandment, the will of God, Buddha nature, or the Tao—is acknowledged to be the true and proper basis of all life. E Interaction with Spiritual Beings Shamanism The shaman, right, of this tribe in Mexico applies healing techniques during a ceremony. Shamans are an important part of many cultures where they have the power to heal the sick and to communicate with the spiritual world. Shamans usually enjoy special status among their people, functioning as priests, healers, and receivers of visions. Kal Muller/Woodfin Camp and Associates, Inc. Religious cultures provide their members with established, patterned ways of interacting with spiritual beings. Such communication is often the center of religious practice. Perhaps the most widely practiced forms are petitionary prayer (prayer that contains a request), offerings and sacrifices, purification and penance, and worship. Sometimes these are regular events, and sometimes they are performed in times of special need, such as illness, drought, infertility, or war—times when human beings find themselves especially dependent on or subject to the forces of the universe that are beyond their control. At other times, religions have forms of communion, such as the Christian Eucharist or meditation on the presence of a supreme being. Reciting the name of the Buddha is the primary religious practice in Pure Land Buddhism, and this practice has parallels among other religious groups, such as the Sikhs. The gods, in turn, are believed to make their will, power, or presence known to humans in a variety of ways, including prophecy, states of trance, dreams and visions, divination, healings, special signs and miracles, intuition, mystical experiences, and embodiment in the lives of special individuals. In many societies, possession (control of a person’s body by a spiritual entity) is a common form of interchange with the spirit world. Through intensive training, a shaman acquires the ability to enter trance states and negotiate with gods and spirits. In so-called possession rites, spirits are believed to enter the bodies of devotees. Divination, or techniques for reading the will and timing of the gods through the shape or significations of physical objects, is also widespread. Relationship with the divinity can also be expressed in terms of moral behavior. In this case, service to the gods means devotedly adhering to their revealed precepts for conduct and their standards of spiritual life in general. In some religions, individuals cultivate a lifelong personal relationship with their deity. F Rituals and Symbols Yogi in Kerala, India Classical yoga is a darśana, or doctrine, that is theistic and emphasizes purification through meditation. A yogi, or practitioner of yoga, meditates in order to achieve true bliss, which involves a complete withdrawal from the world. The yogi assumes the bodily posture that affords the most stability and the least effort, as shown here by a yogi from Kerala, India. Effective meditation relies on careful control of respiration and intense focus upon a single object. The yogi strives to transcend body and matter through consistent meditation. Walter S. Clark/Photo Researchers, Inc. Ritual is a form of communication in its own right. Rituals involve performance and symbolic bodily actions, displayed in a tangible, visible way. They have the power to focus experience and thus function to intensify the sense of the sacred. Rituals can be as simple as bowing one’s head before a meal, chanting a certain phrase, or removing footwear. At the other extreme, they can involve intricate ceremonies performed by teams of priests and lasting several days. Rituals reveal the sacred through specific, symbolic actions and objects, including processions, special clothing, special sounds—for example chanting—or silences, masks, symbolic objects, and special foods. Some religions use rituals to great effect, while others assign them a lesser role. Where ritual is central, there is usually a priesthood (see Priest). This is the case in the Catholic and Orthodox forms of Christianity (see Roman Catholic Church; Orthodox Church) as well as in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto. Jews, Muslims, and many Protestant churches do not have a priesthood as such because they emphasize a direct faith and consideration of scripture (training in which is required for rabbis, imams, and ministers). Bear Dance Sioux men on the Great Plains perform a bear dance in this 1844 lithograph by American artist George Catlin. Held several days in a row before a bear hunt, the dance was believed to be a means of contacting the bear spirit and bringing success on the hunt. Dancers imitated bear movements, and some wore bearskins and bear masks. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California/SuperStock Religions differ in their use of images. Jews, Muslims, and puritanical forms of Protestantism prohibit images of God in order to preserve the transcendence and holiness of the divine. But images of holy persons or of the deity are important objects of veneration in Catholicism, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (in which they are called icons), and in most other religions (see Idolatry). G Holiness, Inward Transformation, and Salvation Most major religions provide paths that deliver individuals from the bondage of sin, immorality, ignorance, and other types of impurity or disharmony and lead them toward a state of purity of soul, spiritual knowledge, wisdom, godliness, enlightenment, or even eternal life. Religions typically hold that human beings have a higher nature that exists in tension with a lower nature, and the religions offer ways to redeem the former from the latter. Even within a single religious tradition there may be different versions of this process. Some emphasize the separation of the spiritual part of the self from worldly attachments, while others emphasize living harmoniously in relation to nature, self, and divinity. Two corresponding religious ideals can be discerned from the different ways in which religions consider salvation. On one hand, the saved or truly religious person may be one who has achieved liberation from the material world and has reached a heavenly state of afterlife (such as heaven) or a supreme state of consciousness (such as nirvana). On the other hand, this person may be one who has come to embody the virtues of holiness, however they are defined by the particular religion, while still living on earth. Monasticism arose in some religions, such as Buddhism and the classical forms of Christianity, although it has no place in others, including Judaism, Islam, and Protestantism. Many religious virtues—such as love, self-control, compassion, nonviolence, and wisdom—appear in more than one religion, but differences in belief systems can give varying significance to these virtues. All the historic religions address the need for individual holiness in some form and can point to saints, mystics, or spiritual exemplars who fully embody the ideals of their traditions.

VI . RELIGION IN THE MODERN WORLD

Modernity has posed acute challenges to traditional religions. In the 1960s membership in mainstream Christian denominations began to decline, and candidates for the priesthood were less numerous. For a large number of people in modern societies, religion is neither good nor bad but simply irrelevant, given the many alternative ways to find meaning in various forms of cultural pursuits, ethical ideals, and lifestyles. These challenges to religion are partly a result of the prestige of science. The sciences describe a universe without reference to deities, the soul, or spiritual meaning. In addition, critical studies of biblical history have demonstrated that the Bible is not unique among ancient religious and historical documents (see Biblical Criticism). For example, the biblical stories of the Garden of Eden and the Deluge (universal flood) are common to other ancient Middle Eastern religions. Other factors that have contributed to a decline in religious participation in the modern world include the presentation of religion as a prescientific form of superstitious thinking, as a source of political control and divisiveness, as a confirmation of established patriarchal values, or as an emotional crutch. In addition, many families are no longer able to maintain stable religious traditions because they are disconnected from traditional, supportive religions or as a result of mixed or nonreligious marriages. Another influence has been the loss of community and social commitment that has followed in the wake of increased mobility. Frequent changes of location can result in a sense of impermanence or instability. This is particularly true of a move from town to city, which often results in the loss of stable community structure. Social uprooting can lead to religious uprooting because religious affiliation is closely related to social ties. Despite all these factors, religion has not disappeared, and in many places it is thriving. Although secularization has had its effects, religion has been kept alive as a result, in part, of the adaptation of religion to secular values; the repositioning of conservative religion in direct opposition to secular values; and the emergence of new religious movements that meet the specific and diverse spiritual needs of people in contemporary society. In many instances, religion has been able to adapt to modernity by accommodating the diversity of contemporary culture. Many religious traditions have broadened the concept of God to allow for the coexistence of various faiths, have acknowledged gender equality by ordaining women, and have adopted outward characteristics of modern culture in general. Many groups have benefited from the use of electronic media and networking, and some have developed religious functions for the Internet, including electronic prayer groups. Modern marketing techniques have been employed to increase membership. Many churches incorporate the latest kinds of support groups, counseling techniques, and popular music. Evangelicalism in its various forms, including fundamentalism, offers a different response to modernity. Conservative movements, which have appeared internationally in every major religious tradition, have gained vitality by protesting what they see as the conspicuous absence of moral values in secular society. In times of anxiety and uncertainty, such movements present scripture as a source of doctrinal certainty and of moral absolutes. Against the secularism of the day, evangelical movements have succeeded in creating their own alternative cultures and have acquired considerable political influence. For all its challenges to traditional religious identity, modernity has at the same time created new spiritual opportunities. Thousands of new religious movements emerged around the world in the 20th century, offering alternative forms of community to people otherwise removed from past associations and disenchanted with modern values. Collectively, these new religions offer a large number of options, addressing virtually every conceivable type of spiritual need. In a sense, modernity has created needs and problems for which new movements are able to present themselves as solutions. Some offer ethnic revitalization; others, techniques of meditation and self-improvement; and still others, the power of alternative or spiritual forms of healing. Buddhist- and Hindu-derived movements continue to have considerable followings among Westerners searching for truths beyond the Judeo-Christian tradition (see Zen; Hare Krishna). Further, in a world where home life has become less stable, an international movement such as the Unification Church emphasizes the holiness and divine restoration of the institution of the family. Currently, one of the most rapidly growing religious movements is Pentecostalism, which takes its name from the festival day when the first Christian community felt the power of the Holy Spirit pour out on them (see Pentecostal Churches). Pentecostalism’s grass roots services provide direct, ecstatic spiritual experiences. A quite different but also widespread form of spirituality is that of the so-called New Age Movement, which offers individuals the opportunity to reconnect with mystical dimensions of the self and thus with the wider cosmos—relationships that are typically obscured by secular culture and often are not addressed in biblical traditions.

