Is there true Christianity in the Philippines?

by Father Shay Cullen Profiles in Catholicism

The Philippines is a nation full of kind, generous, resilient and long-suffering people who, for centuries, have been misled by and burdened with the corruption and injustice committed by dynastic families. The Spanish colonizers brought with them a version of “Christianity” that fell far short of what Jesus of Nazareth wanted his followers to believe in. Jesus wanted all people to lead lives full of virtue, integrity, honesty, justice, goodness and love of neighbor, and to stand against the oppressors of the poor. He said the Kingdom of God was for the poor and the downtrodden, and promised freedom from injustice. But the version of Christianity the Spaniards brought was not only different, but also used to control the natives. It promoted subservience and was twisted to commit corruption, abuse and injustice. The Church and State then were almost one and the same.

The focus of Christian action today is more on sacramental action at the altar and too little social action in villages and on the streets. Jesus wanted action for the poor to free them from manmade oppression and poverty. Has the historical version of Spanish Catholicism brought about a just and more equal nation? There are 131 Catholic bishops — some of whom are already retired — and approximately 11,000 priests serving the country’s more than 80 million Catholics. Have they transformed the nation into one where justice and love of neighbor rule, and inspired Filipinos and their elected leaders to do good and oppose the bad with the conviction that Christian love, justice and kindness would win over evil? Such faith, Jesus said, will move mountains of injustice and see goodness triumph. Is that the kind of faith present in Philippine Catholicism or does conformity to Church dogma, rituals, processions and misdirected piety dominate? Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that the Philippines, a naturally rich country, has a poverty rate of 15.5 percent as of 2023. This means 17.54 million Filipinos are hungry, unable to support themselves or their children, and cannot live a healthy life. The 2025 Chandler Good Government Index, which ranks nations on good governance, integrity and equality, shows that the Philippines placed 57th out of 120 countries. And in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, the Philippines got a low 33 score and was ranked 114th out of 180 countries because of widespread corruption and injustice.

Weak performance

Why is the country performing weakly in these indices? Is this because the wealthy elite have captured the institutional Church, and the majority in its hierarchy bend to serve the rich more than the poor? By contrast, Singapore has no natural resources and only has a population of 5.918 million, of whom 395,000 are Catholics, led by a single bishop. Some 21 percent of Singaporeans have no religion. The 2023 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Singapore the fifth least corrupt country out of 180 countries, with a score of 83. The city-state has a strict code of behavior and rule of law. Singaporeans are among the most prosperous people in Asia, and have almost zero corruption and crime. Are the Singaporeans more Christian than Filipinos? Catholicism appears to have little or no positive moral influence to transform society with the basic values and virtues that would bring it to respect and promote the rights of Filipinos to food, employment, education, health, security, housing and a high-quality life. Although hundreds of thousands of Filipinos attend Sunday Mass and participate in the sacraments, the Catholicism they espouse has not inspired them to overcome the social and political evils and change society for the better or for themselves. And let’s not forget this: The Philippines — one of the most unequal countries in Asia, whose dominant religion tells it to do only good, love your neighbor and oppose evil — elected nine years ago a tough-talking mayor to the presidency with whoops of joy. Was that the result of true Christianity? That mayor had pledged to kill thousands of suspected drug users if he were elected. He was, and promptly instilled horror in the nation, with law enforcers and reported death squads killing anyone suspected of crimes related to illegal drugs. The rule of law was abandoned. An estimated 30,000 people were summarily executed as part of mayor-turned-president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. He is now detained by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity committed against Filipinos. Apparently, so-called Philippine Catholicism has failed to inspire, educate and lay the moral foundation on a nation based on the Gospel values as taught by Jesus of Nazareth. A nation where as many as 16 million people go hungry every day, where crimes and child sexual abuse and its cover-up are widespread, even in the Church itself.

Moral fighting force

It is an institution, critics say, that has largely failed to be a strong moral fighting force in society for uncompromising action for social justice in imitation of Jesus’ example. He challenged the hypocrites in leadership roles and the ruling families, calling them white-painted sepulchers looking nice outside but rotting inside. The Church, as an institution as distinct from the impoverished people of God, who are victimized and oppressed, apparently has lost its way by compromising way too much with evildoers and protecting child abusers, save for a few courageous bishops and priests who opposed the Duterte administration. These true Christians — Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao and Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani of Novaliches, as well as Fr. Robert Reyes and Bro. Armin Luistro — and perhaps another 20 clergymen — opposed Duterte and his alleged crimes. But most remained silent. These bishops, priests and laypeople who stood openly against Duterte were initially charged with incitement to sedition, cyberlibel, libel and obstruction of justice in July 2019. They were accused of attempting to overthrow Duterte. But they were only opposing evil and defending the people of God, as what Jesus did. Prosecutors admitted on Feb. 10, 2020, that there was no evidence linking these clerics to a plot to overthrow the Duterte administration, and the Department of Justice dropped all charges against them. Where can we find true Christianity in the Philippines today? There are thousands of committed Filipino human rights workers, environmental defenders, social workers, children’s rights protectors, caregivers and other good people who truly live according to the values of Jesus Christ in action, fighting for justice and truth. A good number of them have been falsely accused, charged, harassed, arrested and even murdered for their commitment to defending the poor and vulnerable. These are the true Filipino Christians doing good for the poor and vulnerable and opposing evil, risking themselves and their reputations in the belief that they will win in the end. That is true faith. That is what Jesus of Nazareth did, and he was crucified for it. As St. James wrote in the New Testament: “Faith without action is dead.”