RELIGION

A religion is any systematic approach to living that involves beliefs

about one's origins, one's place in the world, or a responsibility to live
and act in the world in particular ways. Religion is often equated with
faith and belief in a higher power or truth, but it is more commonly
defined in religious studies as the patterns that express that faith and
reinforce it in day-to-day living. One can share the philosophy of a
religion, believing in its higher truth, without manifesting that faith
religiously.

Aspects of religion include narrative, symbolism, beliefs, and practices

that are supposed to give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of
life. Whether the meaning centers on a deity or deities, or an ultimate
truth, religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer,
ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things, and is often
interwoven with society and politics. It may focus on specific
supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the
cosmos and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws and
ethics and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or
cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal
faith and religious experience.

The term "religion" refers both to the personal practices related to

communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming
from shared conviction. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably
with "faith" or "belief system," but it is more socially defined than
personal convictions, and it entails specific behaviors, respectively.

The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures,

with continental differences. Any case, about the roots, it considers
psychological by Sigmund Freud, philsophical by Ernesto De Martino
and social by Emile Durkheim, along with origins and historical
development.

Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of

belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or
object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the
highest truth. Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition,
rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core
belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular
philosophy. Religion is also often described as a "way of life" or a life
stance.

Etymology
Religion is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which
are obscure. One possibility is derivation from a reduplicated *le-ligare,
an interpretation traced to Cicero connecting lego "read", i.e. re
(again) + lego in the sense of "choose", "go over again" or "consider
carefully". Modern scholars such as Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell
favor the derivation from ligare "bind, connect", probably from a
prefixed re-ligare, i.e. re (again) + ligare or "to reconnect," which was
made prominent by St. Augustine, following the interpretation of
Lactantius. However, the French scholar Daniel Dubuisson notes that
relying on this etymology "tends to minimize or cancel out the role of
history"; he notes that Augustine gave a lengthy definition of religion
that sets it quite apart from the modern word "religion.

History

The word "religion" as it is used today does not have an obvious pre-
colonial translation into non-European languages. Daniel Dubuisson
writes that "what the West and the history of religions in its wake have
objectified under the name 'religion' is ... something quite unique,
which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history." The
words used in other languages for similar concepts, such as dharma,
bhakti, Tao, or Islam, have vastly different histories. The history of
other cultures' interaction with the religious category is therefore their
interaction with an idea that first developed in Europe under the
influence of Christianity.

Religion and the body politic

A good understanding of the meaning of Christianity before the word

"religion" came into common usage can be found in St. Augustine's
writing. For Augustine, Christianity was a disciplina, a "rule" just like
that of the Roman Empire. Christianity was therefore a power structure
opposing and superseding human institutions, a literal Kingdom of
Heaven. Rather than calling one to self-discipline through symbols, it
was itself the discipline taught by one's family, school, church, and city
authorities.[8] At this point, too, the root of the English word "religion",
the Latin religio, was in use only to mean "reverence for God or the
gods, careful pondering of divine things, piety" (which Cicero further
derived to mean "diligence"). Max Müller characterized many other
cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, and India, as having
a similar power structure at this point in history. What is called ancient
religion today, they would have only called "law".
At this point, Western Europe and the rest of the world diverged. As
Christianity became commonplace, the charismatic authority identified
by Augustine, a quality we might today call "religiousness", had a
commanding influence at the local level. This system persisted in the
Byzantine Empire following the East-West Schism, but Western Europe
regulated unpredictable expressions of charisma through the Roman
Catholic Church. As the Church lost its dominance during the
Protestant Reformation and Christianity became closely tied to political
structures, religion was recast as the basis of national sovereignty, and
religious identity gradually became a less universal sense of spirituality
and more divisive, locally defined, and tied to nationality. It was at this
point that "religion" was dissociated with universal beliefs and moved
closer to dogma in both meaning and practice. However there was not
yet the idea of dogma as personal choice, only of established
churches.

Religious belief

Religious belief usually relates to the existence, nature and worship of

a deity or deities and divine involvement in the universe and human
life. Alternately, it may also relate to values and practices transmitted
by a spiritual leader. Unlike other belief systems, which may be passed
on orally, religious belief tends to be codified in literate societies
(religion in non-literate societies is still largely passed on orally In some
religions, like the Abrahamic religions, it is held that most of the core
beliefs have been divinely revealed.