Contributed By: William E. Paden Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

BIG BANG THEORY

Big Bang Theory - The Premise
The Big Bang theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very beginning of our universe. Discoveries in astronomy and physics have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that our universe did in fact have a beginning. Prior to that moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe. The big bang theory is an effort to explain what happened during and after that moment.

According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as "singularity" around 13.7 billion years ago. What is a "singularity" and where does it come from? Well, to be honest, we don't know for sure. Singularities are zones which defy our current understanding of physics. They are thought to exist at the core of "black holes." Black holes are areas of intense gravitational pressure. The pressure is thought to be so intense that finite matter is actually squished into infinite density (a mathematical concept which truly boggles the mind). These zones of infinite density are called "singularities." Our universe is thought to have begun as an infinitesimally small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense, something - a singularity. Where did it come from? We don't know. Why did it appear? We don't know.

After its initial appearance, it apparently inflated (the "Big Bang"), expanded and cooled, going from very, very small and very, very hot, to the size and temperature of our current universe. It continues to expand and cool to this day and we are inside of it: incredible creatures living on a unique planet, circling a beautiful star clustered together with several hundred billion other stars in a galaxy soaring through the cosmos, all of which is inside of an expanding universe that began as an infinitesimal singularity which appeared out of nowhere for reasons unknown. This is the Big Bang theory.

Big Bang Theory - Common Misconceptions
There are many misconceptions surrounding the Big Bang theory. For example, we tend to imagine a giant explosion. Experts however say that there was no explosion; there was (and continues to be) an expansion. Rather than imagining a balloon popping and releasing its contents, imagine a balloon expanding: an infinitesimally small balloon expanding to the size of our current universe.

Another misconception is that we tend to image the singularity as a little fireball appearing somewhere in space. According to the many experts however, space didn't exist prior to the Big Bang. Back in the late '60s and early '70s, when men first walked upon the moon, "three British astrophysicists, Steven Hawking, George Ellis, and Roger Penrose turned their attention to the Theory of Relativity and its implications regarding our notions of time. In 1968 and 1970, they published papers in which they extended Einstein's Theory of General Relativity to include measurements of time and space.1, 2 According to their calculations, time and space had a finite beginning that corresponded to the origin of matter and energy."3 The singularity didn't appear in space; rather, space began inside of the singularity. Prior to the singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or energy - nothing. So where and in what did the singularity appear if not in space? We don't know. We don't know where it came from, why it's here, or even where it is. All we really know is that we are inside of it and at one time it didn't exist and neither did we.

Big Bang Theory - Evidence for the Theory
What are the major evidences which support the Big Bang theory?

First of all, we are reasonably certain that the universe had a beginning.
Second, galaxies appear to be moving away from us at speeds proportional to their distance. This is called "Hubble's Law," named after Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) who discovered this phenomenon in 1929. This observation supports the expansion of the universe and suggests that the universe was once compacted.
Third, if the universe was initially very, very hot as the Big Bang suggests, we should be able to find some remnant of this heat. In 1965, Radioastronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered a 2.725 degree Kelvin (-454.765 degree Fahrenheit, -270.425 degree Celsius) Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB) which pervades the observable universe. This is thought to be the remnant which scientists were looking for. Penzias and Wilson shared in the 1978 Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery.
Finally, the abundance of the "light elements" Hydrogen and Helium found in the observable universe are thought to support the Big Bang model of origins.

Big Bang Theory - The Only Plausible Theory?
Is the standard Big Bang theory the only model consistent with these evidences? No, it's just the most popular one. Internationally renown Astrophysicist George F. R. Ellis explains: "People need to be aware that there is a range of models that could explain the observations….For instance, I can construct you a spherically symmetrical universe with Earth at its center, and you cannot disprove it based on observations….You can only exclude it on philosophical grounds. In my view there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. What I want to bring into the open is the fact that we are using philosophical criteria in choosing our models. A lot of cosmology tries to hide that."4

In 2003, Physicist Robert Gentry proposed an attractive alternative to the standard theory, an alternative which also accounts for the evidences listed above.5 Dr. Gentry claims that the standard Big Bang model is founded upon a faulty paradigm (the Friedmann-lemaitre expanding-spacetime paradigm) which he claims is inconsistent with the empirical data. He chooses instead to base his model on Einstein's static-spacetime paradigm which he claims is the "genuine cosmic Rosetta." Gentry has published several papers outlining what he considers to be serious flaws in the standard Big Bang model.6 Other high-profile dissenters include Nobel laureate Dr. Hannes Alfvén, Professor Geoffrey Burbidge, Dr. Halton Arp, and the renowned British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle, who is accredited with first coining the term "the Big Bang" during a BBC radio broadcast in 1950.

Big Bang Theory - What About God?
Any discussion of the Big Bang theory would be incomplete without asking the question, what about God? This is because cosmogony (the study of the origin of the universe) is an area where science and theology meet. Creation was a supernatural event. That is, it took place outside of the natural realm. This fact begs the question: is there anything else which exists outside of the natural realm? Specifically, is there a master Architect out there? We know that this universe had a beginning. Was God the "First Cause"? We won't attempt to answer that question in this short article. We just ask the question:

Does God Exist?

Footnotes:

Steven W. Hawking, George F.R. Ellis, "The Cosmic Black-Body Radiation and the Existence of Singularities in our Universe," Astrophysical Journal, 152, (1968) pp. 25-36.
Steven W. Hawking, Roger Penrose, "The Singularities of Gravitational Collapse and Cosmology," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, series A, 314 (1970) pp. 529-548.
Mark Eastman, Chuck Missler, The Creator: Beyond Time and Space, (1996) p. 11.
W. Wayt Gibbs, "Profile: George F. R. Ellis," Scientific American, October 1995, Vol. 273, No.4, p. 55.
See http://www.halos.com/reports/ext-2003-022.pdf
See http://www.halos.com/reports/arxiv-1998-rosetta.pdf and http://www.halos.com/reports/ext-2003-021.pdf; see also http://www.halos.com/reports/arxiv-1998-redshift.pdf and http://www.halos.com/reports/arxiv-1998-affirmed.pdf

SOURCE: ALL ABOUT SCIENCE-http://big-bang-theory.com/

The Six Pillars of Character

I’ve talked before about the importance of making moral judgments. The idea is not to categorize or label others’ character but to clarify personal moral obligations in terms of specific values and attributes that make us better people and produce a better society.

The most effective framework I know is built on six core ethical values called the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Thus, if you want to be a person of character:

First, be worthy of trust. Live with honor and integrity. Be honest. Keep your promises. Do what’s right even when it costs more than you want to pay.

Second, treat others with respect. Live by the Golden Rule. Avoid physical violence, verbal abuse, prejudice, and all acts that demean or offend human dignity.

Third, be responsible. Exercise self-discipline and self-restraint. Do your best. Be self-reliant and accountable for the consequences of your choices.

Fourth, strive to be fair. Don’t cheat. Be open and consistent. Don’t jump to conclusions. Be careful when making judgments about others.

Fifth, be caring, kind, empathetic, and charitable. Avoid selfishness. Do what you can to improve the lives of others.

Sixth, be a good citizen. Do your share to make your community better. Protect the environment. Participate in democratic processes. Play by the rules. Obey laws unless you have a compelling conscientious objection.

Michael Josephson

Christians and the Economy: Is There Hope?

A generation ago, Francis Schaeffer prophetically lamented that the West had lost its spiritual moorings in its pursuit of prosperity, personal peace, and affluence. Now, as Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter Tanous suggest in their recent book The End of Prosperity, it appears that this prosperity is fast slipping away, too (though, as will become clear later on, while I agree with their diagnosis, I believe their solution does not nearly go deep enough). In fact, the current economic crisis is global in scope, and the depth of the recession increasingly approaches the magnitude of the Great Depression. The major economic indicators paint an exceedingly dismal picture, as the following sampling of relevant information illustrates. Consider this disturbing set of data.

The unemployment rate in the US is currently 8.1 percent; it is projected to rise to 9.4 percent by 2011. The total number of unemployed Americans as of February 2009 is 12.5 million. Almost two million jobs were lost in the last three months alone (the highest number since 1945). Since the Obama inauguration, the stock market declined by 32 percent; the decline since October 2008 is 62 percent. The projected budget deficit for 2009 is $1.752 trillion (12.3 percent of the GDP). By comparison, the deficit in 2007 was $162 billion (1.2 percent of the GDP), and the total federal spending in 2000 was $1.79 trillion! (i.e. in nine short years we went from what amounted to the total spending per year becoming equivalent to the annual federal deficit).

The recent federal government bailout for the US banking system totaled over $700 billion; the price tag for the bailout for the auto industry stands currently at $17.4 billion and is likely to rise to at least $40 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the GDP declined by 3.8 percent, the worst performance since the first quarter of 1982. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2008 trade deficit with China amounted to over $266 billion. Housing starts were down 15.5 percent in December 2008 compared to the same time the previous year and are at the lowest level since 1991, while foreclosures increased by 81 percent from 2007 to 2008. 2.3 million American homeowners face foreclosure, and 860,000 properties were repossessed in 2008 (more than double from 2007).

The rapid economic decline, in turn, coincides with the growing moral malaise in our culture. This includes the increasing fragmentation of the family, divorce and teenage pregnancy rates, and the number of abortions. While simplistic cause-and-effect relationships are to be eschewed, this economic and social data is hardly unrelated. In fact, the moral dimension of economics has rarely been clearer than in recent months. Reckless, irresponsible lending practices by financial institutions, corporate greed, especially by the executives of large corporations, and a mentality of mortgaging the future of coming generations underscore that this economic crisis is at the center a spiritual and moral crisis of major proportions.

Will economic policy be the likely cure? This, of course, seems to be the conviction exuded by political operatives and other economic talking heads in the media. When in trouble, turn to the experts, and they will figure out and fix the problem. But how do we know that a given course of action will really take care of the issue and not merely be a stopgap measure? How do we know, for example, if increased government spending, or tax cuts, or a combination of measures to stimulate economic activity will turn the economy around? For some of us who are skeptical, Ronald Reagan’s famous quip comes to mind: “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” What is more, as Milton Friedman once remarked, and as recent efforts at the federal level to revive the economy seem to confirm, “The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem.”

On the whole, even though it is of course true that economic trends are cyclical in nature, it seems increasingly naïve to assume that mere economic solutions, no matter how ingenious (even those proposed by the authors of The End of Prosperity!) will reverse the course of our nation. In my opinion, at least, we ought not to overestimate the ability of specialists to remedy a problem whose root cause is ultimately beyond their grasp. However, the economic downturn has been good for at least one (albeit very minute) segment of our population: economists. On this point John Kenneth Galbraith had it exactly right: “Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists.” (One may be forgiven the thought that this is the only thing some economists are useful for.) In this increasingly dire situation, gallows’ humor may be one of the few things still left to alleviate the situation.

In all seriousness, when all is said and done, my conclusion, as one whose first Ph.D. is in economics, is this. As with the social crisis in our society, only a return to the biblical foundations will prove to have a lasting positive impact (for a similar diagnosis with regard to marriage and the family, see my book God, Marriage & Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation; see also the late Harold O. J. Brown’s provocative volume Sensate Culture). On a larger societal scale, short of a spiritual revival this is unlikely to happen. On a personal level, biblical values ought to guide and undergird the way we live and the way we spend our money once again. With regard to the church’s proclamation, the current crisis presents us with a golden opportunity for presenting the gospel. Do we trust in the economy or in the Lord Jesus Christ? Is our confidence in our 401(k)s or in the blessed hope of his return?

For those who built their houses on the shifting sands of the American economy, the gospel stands ready to help with an eternal message of good news: faith in Christ is recession-proof, and where profits fall, faith may rise. As Jesus stated, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done” (Matt 16:24-28). For those with ears to hear, this is good news indeed.

Note: This post first appeared as an Editorial in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Kultura ng Pilipinas

Ang kultura ng Pilipinas o kalinangan ng Pilipinas ay pinaghalong impluwensya ng mga katutubong tradisyon at mga kultura ng mga unang mangangalakal at mananakop nito noon. Ang papanakop ng mga Kastila sa Pilipinas, sa pamamahala ng Mehiko, na tumagal ng mahigit 350 taon, ay may malaking kontribusyon sa Kultura ng Pilipinas. Ang Wikang Pilipino, na mas kadalasang kilala bilang Tagalog, ay maraming hiniram na salita galing Kastila. Karamihan sa mga pinagdiriwang na mga tradisyon ay magkahalong Kristiyano, Pagano, at iba pang lokal na seremonya. Bilang halimbawa, bawat taon, ang mga bayan sa buong bansa, ay nagsasagawa ng malalaking Pista, nagpapaalala sa mga Santong Patron ng mga bayan, barangay, o ng mga distrito. Ang mga Pista ay kadalasang may patimpalak sa katutubong pagsayaw, at sa ibang lugar ay mayroon pang sabungan. Ang mga ganitong tradisyon ay ginaganap din sa mga bansang nasakop ng mga Kastila. Sa Katimugang bahagi ng bansa na karamihan ay mananalig Islam ay nagdiriwang din ng kanilang mga tradisyon at nakagawian.

Bago pa man dumating ang mga unang mananakop, ang mga mangangalakal galing sa India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Tsina at Hapon ay may malaking kontribusyon din sa Kultura ng Pilipinas. Ang Hinduismo at Budismo ay may impluwensya sa mga katutubong paniniwala ng mga Pilipino bago dumating ang mga Kastila at ang mga mangangalakal na Muslim. Ang wikang Tagalog at iba pang wika sa Pilipinas ay maraming hiniram sa wikang Sanskrito. Isang mabuting halimbawa ang karma, na hanggang ngayon ay pinaniniwalaan pa rin ng mga Pilipino. Marami sa mga pamahiin, hiniram na salita at pagkain, tulad ng pansit, siopao at iba pa ay minana sa mga mangangalakal na Instik.Ang ibig sabihin ng kultura ay ang paraan ng pamumuhay ng mga tao nagpapakita ng kaugalian,tradisyon,mga sining,sistema ng edukasyon,musika at pamahalaan.
Mga nilalaman
[itago]

* 1 Lipunang Pilipino
o 1.1 Kaugaliang Pilipino
* 2 Mga Pagdiriwang
* 3 Sanggunian
* 4 Tingnan din

Lipunang Pilipino [baguhin]

Ang Lipunang Pilipino ay magkahalong lipunan. Isa bilang bansa, at marami dahil sa pagkakahiwalay ng mga ito ng lugar, dahil sa pulo pulo nitong ayos at mga kasanayan. Ang bansa ay nahahati sa pagitan ng mga Kristiyano, Muslim, at iba pang pangkat; sa pagitan ng mga nasa lungsod at sa mga nayon; mga tagabundok at tagapatag; at pagitan ng mga mayayaman at ng mga mahihirap.

Kaugaliang Pilipino [baguhin]

* Bayanihan: Nabuo ang Bayanihan sa mga samahan ng mga magkakapitbahay na nagtutulungan kahit kailan o saan man kailanganin ng tulong. Kadalasan makikita ang bayanihan sa mga sasakyang nasisiraan ng gulong. Ang mga tambay at ang mga taong-bayang na malapit dito ay agad agad ding tutulungan ang drayber kahit ano pa man ang mangyari maayos lamang ang nasirang sasakyan. O kaya naman mas kadalasang inilalarawan ito ng paglilipat bahay noon ng mga nasa lalawigan. Ang mga bahay ay sabay sabay bubuhatin ng mga kalalakihan na sinasabayan pa kung minsan ng awitin upang di gaanong madama ang kabigatan nito. Ito ay kabaligtaran ng ugaling indibidwalismo ng mga lipunang Europeo at Amerikano.

* Matinding Pagkakabuklod-buklod ng Mag-anak: Ang mga Pilipino ay kadalasang malalapit sa kanilang mag-anak at iba pang kamag-anak. Ang pangunahing sistemang panlipunan ng mga Pilipino ay mag-anak. Maraming mga Pilipino ang tumitira malapit sa kanilang mga kamag-anak, kahit pa sila ay may edad na o kaya naman ay may sarili na ring mag-anak. Kadalasan ang isang bahay sa Pilipinas ay binubuo ng mahigit sa dalawang mag-anak. Sa mga lalawigan, ang mga nayon ay kadalasang binubuo ng iisang angkan, at halos lahat ay mag-kakakilala.

* Pakikisama[1]: Ang pakikisama ay ang kaugaliang Pilipino na nagnanais magkaroon ng maganda at mabuting pakikitungo sa iba.

* Hiya: Ang kaugaliang Hiya ay isang panlipunang kaugalian. Ang mga Pilipino kasi ay naniniwala na dapat na kumilos sila kung ano ang mga tinatanggap na kaugalian ng lipunan; ang kung sila ay nakagawa ng kaugaliang hindi tanggap, ang kahihiyan na ginawa nila ay hindi lang para sa kanilang sarili kundi kahihiyan din ito para sa kanilang mag-anak. Isang halimbawa ay ang pagiging magarbo ng paghahanda kahit na hindi napat sapat ang kabuhayan niya. Kung ay isa ay pinahiya sa maraming tao, sila ay nakararamdam ng hiya at nawawalan ng lakas ng loob.

* Utang na Loob[1]: Ang Utang na Loob, ay isang utang ng tao sa taong tumulong sa kanya sa mga pagsubok na kanyang dinaanan. May mga kasabihan nga na: Ang Hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay Hindi makararating sa paroroonan
* Amor Propio: Pagpapahalaga ng isang tao sa kanyang dignidad.
* Delicadeza: Isang ugali na kailan na dapat ang isang tao ay kumilos sa tama at nasa lugar.
* Palabra de Honor: "May isang salita" Isang kaugalian ng mga Pilipino na kailangan tuparin ang mga sinabi nitong mga salita o pangako sa iba at hindi paiba iba ng opinyon.


Mga Pagdiriwang [baguhin]

* Pebrero 25 - Himagsikang EDSA
* Abril 9 - Araw ng Kagitingan
* Mayo 1 - Araw ng Manggagawa
* Hunyo 12 - Araw ng Kalayaan
* Agosto 28 - Araw ng mga Bayani
* Nobyembre 30 - Araw ni Bonifacio
* Disyembre 30 - Araw ni Rizal
* Disyembre 25 - Pasko

Culture and Values

The complexity of the history of the Philippines had made the Filipino culture diverse as it has been under many influences.
The Spanish colonizers greatly shaped our culture and values since its regime lasted for more than three and a half centuries. This is most evident in our folk music, dance, language, art, and religion.

Family. The family is the basic unit of society. Family ties are valued highly because Filipinos tend to be very close with family members. The nuclear family setup is the standard with Filipinos, which is why divorce is illegal in the Philippines.

Pamilyang Pinoy

Common Values. Being respectful is one of the most common Filipino values that is being especially instilled in the minds of young Filipinos. The use of “Po” and “opo”, for instance, is an expression of respect to elders in the Tagalog culture (especially true among those living in Luzon). Grandparents and the elderly are also shown a special gesture of respect by the placing of the back of the elder’s hand (at the fingers) against one’s forehead, called “mano”.

Most of the time, you will hear children calling their neighbors and distant relatives “auntie†and “uncle†or “tiyo†and “tiya†in the Visayan area.

Shame or hiya is the Filipino way of living up to accepted standards of behavior.
Utang na loob or “debt of gratitude”s, is owed by one to a person who has helped him through some difficulties he had undergone.
Death. Death in the Philippines is one of the most important occasions in family life. It is a tradition to hold a wake where families, relatives, neighbors, and friends gather to pay respect to the deceased’s remains. This is one of the biggest gatherings of family members and friends, aside from weddings and baptism. Similar to Latin America, women also wear white veils and black pins to show that they are mourning.

UNDERSTANDING THE FILIPINO

VALUE SYSTEM

VITALIANO R. GOROSPE, S.J.


Since the February 1986 Revolution(1), values development has been one major concern of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS). Undersecretary Minda Sutaria has publicized the second draft of the DECS Overall Values Framework, designed to assist teachers at all levels. This latest draft, basically similar to that proposed by Fr. Raul Bonoan, S.J. in "Paideia, Humanism, and Magpakatao: Values for National Reconstruction,"(2) bases its framework on the provisions of the Philippine Constitution of 1986.

If we are to discover our traditional values and make sure that they contribute to the "just and humane society" and "total human liberation and development" of which the Philippine Constitution speaks, we must ask some basic questions.

1) What is the philosophical basis of Filipino values?

2) What is distinctive about the Filipino value system?

VALUE PHILOSOPHY

A brief introduction to the philosophy of human values is necessary for an understanding of Filipino values and values education. A Filipino experiences family closeness and solidarity (pagpapahalaga sa pamilya), politeness (use of po or ho), hospitality (tuloy po kayo), gratitude (utang na loob) from "within", that is, subjectively and emotionally, unlike a non-Filipino observer, social scientist, or psychologist who studies Filipino values objectively from "without" or "from a distance". Such Filipino values as social acceptance, (pakikisama, amor propio, economic security, pagmamay-ari), and trust in God (paniniwala sa Diyos, bathala or Maykapal) find their philosophical basis in man's dynamic openness toward nature and the world (e.g., the value of hanap-buhay ng magsasaka), one's fellowmen (the values of paggalang, hiya, katarungan, pag-ibig), and God (the values of pananampalataya, pananalangin, kabanalan).

This dynamic openness of man is an openness to the possibilities of the future. That is why values are something to be realized. Take the value of peace. The Philippine situation is now characterized by insurgency; conflict between the NPA, the MNLF and the AFP; vigilante groups; hostility and division--in short, an absence of national peace and order. Human values are not merely private. All values have a social aspect. The government official who demands porsiyento, the fireman or policeman who extorts tong or lagay for a service which is his duty, all contribute to the worsening graft and corruption. We are all responsible for one another (tayong lahat ay may pananagutan sa isa't-isa).

Values are both subjective and objective. They involve a subject or person who values (e.g., a young girl) and an object or value to be realized (e.g., pagkamahinhin). Justice is objective because it is a value that should be realized by all. It also becomes subjective if justice becomes a value for me. There is an objective difference between value and disvalue, pleasure and pain, life and death, poverty and affluence, heroism and cowardice, truth and error, right and wrong, holiness and sinfulness. The difference is not only in the mind or a matter of personal taste or preference. Even if I close my eyes to the ugly poverty around me, the poor will not disappear.

Values are not objective in the sense that they are found in some static heaven: they are relational and embodied in person-value-types (ideal moral persons). For example, to a tipong-mukhang kuarta [an avaricious look] profit is more important than service; to a tipong-politiko [political type], pera [money], propaganda, politika [politics] are more valuable than honesty; tipong siyentipiko [scientist type] or tipong-artista [actor type] personify agham [science] and sining [art]; tipong madasalin [pious type] may exemplify kabanalan (piety). Cory Aquino embodied all that we wanted our President to be--credible, honest, just, with a strong faith in God and in our people. The ideal type or Filipino model during the "parliament of the streets" was the tipong-maka-Diyos (religions), makatao (people-oriented), makabayan (nationalistic).

The heroes of EDSA placed the good of the Filipino people before the safety and security of their families. They were willing to risk their lives for God and people. Value-ranking or the priority of values is not merely arbitrary or subjective. There is an objective ranking of values based on existence or reality and other objective criteria. Using the criteria of permanence, ability to be shared, and depth of satisfaction, Max Scheler ranked human values from the lowest to the highest as follows:(3) sense values like sensual pleasure are exemplified by the lakuatsero or pabling; utilitarian values like profit and efficiency by the businessman and technocrat; life values, by the doctor and the hero, e.g., Dr. Bobby de la Paz and Emilio Jacinto; cultural values, by the genius and the artist, e.g., Jose Rizal and Francisco Balagtas; religious values, by the saint, e.g., Mother Teresa or Lorenzo Ruiz. Moral and religious values are pre-eminent and claim the highest priority in the objective scale of values because they are absolutely necessary in order to become fully human (magpakatao).


FILIPINO VALUES: NATURE, CONSTELLATION

AND CONTEXT

What are Filipino values? What is distinctly Filipino in our value system? The Filipino value system arises from our culture or way of life, our distinctive way of becoming human in this particular place and time. We speak of Filipino values in a fourfold sense.

First, although mankind shares universal human values, it is obvious that certain values take on for us a distinctively Filipino flavor. The Greek ideal of moderation or meden agan, the Roman in medio stat virtus, the Confucian and Buddhist "doctrine of the Middle", find their Filipino equivalent in hindi labis, hindi kulang, katamtaman lamang.

Secondly, when we speak of Filipino values, we do not mean that elements of these Filipino values are absent in the value systems of other peoples and cultures. All people eat, talk and sing, but they eat different foods, speak various languages and sing different songs. Thus, we easily recognize Filipino, American, Chinese, Japanese or any other foreign food, language or music. The difference lies in the way these elements are ranked, combined or emphasized so that they take on a distinctively Filipino slant or cast. For instance, in China, honesty and hard work may rank highest; Chinese and Japanese cultures give great value to politeness and beauty; American culture to promptness and efficiency; and Filipino culture to trust in God and family centeredness. In this sense of value-ranking and priority of values, we can speak of dominant Filipino values.

Thirdly, universal human values in a Filipino context (historical, cultural, socio-economic, political, moral and religious) take on a distinctive set of Filipino meanings and motivations. This is true not only of the aims and goals, beliefs, convictions, and social principles of the traditional value system of the lowland rural family(4) but also of what Fr. Horacio de la Costa, S.J. calls the Filipino "nationalistic" tradition (pagsasarili, pagkakaisa, pakikisama, pakikipagkapwa-tao, and pagkabayani.(5)

A Filipino value or disvalue does not exist alone, in isolation or in a vacuum. Filipino values like bahala na, utang na loob, hiya, pakikisama, pakiusap are clustered around core values like social acceptance, economic security, social mobility, and are always found in a definite context or set of circumstances. Both positive values and negative disvalues together form a characteristic constellation in school (aralan at dasalan [studying and praying], kuwentuhan at laruan [story telling and game], inggitan at tsismisan [envying and gossiping]), which differs from the configuration found in government offices (pagkakaisa [unity] , pagkabayani [heroism], intriga [intrigue], palakasan [show of power], sipsipan [bribery], palusot), in business firms (palabra de honor [word of honor], delicadeza [finesse], "commission", "kickback", padulas [grease money], lagay [bribe]), or in the barrio barangays (paggalang [honoring], pagdadamayan [comforting], bayanihan [cooperation], bahala na [come what may], utang na loob [gratefulness], hiya[shame]/pakiusap[appear], palakasan [show of power]). To change a framework of values, it may be necessary to change the constellation and context of those negative values that hinder Filipino and Christian development.

Fourthly, we can speak of Filipino values in the sense that the historical consciousness of values has evolved among our people. The Filipino concept of justice has evolved from inequality to equality, and to human dignity; from the tribe, to the family, and to the nation(6). Filipino consciousness of these different values varies at different periods of our history. It is only in the last two decades that the Filipino people have become more conscious of overpopulation and family planning, environmental pollution (Kawasaki sintering plant) and wildlife conservation (Calauit Island), and the violation of human rights (Martial Law), active non-violence and People Power (1986 non-violent Revolution).

FILIPINO VALUES: AMBIVALENCE AND

SPLIT-LEVEL CHRISTIANITY

Are Filipino values good or bad? The truth is that Filipino values are ambivalent in the sense that they are a potential for good or evil, a help or hindrance to personal and national development, depending on how they are understood, practiced or lived. They can be used in a good or evil context, e.g., pakikisama sa kabuktutan or sa kaunlaran. Filipino values have both positive and negative aspects depending on the context in which they are found. In a social system or atmosphere of extreme insecurity, the positive qualities of the Filipino take on negative and ugly appearances. For example, utang na loob can lead to pakiusap, nepotism and "cronyism". Pagmamay-ari ng kapangyarihan (the possession of power) and their abuse could lead to class distinction or the "malakas-mahina system". Hiya can become pakitang tao or gaya-gaya; machismo (tunay na lalake) is partly responsible for the "querida system" and the doble kara morality.

To show the ambivalence of Filipino values, one example will suffice. Take the well known but ambivalent Filipino bahala na mentality. On the one hand, this Filipino attitude could be the root of the positive value of risk taking, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. Prof. Jose de Mesa, in a pioneer book on the Filipino and Christian meaning of bahala na, stresses the positive meaning of this virtue of risk- taking, enterprise and joint trust in both human effort (bahala tayong lahat) and divine Providence (bahala ang Maykapal)(7). A people's will to take chances and risks, no matter what difficulties and problems the future entails, is necessary for a nation's growth and destiny. Bahala na could be a genuine faith and trust in Divine Providence that also presupposes a self-reliance (pagsasarili) that took the form of People Power in the EDSA revolution. Bahala na was a positive and nationalistic virtue for Jose Rizal, who believed that Filipinos could no longer rely on the Spaniards, but only on themselves and on God.

On the other hand, in the past the negative aspect of bahala

na which dominated Filipino life meant a false sense of resignation (ganyan lang ang buhay), a superstitious belief or blind faith (malas/suwerte, tadhana, kapalaran), or escape from decision-making and social responsibility. As such it may be the root cause of national apathy (walang pakialam) and collective paralysis of action (bakit pa kikilos) to solve both local and national problems. Everything is already predetermined or fated. Negatively, bahala na could engender a false sense of security with God as insurance or a security blanket. For example, if God wants Filipino families to have plenty of children (anak ay kayamanan), God will take care of everything. Bahala na could be the cause of the absence of national initiative and of that discipline required for national growth. When negative bahala na prevails, nothing ever gets done. Potholed roads, uncollected garbage, countless unsolved murders, carnaping and smuggling remain year after year. How many have ever been arrested, convicted or jailed for wanton murder or for notorious graft and corruption? A sense of national frustration, helplessness, and despair grips the nation and the people no longer care. Nothing is going to happen--Bahala na, come what may.

From a Filipino perspective, what social reforms are necessary to transform bahala na positively? No society will long endure unless there is justice; that is, unless a system of reward and punishment exists and is effective. If in Philippine society lying and stealing people's money are rewarded and truthfulness and honesty are punished, what else can one expect but a badly broken political will for national reform? The present government should therefore prioritize an effective system of universal sanctions for those who hold power. From a Christian perspective, the Christian doctrines of divine Providence, creation, stewardship of land and property, and the conservation of our natural resources remain the challenge and task of parents, educators, and Christian evangelizers.

Split-level Christianity or double-standard morality, the immorality and hypocrisy of many so-called Filipino Christians, is a scandal to both Christians and non-Christians alike.(8) It is important to distinguish between pseudo Christianity in all its varied forms and authentic Christianity; between bad and good Christians. We must also take into account the ambiguity of any religious commitment, which is not something made once and for all, but a life-long process which demands constant conversion and renewal. We must also distinguish between Filipino actual and normative behaviour (between what is and what ought to be). Filipino values are not static, i.e., they are not simply what they are, but dynamic, i.e., they become. From a historical perspective, the question to ask about Filipino values is: Ganito kami noon: paano kayo ngayon? How are we to know towards what goal or direction Filipino values ought to move or become?

Now that we have regained our democratic form of government once again and have arrived at a privileged historical kairos, how do we transform Filipino values to build a more "just and humane society" (Preamble, 1987 Constitution)? We need both external structural and internal cultural change. It is here that the Christian faith should, in the last analysis, point the way to the kind of values education needed for national reconstruction.

Ateneo de Manila University



Culture of the Philippines reflects the complexity of the history of the Philippines through the blending of cultures of diverse indigenous civilizations, and foreign influences.

Spanish colonization of the Philippines, governed from Spain, and Mexico, lasted for more than three centuries. There is a significant amount of Spanish-Mexican influence in Philippine custom, and tradition. Hispanic influences are visible in traditional Philippine folk music, folk dance, language, food, art, and religion.

Pre-Hispanic, and non-Christian Philippine culture are derived from the Indigenous tradition of the Austronesian primitive tribes called Malayo-Polynesian. The prehistoric Philippine Mythology, and Philippine indigenous culture has been influenced by the Malayo-Polynesian cultures of Oceania, accompanied by a mixture of Western-Christianity, Eastern-Islamic, Hinduism, and Buddhism tradition.

The Philippines were a territory of the United States from 1898 until 1946. American influences are evident in the use of the English language, and in contemporary pop culture, such as fast-food, music, film, and basketball.

Other Asian ethnic groups such as the Chinese, and Japanese have been settling in the Philippines since the colonial period, and their influence are evident in the popularity of gambling games such mahjong, jueteng, Filipino martial arts, and other Asian cuisine.

Muslim Filipinos living in the Philippines celebrate their own custom, and tradition. These groups follow a Philippine Islamic culture, and other Muslim recreation such as the Kali, Kulintang, and Gamelan, are used by Islamic groups in the southern islands of Mindanao, and Sulu archipelago.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Way of life
o 1.1 Religion in the Philippines
+ 1.1.1 Superstition
* 2 Arts of the Philippines
o 2.1 Literature
o 2.2 Performance art
+ 2.2.1 Music
+ 2.2.2 Dance
o 2.3 Visual art
+ 2.3.1 Folk art
+ 2.3.2 Primitive art
+ 2.3.3 Islamic art
o 2.4 Cinema and television
o 2.5 Architecture
* 3 Cuisine
* 4 Martial arts
* 5 Education in the Philippines
* 6 Sports in the Philippines
* 7 Traditional Filipino games
* 8 Tribal groups
* 9 Philippine diaspora
* 10 Celebrations
o 10.1 Regular holiday
o 10.2 Nationwide holiday
o 10.3 Native holiday
* 11 Other cultural realm
o 11.1 Homosexuality
* 12 See also
* 13 References
* 14 External links

[edit] Way of life

About two-fifths of the Philippine population live in urban areas, while three-fifths of the people live in rural areas, although the proportion of people living in towns, and cities is steadily increasing. Most people live in urban areas, while farmers, and agriculturalists lived in rural towns, and villages. The majority of the people follow an old-age tradition in addition to the latest contemporary life styles, and fashion trends.

[edit] Religion in the Philippines
Main articles: Religion in the Philippines and Philippine mythology
The Manila Cathedral in Luzon is one of many Christian churches in the country.

The Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic nation in Asia-Pacific, the other being East Timor. About 90% of the Philippine population are Christians. About 5% are Muslims, and about 5% practised other religions, and those with no religion.

[edit] Superstition

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, and the introduction of Roman Catholicism, and Western culture in the 1500s, the Indigenous Malayo-Polynesian tribes of the Philippine Islands were adherents of a mixture of Animism, Islam, Hinduism, and Vajrayana Buddhism.

Bathala was the supreme God of the Tagalog people, represented by the "Langit" (Sky), The Ninuno, or the ancient ancestors, were the people who taught believed in the supreme God. For the Bikolanos, the supreme God was "Gugurang". Other primitive gods, and goddesses include "Araw" (Sun), "Buwan" (Moon), "Tala" (Star), and Nature (such as trees, shrubs, mountains, or rocks).

Monsters, and spirits such as the "Aswang" (Vampire), the "Tikbalang" (Half Horse, and Human), the "Kapre" (Giant), the "Tiyanak" (Demon infant), the "Santelmo" (Fireball), "Duwende" (Dwarves, and Elves), the "Manananggal" (person with no lower half of their body), "Engkanto" (Spirits), "Diwata" (Fairies, and Nymphs), and Satanism are believed to exists in the Philippines.

Other paranormal beliefs such as "Voodoo" (Pangkukulam), "Witchcraft", "Usog" (Stranger), and "Lihi" (Food for the fairy) are also present. These beliefs have been practised to the present generation of Filipinos, which has led to some foreign scholars to incorrectly describe them as Pagan-Christians.

Voodoo, psychic surgery, and the rituals of medicine men and women are commonly practiced in most indigenous Filipino societies. These rituals are found mostly in rural areas throughout the islands. In Luzon, people who cast spells, and lay curses are called "Mangkukulam". People who curse their enemies by putting insects inside their bodies are called "Mambabarang". The healers of these curses are called "Albularyo".

Psychic surgeons are people who appear to remove tumors, and diseased tissue by sticking their hands into a patient's body, and extracting human flesh, and blood, but leaving the patient scar free. Some see this performance as a sleight of hand false interpretation. Believers accept it as true, and accept it as an alternative healing method, and a way to take advantage of the placebo effect.

[edit] Arts of the Philippines
Main article: Arts of the Philippines

Arts of the Philippines cover a variety of forms of entertainment. Folk art, Primitive art, and Islamic art consists of a classic, and modern feature that flourished as a result of European, Indigenous, and Islamic influence.

[edit] Literature
Main article: Literature of the Philippines

The literature of the Philippines illustrates the Prehistory, and European colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both Indigenous, and Hispanic writing system. Most of the traditional literatures of the Philippines were written during the Mexican, and Spanish period. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, Filipino, English, and other native Philippine languages.

[edit] Performance art

[edit] Music
Main article: Music in the Philippines

Early Spanish settlers, and Filipinos played a variety of musical instruments, including flutes, guitar, ukelele, violin, trumpets, and drums. They performed songs, and dance to celebrate festive occasions. By the 21st century, many of the folk songs, and dances have remained intact, and are presented by dance, and song groups throughout the Philippines. These groups are the Bayanihan, Filipinescas, Barangay-Barrio, and Hariraya groups, as well as the Karilagan Ensemble, and the groups associated with the guilds of Manila, and Fort Santiago theatres have been performed. Many Filipino musicians have risen prominence such as the composer, and conductor Antonio J. Molina, the composer Felipe P. de Leon, known for his nationalistic themes, and the opera singer Jovita Fuentes.

Modern day Philippine music features several styles. Most music genres are contemporary such as Filipino rock, Filipino hip hop, and other musical styles. Some are traditional such as Filipino folk music.

[edit] Dance

Philippine folk dances include the Cariñosa, and Tinikling. In the southern region of Mindanao, there is a dance called Singkil using long bamboo poles. However, it is primarily a dance which showcases Islamic culture. In this dance, there are bamboo poles arranged in a tic-tac-toe pattern in which the dancers exploit every position of these clashing poles.[1]

[edit] Visual art

[edit] Folk art

Filipinos began creating artistic paintings in the 17th century during the Spanish period, and have continued up to the present.[2] The earliest paintings of the Philippines were religious imagery from Biblical sources, as well as engravings, sculptures, and lithographs featuring Christian icons, and European nobility. Most of the paintings and sculptures between the 19th, and 20th century produced a mixture of religious, political, and landscape art works, with qualities of sweetness, dark, and light. Early modernist painters such as Damián Domingo was associated with religious, and secular paintings. The art of Juan Luna, and Felix Hidalgo showed a trend for political statement. Artist such as Fernando Amorsolo used post-modernism to produce paintings that illustrated Philippine culture, nature, and harmony. While other artist such as Fernando Zóbel used realities, and abstract on his work.

[edit] Primitive art
A primitive Ifugao fabric.

Pottery, weaving, and wood carving, are popular among Filipinos. Pottery was first made in the Philippines about 6000 B.C. The Manunggul jar is the most valued prehistoric artifact that has been discovered in Palawan Island. The jar features a carved scroll lines, painted with iron oxide, accompanied by a figure of a boat, a boatman, and passenger.

The sculptures of the Kankana-ey, and Ifugao tribes possess a unique sculptural tradition. The bulol tradition features a pair of figures carved in wood. The figures have a styled primitive features. They have religious significants, and are associated with the protection of rice harvests. The hagabi is perhaps the best example of a wood carving in the Philippines. It was carved by a large wooden bench with the sculpted pig-like heads at each end. The natives regard it as a sign of social status.

The Itnegs tribes are known for their intricate weaving production. The binakol is a blanket which features an optical illusion design. Weaving of the Ga'dang tribe usually has bright red tones. Their weaving is identified by beaded ornamentation. Other tribes such as the Ilongot made jewellery from pearl, red hornbill beak, plants, and metals.

The tribes of Mindanao such as the B'laan, Mandaya, Mansaka, and T'boli became skilled in art of dyeing abaca fibre. Abaca is a plant, and its leaf are used to make fibre known as Manila hemp. The fibre is dyed by a method of tie dyeing called ikat. Ikat textiles are woven into geometric patterns with human, animal, and plant pictorial themes.

[edit] Islamic art

Islamic art in the Philippines have two main artistic styles. One is a curved-line woodcarving, and metalworking called okir, similar to the Middle Eastern Islamic art. This style is associated with men. The other style is a geometric tapestries, and is associated with women. The Tausug, and Sama-Bajau exhibit their okir on elaborate markings with boat like imagery. The Marananaos make similar carvings on housing called torogan. Weapons made by Muslim Filipinos such as the kampilan are skillfully carved, with lines.

[edit] Cinema and television

The advent of the Cinema of the Philippines can be traced back to the early days of filmmaking in 1897, when a Spanish theater owner screened imported moving pictures.

The formative years of Philippine cinema, starting from the 1930s, were a time of discovering film as a new medium of expressing artworks. Scripts, and characterizations in films came from the popular theater shows, and Philippine literature.

In the 1940s, the Philippine cinema brought the consciousness of reality in its film industry. Nationalistic films became popular, and movie themes comprised primarily of war, and heroism had proven to be successful with Philipine audience.

The 1950s saw the first golden age of Philippine cinema,[3][4] with the emergence of more artistic, and mature films, and significant improvement in cinematic techniques among filmmakers. The studio system produced frenetic activity in the Philippine film industry as many films were made annually, and several local talents started to earn recognition abroad. Award winning filmakers, and actors were first instituted during this period. When the decade was drawing to a close, the studio system monopoly came under siege as a result of labor-management conflict, and by the 1960s, the artistry established in the previous years was in decline. This era can be characterized by rampant commercialism films.

The 1970s, and 1980s were considered as turbulent years for the Philippine film industry, bringing both positive, and negative changes. The films in this period now dealt with more serious topics following the Martial law era. In addition, action, western, drama, adult, and comedy films developed further introducing picture quality, sound, and writing script. The 1980s brought the arrival of alternative or independent cinema in the Philippines.

The 1990s saw the emerging popularity of drama, teen-oriented romantic comedy, adult, comedy, and action films.[4]

The Philippines, being one of Asia's earliest film industry producers, remains undisputed in terms of the highest level of theater admission in Asia. Over the years, however, the Philippine film industry has registered a steady decline in the movie viewership from 131 million in 1996 to 63 million in 2004.[5][6] From a high of 350 films a year in the 1950s, and 200 films a year during the 1980s, the Philippine film industry was down to making films in 2006 to 2007.[5][6] The 21st century saw the rebirth of independent filmmaking through the use of digital technology, and a number of films have once again earned nationwide recognition, and prestige.

[edit] Architecture
Puerta del Parian in Manila.

Pre-Hispanic architecture is characterized by its use of Indigenous wood materials. The Nipa hut (Bahay Kubo) is the mainstream form of housing. It is characterized by primitive materials such as bamboo, and coconut as the main sources of wood. Cogon grass, and Nipa palm leaves are used as roof thatching, although coconut fronds are also used. Most primitive homes are built on stilts due to frequent flooding during the rainy season. Regional variations include the use of thicker, and denser roof thatching in mountain areas, longer stilts on coastal areas especially if the structure is built outright on the water. The architecture of other Indigenous tribes in the Philippines is characterized by an angular wooden roofs, bamboo in place of leafy thatching, and ornate wooden carvings.

The Spaniards introduced stones as housing, and building materials. The introduction of Christianity brought European churches, and architecture which subsequently became the center of most towns, and cities. Spanish architecture are found in Intramuros, Vigan, and other parts of the Philippines. While, Islamic, and other Asian architecture are depicted on buildings such as mosque, and temples.

Contemporary architecture have Western style structures although pre-Hispanic housing is still largely common in rural areas. American style suburban gated communities are popular in the cities, including Manila, and the surrounding provinces.

[edit] Cuisine
Main article: Filipino cuisine
A roasted pig known as the Lechón, one of the Philippines most popular cuisines.

Filipinos cook a variety of foods influenced by Spanish, and Asian cuisines.

A typical Philippine diet consists of at least three meals a day served with boiled or fried rice, corn, and other dishes. Filipinos regularly use spoons together with forks, and knives. Some, also eat with their hands, especially in informal settings, and when eating seafood. Rice, corn, and popular dishes such as adobo (a meat stew made from either pork or chicken), lumpia (meat or vegetable rolls), pancit (noodle dish), and lechón (roasted pig) are served on plates.

Other popular dishes include: afritada, asado, chorizo, empanadas, mani (roasted peanuts), paksiw (fish or pork, cooked in vinegar, and water with some spices like garlic and pepper), pan de sal (bread rolls), pescado (fried or grilled fish), Sisig and torta (omelette). Filipino cuisine includes kare-kare (ox-tail stew), kilawen, pinakbet (vegetable stew), pinapaitan, and sinigang (tamarind soup with a variety of pork, fish or prawns). Some delicacies eaten by the Filipino people but which may seem unappetizing to the Western palate include balut (boiled egg with a fertilized duckling inside), longanisa (sweet sausage), and dinuguan (soup made from animal blood).

Popular snacks, and desserts are chicharon (deep fried pork or chicken skin), halo-halo (crushed ice with condensed milk, flan, and sliced tropical fruits), puto (white rice cakes), bibingka (rice cake with butter or margarine, and salted eggs), ensaymada (sweet roll with grated cheese on top), polvoron (powder candy), and tsokolate (chocolate) are eaten outside the three main meals. Popular Philippine liqour includes the San Miguel Beer, Tanduay Rhum Masters, lambanog, and tuba.

[edit] Martial arts
Main article: Filipino martial arts

Filipino martial arts is a term used to describe the numerous martial art forms that originated in the Philippines, similar to how Silat describes the martial arts practiced in Asia. Filipino martial arts include Panantukan (empty-handed techniques), Eskrima, Kali, Arnis de Máno (blade, and stick fighting), and Pananjakman (kicking).

[edit] Education in the Philippines
Main article: Education in the Philippines

Education in the Philippines has similar features to that of the United States, and Europe.

Philippine students enter public school at about age four, starting from Nursery up to Kindergarten. At about seven years of age, students enter grade school (6 to 7 years). This is followed by High school (4 years). Students then enter for the College Entrance Examinations (CEE), after which they enter collegiate school (3 to 5 years). Other types of schools includes Private school, University-preparatory school, International school, Laboratory High School, and Science High School.

The school year in the Philippines starts in June, and ends in March, with a two-month summer break from April to May, two week of semestral break in October, Christmas, and New Year's holiday.

In 2005, the Philippines spent about US$138 per pupil compared to US$1,582 in Singapore, US$3,728 in Japan, and US$852 in Thailand.[7]

[edit] Sports in the Philippines
Main article: Sports in the Philippines
An amateur basketball game being played in a rural province in the country.

Sipa is the national sport in the Philippines. Other popular sports include basketball, boxing, football (soccer), billiards, chess, ten-pin bowling, volleyball, horse racing, and cockfighting. Dodge ball, and badminton are also popular for those who play sports.

Filipinos have gained international success in sports. These are boxing, football (soccer), billiards, ten-pin bowling, and chess. Popular sport stars include Manny Pacquiao, Flash Elorde, and Francisco Guilledo in boxing, Paulino Alcántara in football (soccer), Carlos Loyzaga, Robert Jaworski, and Ramon Fernandez in basketball, Efren Reyes, and Francisco Bustamante in billiards, Rafael Nepomuceno in ten-pin bowling, and Eugene Torre in chess.

The Palarong Pambansa, a national sports festival, has its origin in an annual sporting meet of public schools that started in 1948. Private schools, and Universities eventually joined the national event, which became known as the "Palarong Pambansa" in 1976. It serves as a national Olympic Games for students, competiting at school, and nationwide competitions.

The year 2002 event included football (soccer), golf, archery, badminton, baseball, chess, gymnastics, tennis, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, track and field, and volleyball.

[edit] Traditional Filipino games
Main article: List of traditional Filipino games

Traditional Filipino games include yo-yo, piko, patintero, bahay kubo, pusoy, and sungka. Pusoy is a popular gambling game. Individuals play the game by trying to get rid of all the cards by choosing poker hands wisely.[8][9][8] Sungka is played on a board game using small sea shells in which players try to take all shells. The winner is determined by who has the most shells at the point when all small pits become empty.[10] Filipinos have created toys using insects such as tying a beetle to string, and sweeping it circular rotation to make an interesting sound. The "Salagubang gong" is a toy described by Charles Brtjes, an American entomologist, who traveled to Negros, and discovered a toy using beetles to create a periodic gong effect on a kerosene can as the beetle rotates above the contraption.[11]

[edit] Tribal groups
A Negrito woman, one of many indigenous ethnic groups in the Philippines.
Mangyan (Malayo-Polynesian) indigenous people of Mindoro.
Main article: Indigenous peoples of the Philippines

The Indigenous peoples of the Philippines consist of a large number of Malayo-Polynesian ethnic groups. They are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines, that settled in the islands thousands of years ago, and in the process have retained their Indigenous custom, and tradition.[12]

In 1990, more than 100 highland tribes constituted approximately 3% of the Philippine population. Over the centuries, the isolated highland tribes have retained their Indigenous culture. The folk art of these groups was, in a sense, the last remnant of an Indigenous tradition that flourished throughout the Philippines before the Islamic, and Spanish contact.

The highland tribes are a primitive ethnic group like other Filipinos, although they did not, as a group, have as much contact with the outside world. These tribes displayed a variety of native cultural expression, and artistic skills. They showed a high degree of creativity such as the production of bowls, baskets, clothing, weapons, and spoons. These tribes ranged from various groups of Igorot people, a group that includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga, and Kankana-ey, who built the Rice Terraces thousands of years ago. They have also covered a wide spectrum in terms of their integration, and acculturation with Christian Filipinos. Other Indigenous tribes include the Bukidnon, and Kalinga. These groups have remained isolated from Western, and Eastern influence.

[edit] Philippine diaspora

An Overseas Filipino is a person of Philippine origin, who lives outside of the Philippines. This term is applied to people of Filipino ancestry, who are citizens or residents of a different nation.

Often, these Filipinos are referred to as "Overseas Filipino Workers".

There are about 11 million overseas Filipinos living worldwide, equivalent to about 11% of the total population of the Philippines.[13]

Each year, thousands of Filipinos migrate to work abroad through overseas employment agencies, and other programs. Other individuals emigrate, and become permanent residents of other nations. Overseas Filipinos often work as doctors, nurses, accountants, IT professionals, engineers, architects,[14] entertainers, technicians, teachers, military servicemen, students, caregivers, domestic helpers, and household maids.

International employment includes an increasing number of skilled Filipino workers taking on unskilled work overseas, resulting in what has been referred to as brain drain, particularly in the health, and education department. Also, the employment can result in underemployment, for example, in cases where doctors undergo retraining to become nurses, and other employment programs.

[edit] Celebrations
Main article: Public holidays in the Philippines

[edit] Regular holiday

* January 1 - New Year’s Day
* March or April - Holy Week (Semana Santa)
* April 9 - Araw ng Kagitingan (Bataan, and Corregidor Day)
* May 1 - Labor Day
* June 12 - Independence Day
* August - National Heroes Day
* November 30 - Bonifacio Day
* December 25 - Christmas Day
* December 30 - Rizal Day

[edit] Nationwide holiday

* August 21 - Ninoy Aquino Day
* November 1 to November 2 - Day of the Dead
* December 31 - New Year's Eve

[edit] Native holiday

* January 9 - The Black Nazarene procession in Quiapo, and Manila.
* Third Sunday of January - The Fiesta del Santo Niño de Cebu (Festival of the Child Jesus of Cebu), Sinulog in Cebu, Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan.
* Last Sunday of January - The Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo.
* March or April - Semana Santa (Holy Week).
* May - Flores de Mayo. A festival celebrated by farmers as they welcome the fertile season. Celebrations around towns showcase crops, food, and delicacies. One of the most celebrated festivity is the "Pahiyas", a colorful festival in Lucban, Quezon where houses are decorated mainly with dried rice papers in different shapes, and colors. Crops also accentuate these houses in artistic shapes, and styles.
* Third Saturday and Sunday of September - The Peñafrancia Festival in Naga City, Camarines Sur, Bicol Region. During the festivities, people attend church services, followed by parades on the streets, fireworks, and feasting. The Peñafrancia Festival is also celebrated by a fluvial procession in the Bicol River.
* October 31 to November 2 - "Araw ng mga Patay", "Día de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day). Also known as "Undas". During All Saints, and Souls Day, friends, and families visit the cemeteries, and pay homage to their dearly departed. The cemetery becomes a party atmosphere, rather than a solemn celebration.
* December 24 - Noche Buena (Christmas Eve).
* December 25 - Araw ng Pasko, Navidad (Christmas).
* January 1 - Bagong Taon, Año Nuevo (New Year).

[edit] Other cultural realm

[edit] Homosexuality

Homosexuality in the Philippines is widely accepted, and viewed as part of normal life, though it is viewed with some discrimination because of the nation's straight philosophy, and beliefs. However, due to the Philippines' strong Roman Catholic religion, gay marriage, and civil unions are prohibited. "Thoughts on the Bakla, the Filipino gays". http://laurganism.com/2005/09/22/bakla-the-filipino-gay/.

Manila

Cultural pluralism is a term used when small groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities. One of the most notable cultural pluralisms is the caste system, which is related to Hinduism. Another example is Lebanon where 18 different religious communities co-exist on a land of 10,452 km². In a pluralist culture, unique groups not only co-exist side by side, but also consider qualities of other groups as traits worth having in the dominant culture. The current contemporary art world in the 21st century is an example of cultural pluralism. For another example, a community center in the United States may offer classes in Indian yoga, Chinese calligraphy, and Latin salsa dancing. That community may also have one or more synagogues, mosques, mandirs, gurudwaras, and/or Buddhist temples, as well as several churches of various Christian denominations.

The existence of such institutions and practices are possible if the cultural communities responsible for them are protected by law and/or accepted by the larger society in a pluralist culture.

The idea of cultural pluralism in America has its roots in the transcendentalist movement and was developed by pragmatist philosophers such as William James and John Dewey, and later thinkers such as Horace Kallen and Randolph Bourne. One of the most famous articulations of cultural pluralistic ideas can be found in Bourne's 1916 essay "Trans-National America" .

Hispanic influence on Filipino culture are custom, and tradition performed in the Philippines. Spanish colonization produced a mixed culture of primitive Malayo-Polynesian and Iberian tradition. The Philippines has also received influence from the United States, and other Cultures of Asia such as Islamic, and Chinese. This makes the Philippines a multi-ethnic society.

Filipinos speak various languages such as Tagalog, Cebuano, English, Spanish, and other Philippine languages. There are thousands of Spanish loan words in Philippine languages, and a Spanish creole language called Chavacano is spoken by about one million Filipinos in the southern Philippines.

The Philippines, having been one of the most distant Spanish colonies, received less migration of people from Spain, compare to the colonies in Latin America. Nonetheless, many of the Hispanic elements in the Culture of the Philippines have become part of the native tradition.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 History
* 2 Language
* 3 Names of the Philippines
* 4 People
* 5 Religion
o 5.1 Fiestas and religious holidays
o 5.2 Holiday
* 6 Arts, literature and music
* 7 Cuisine
* 8 Business
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

[edit] History
Main article: History of the Philippines

Negrito, and Austronesian peoples called Malayo-Polynesian are the primitive tribes of the Philippines.[1] The Negritos, and Malayo-Polynesians migrated to the Philippines during the last ice age some 30,000 years ago, when land bridges connected the Philippine Islands to mainland Asia.[2][1]

The Philippines was governed from Mexico City as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, from 1565 to 1821, and became a province of Spain from 1821 to 1898.

In the past few years, the Philippines has begun to re-establish closer ties to its former colonial ruler. The King, and Queen of Spain attended the Centennial celebration of Philippine Independence from Spain on June 12, 1998 in recognition of a shared history, and tradition.

[edit] Language
Main article: Spanish in the Philippines

Spanish spoken in the Philippines today has a great affinity to Mexican Spanish. In fact, the number of Mexican Spanish loan-words that appear in various Indigenous Filipino languages are of Nahuatl origin that were first incorporated into Mexican Spanish, and which do not exist in European Spanish. These words include nanay (nantl), tatay (tatle), bayabas [from guayaba(s), guava], abokado (avocado), papaya, zapote, palengke, and other Nahuatl words.

Spanish was introduced in the 16th century, and by the 19th century remained as the official language of Philippines. However, it was never spoken by the majority of the Philippine population as lingua franca. At its peak in the early 20th century, the language was spoken by approximately 60% of the population (with different degrees of fluence), and by 10 to 15% as a first language. After the Spanish-American War of 1898, settlers from the United States introduced English to the islands. Spanish remained as a co-official language, along with Tagalog, and English until 1987, when it lost its status, prompting the Philippine government to declare Tagalog, and English as the official languages of the Philippines. Today, Spanish is spoken by the Philippines' Hispanic communities, that includes other Filipinos, Spaniards, and Mestizo of Hispanic ancestry.

However, various Philippine Indigenous languages have significantly assimilated aspects of the Spanish language, and contain thousands of loan words. Numerous words, and some grammatical concepts of Spanish origin are used in Chavacano, Cebuano, and Tagalog.

[edit] Names of the Philippines

The name of the Philippines comes from the king of Spain, Philip II. It was given by the Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos who named the islands of Samar, and Leyte "Las Islas Filipinas" (The Philippine Islands), during his expedition in 1543. Throughout the colonial period, the name Filipinas (Philippines) was used, and became the official name of the Philippines.

There are many Provinces in the Philippines with Spanish names, such as Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, La Union, Marinduque, Antique, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Valle de Compostela.

Many cities, and towns are also named in Spanish, such as Medellin, Santander, Nueva Valencia, Naga City (prior to 1919 was known as Nueva Cáceres), Las Piñas, Prosperidad, Isabela, Sierra Bullones, Angeles, La Paz, Esperanza, Buenavista, Pilar, La Trinidad, Garcia Hernandez, Trece Martires, Los Baños, Floridablanca and many more. There are numerous other towns named after saints, such as San Fernando, Santa Rosa, Santa Rita, San Jose, San Pablo, and San Marcelino, as well as after Spanish cities, such as Sevilla, Toledo, Cadiz, Zaragoza, Ávila, Lucena, and Salamanca.

Many other Indigenous names are spelled using Spanish orthography, such as Cagayán de Oro, Parañaque, and Cebú.

[edit] People
Main article: Demographics of the Philippines

Most Filipinos are an Asian ethnic group called Malayo-Polynesian people. A group of the Austronesian-speaking people.

Throughout Philippine history, different races and nationalities, such as the Chinese, Spaniards, and Americans have intermarried with the Philippine population. Their descendants are known as Filipino mestizos. The official population of all types of mixed-blood individuals in the Philippines remained unknown. However, according to a recent study conducted by the Stanford University based in the United States, stated that an estimated figure of about 3.6% of the Philippine population has varying degrees of European ancestry from Spanish and United States colonization. [3]

[edit] Religion
Main article: Religion in the Philippines

The Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic nations in Asia, the other being East Timor. About 90% of the Philippine population are Christians. About 5% are Muslim, and about 5% practiced other religion, and those with no religion.

Filipinos at home set up altars in Hispanic Catholic tradition, adorned with Christian icons, flowers, statues, and candles. On festival season, most barrios organized religious church service, and processions in honor of their patron saint, and cooked a variety of Philippine food.

[edit] Fiestas and religious holidays
Main article: Public holidays in the Philippines

All major Roman Catholic holy days are observed as official national holidays of the Philippines. Spanish-Mexican culture, and Christianity has influenced the custom, and tradition of the Philippines.

Every year on the 3rd week of January, the Philippines celebrates the festival of the "Santo Niño" (Holy Child Jesus), the largest being held in Cebu City.

[edit] Holiday

* March or April - Semana Santa (Holy Week or Easter)
* October 31 to November 2 - Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), Araw ng mga Kaluluwa (All Souls' Day), and Todos Los Santos (All Saints' Day) where families spend much of the 3 days and 3 evenings visiting their ancestral graves, showing respect and honoring the departed relatives by feasting, decorating and offering prayers.
* December 24 - Nochebuena (Good night or Christmas Eve)
* December 25 - Christmas (Navidad or Pasko)
* January 1 - New Years Day (Año Nuevo or Bagong Taon)

[edit] Arts, literature and music
Main articles: Arts of the Philippines, Literature of the Philippines, and Music in the Philippines

Hispanic influence is based on Indigenous, and European tradition. Folk dance, music, and literature have remained intact in the 21st century. These were introduced from Spain, and Mexico in the 16th century, and can be regarded as largely Hispanic in constitution, which have remained in the Philippines for centuries.

[edit] Cuisine
Main article: Filipino cuisine

The food of the Philippines reflects on the adaptation of Spanish, and Mexican cuisine.

They include:

* Adobo
* Albondigas
* Afritada
* Asado
* Avocado
* Calabaza
* Galantina
* Caldereta
* Camote
* Chicharrón
* Chorizo
* Dulce de membrillo
* Empanadas
* Embutido
* Ensaymadas
* Flan
* Galletas
* Jamón
* Lechón
* Longaniza
* Menudo
* Mazapan
* Natilla
* Paella
* Pan de sal
* Pastel de lengua
* Pescado
* Picadillo
* Pochero de bacalao
* Relleno
* Tamales
* Torta del cielo
* Tortas
* Tortilla quesada
* Tocino

[edit] Business

In the business community, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) plays an integral role in the economic, political and social development of the nation. Historically, the chamber can be traced back as early as the 1890s with the inauguration of the Cámara de Comercio de Filipinas. This organization was composed mainly of Spanish companies such as the Compañía General de Tabaco de Filipinas, Fábrica de Cerveza San Miguel, and Elizalde y Cia, among other Spanish, and Philippine companies.

During the first half of the 20th century commerce, and industrial trades with other Hispanic countries declined due to the United States administration of the Philippines. However the resurgence of trade between Spain, and Latin American nations had risen toward the closing of the century. 1998 marked the centennial celebration of Philippine independence, it also opened a new opportunity for both Spanish, and Filipino businesses to reconnect their historic ties as trade between the Philippines, and Spain continues to rise during the 21st century.



The Filipino is basically of Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, American, Spanish, and Arab blood. The Philippines has a population of 76.5 million as of May 2000, and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between stocks. From a long history of Western colonial rule, interspersed with the visits of merchants and traders, evolved a people of a unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.

The Filipino character is actually a little bit of all the cultures put together. The bayanihan or spirit of kinship and camaraderie that Filipinos are famous for is said to be taken from Malay forefathers. The close family relations are said to have been inherited from the Chinese. The piousness comes from the Spaniards who introduced Christianity in the 16th century. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino. Filipinos are probably one of the few, if not the only, English-proficient Oriental people today. Pilipino is the official national language, with English considered as the country's unofficial one.

The Filipinos are divided geographically and culturally into regions, and each regional group is recognizable by distinct traits and dialects - the sturdy and frugal llocanos of the north, the industrious Tagalogs of the central plains, the carefree Visayans from the central islands, and the colorful tribesmen and religious Moslems of Mindanao. Tribal communities can be found scattered across the archipelago. The Philippines has more than 111 dialects spoken, owing to the subdivisions of these basic regional and cultural groups.

The country is marked by a true blend of cultures; truly in the Philippines, East meets West. The background of the people is Indonesian and Malay. There are Chinese and Spanish elements as well. The history of American rule and contact with merchants and traders culminated in a unique blend of East and West, both in the appearance and culture of the Filipinos, or people of the Philippines.

Hospitality, a trait displayed by every Filipino, makes these people legendary in Southeast Asia. Seldom can you find such hospitable people who enjoy the company of their Western visitors. Perhaps due to their long association with Spain, Filipinos are emotional and passionate about life in a way that seems more Latin than Asian.

The Spaniards introduced Christianity (the Roman Catholic faith) and succeeded in converting the overwhelming majority of Filipinos. At least 83% of the total population belongs to the Roman Catholic faith.

The American occupation was responsible for teaching the Filipino people the English language. The Philippines is currently the third-largest English speaking country in the world.
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