Religion and superstition

While superstitions and magical thinking refer to nonscientific causal

reasoning, applied to specific things or actions, a religion is a more
complex system about general or ultimate things, involving morality,
history and community. Because religions may include and exploit
certain superstitions or make use of magical thinking, while mixing
them with broader considerations, the division between superstition
and religious faith is subjective and hard to specify. Religious believers
have often seen other religions as superstition. Likewise, some
atheists, agnostics, deists, and skeptics regard religious belief as
superstition. Religious practices are most likely to be labeled
"superstitious" by outsiders when they include belief in extraordinary
events (miracles), an afterlife, supernatural interventions, apparitions
or the efficacy of prayer, charms, incantations, the meaningfulness of
omens, and prognostications.
Greek and Roman pagans, who modeled their relations with the gods
on political and social terms, scorned the man who constantly trembled
with fear at the thought of the gods as a slave feared a cruel and
capricious master. Such fear of the gods (deisidaimonia) was what the
Romans meant by superstitio (Veyne 1987, p 211). Early Christianity
was outlawed as a superstitio Iudaica, a "Jewish superstition", by
Domitian in the 80s AD, and by AD 425, Theodosius II outlawed pagan
traditions as superstitious.

The Roman Catholic Church considers superstition to be sinful in the

sense that it denotes a lack of trust in the divine providence of God
and, as such, is a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church states that superstition "in some
sense represents a perverse excess of religion.

Superstition is a deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this

feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God,
e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to
certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the
efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external
performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand is
to fall into superstition.

Religion and science

Religious knowledge, according to religious practitioners, may be

gained from religious leaders, sacred texts (scriptures), and/or
personal revelation. Some religions view such knowledge as unlimited
in scope and suitable to answer any question; others see religious
knowledge as playing a more restricted role, often as a complement to
knowledge gained through physical observation. Some religious people
maintain that religious knowledge obtained in this way is absolute and
infallible (religious cosmology).

The scientific method gains knowledge by testing hypotheses to

develop theories through elucidation of facts or evaluation by
experiments and thus only answers cosmological questions about the
physical universe. It develops theories of the world which best fit
physically observed evidence. All scientific knowledge is subject to
later refinement in the face of additional evidence. Scientific theories
that have an overwhelming preponderance of favorable evidence are
often treated as facts (such as the theories of gravity or evolution).

Many scientists have held strong religious beliefs (see List of Christian
thinkers in science) and have worked to harmonize science and
religion. Isaac Newton, for example, believed that gravity caused the
planets to revolve about the Sun, and credited God with the design. In
the concluding General Scholium to the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia
Mathematica, he wrote: "This most beautiful System of the Sun,
Planets and Comets, could only proceed from the counsel and
dominion of an intelligent and powerful being." Nevertheless, conflict
has repeatedly arisen between religious organizations and individuals
who propagated scientific theories that were deemed unacceptable by
the organizations. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, has in the
past[37] reserved to itself the right to decide which scientific theories
were acceptable and which were unacceptable. In the 17th century,
Galileo was tried and forced to recant the heliocentric theory based on
the church's stance that the Greek Hellenistic system of astronomy
was the correct one. Today, however, only 7% of the members of the
National Academy of Sciences believe in a god.
 Republic of the Philippines

Marinduque State College

Tanza, Boac, Marinduque

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES

WRITTEN REPORT

IN

SOCIOLOGY

Submitted by:

REDEN P. MANIQUEZ

BS INFO.TECH – 3B

Submitted to:

MS. ALMA TERESA DEL MUNDO

Instructor

March 12, 2010


Religion in the Philippines
Religion in the Philippines are
spiritual beliefs held by Philippine
citizens. Religion holds a central
place in the life of the majority of
Filipinos, including Catholics,
Jewish, Muslims, Buddhists,
Protestants and animists. It is
central not as an abstract belief
system, but rather as a host are
experiences, rituals, ceremonies,
and adjurations that provide
continuity in life, cohesion in the
community and moral purpose for
existence. Religious associations
are part of the system of kinship
ties, patron-client bonds and other
linkages outside the nuclear family.
Christianity and Islam have been
superimposed on ancient traditions
and acculturated. The unique
Ancient indigenous beliefs
Animism, is the term used to
describe the indigenous spiritual
traditions practiced in the
Philippines during pre-colonial
times. Today, a handful of the
indigenous tribes continue to
practice it. The traditions are a
collection of beliefs and cultural
mores anchored more or less in the
idea that the world is inhabited by
spirits and supernatural entities,
both good and bad, and that
respect be accorded to them
through nature worship. These
spirits all around nature are known
as "diwatas", showing cultural
relationship with Hinduism
(Devatas). Some worship specific
religious blends that have resulted,
when combined with the strong
personal faith of Filipinos, have
given rise to numerous and diverse
revivalist movements. Generally
characterized by antimodern bias,
supernaturalism, and
authoritarianism in the person of a
charismatic messiah figure, these
movements have attracted
thousands of Filipinos, especially in
areas like Mindanao, which have
been subjected to extreme
pressure of change over a short
period of time. Many have been
swept up in these movements, out
of a renewed sense of fraternity
and community. Like the highly
visible examples of flagellation and
reenacted crucifixion in the
Philippines, these movements may
seem to have little in common with
organized Christianity or Islam. But
in the intensely personalistic
Philippine religious context, they
have not been aberrations so much
as extreme examples of how
religion retains its central role in
society.
deities, such as the Tagalog
supreme deity, Bathala, and his
children Adlaw, Mayari, and Tala, or
the Visayan deity Kan-Laon; while
others practice Ancestor worship
(anitos). Variations of animistic
practices occur in different ethnic
groups. Magic, chants and prayers
are often key features. Its
practitioners were highly
respected[citation needed] (and some
feared) in the community, as they
were healers, midwives (hilot),
shamans, witches and warlocks
(mangkukulam), priests/priestesses
(babaylan/katalonan), tribal
historians and wizened elders that
provided the spiritual and
traditional life of the community. In
the Visayan regions, there is a
belief in the existence of witchcraft
or barang and mythical creatures
such as the "aswang", "balay sa
dwendi" and "Bakonawa", despite
the existence of the Christian and
Islamic faiths.
In general, the spiritual and
economic leadership in many pre-
colonial Filipino ethnic groups was
provided by women, as opposed to
the political and military leadership
according to men. Spanish
occupiers during the 16th century
arrived in the Philippines noting
about warrior priestesses leading
tribal spiritual affairs. Many were
condemned as pagan heretics.
Although suppressed, these
matriarchal tendencies run deep in
Filipino society and can still be
seen in the strong leadership roles
modern Filipino women are
assuming in business, politics,
academia, the arts and in religious
institutions.
Folk religion remains a deep source
of comfort, belief and cultural pride
among many Filipinos. Nominally
animists constitute about one
percent of the population. But
animism's influence pervade daily
life and practice of the colonial
religions that took root in the
Philippines. Elements of folk belief
melded with Christian and Islamic
practices to give a unique
perspective on these religions.
Judaism
As of 2005, Filipino Jews number at
the very most 500 people. Other
estimates range between 100 and
500 people (0.000001% and
0.000005% of the country's total
population).
Today, Metro Manila boasts the
largest Jewish community in the
Philippines, which consists of
roughly 40 families. The country's
only synagogue, Beth Yaacov, is
located in Makati, as is the Chabad
House of the Ashkenazi Haredim.[3]
There are, of course, other Jews
elsewhere in the country,[2] but
these are obviously fewer and
almost all transients, either
diplomats or business envoys, and
their existence is almost totally
unknown in mainstream society.
There are a few Israelis in Manila
recruiting caregivers for Israel and
a few other executives. A number
are converts to Judaism. There are
few Jewish, Hasidic and Kabbalah
groups that exists in the
Philippines. In the Metro Manila,
the Kabbalah Centre [5] established
its first Kabbalah Study Group, with
a total of 50+ members, as is the
Ang Ilaw Kabbalah Study Group,
which follows Hasidic tradition
(Breslover) houses its chapter in
Antipolo City, Rizal.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith in the Philippines
started in 1921 with the first Bahá'í
first visiting the Philippines that
year,[7] and by 1944 a Bahá'í Local
Spiritual Assembly was established.
[8]
In the early 1960s, during a
period of accelerated growth, the
community grew from 200 in 1960
to 1000 by 1962 and 2000 by
1963. In 1964 the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
Philippines was elected and by
1980 there were 64,000 Bahá'ís
and 45 local assemblies. The
Bahá'ís have been active in
multi/inter-faith developments. No
recent numbers are available on
the size of the community.
Buddhism
Buddhism in the Philippines is
largely confined to the Filipino
Chinese, Chinese, Japanese, Indian,
Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese
communities. There are temples in
Manila, Davao, and Cebu, and
other places. According to the 2000
Philippine census, 0.1% of the
population is Buddhist.[10] Other
sources claim different figures,
however. The publication, An
Information Guide — Buddhism, for
example, claims that as of 2007
Buddhists formed 2% of the total
population.[11] Several schools of
Buddhism are present in the
Philippines - Mahayana, Vajrayana,
Theravada Buddhist temples as
well as Lay Organizations are
present in the Philippines as well as
meditation centers and groups
such as Soka Gakkai International .
Christianity arrived in the
Philippines with the landing of
Ferdinand Magellan in
1521. In the late 16th century,
soldiers and missionaries
firmly planted the seeds of
conversion when they
officially claimed the
archipelago for Spain and
named it after their king.
Missionary activity during the
country's long colonial rule by
Spain and the United States
transformed the Philippines
into the first and then one of
the two (perhaps three,
considering South Korea's
growing Christian population)
predominantly Christian
nations in East Asia, with
approximately 90% of the
population belonging to the
Christian faith, the other
Christian nation being East
Timor.
Catholic Church
Roman Catholicism is the
predominant religion and the
largest Christian denomination,
with estimates of 81-85% of the
population belonging to this faith in
the Philippines. The country has a
significant Spanish Catholic
tradition, and Spanish style
Catholicism is highly embedded in
the culture, which was acquired
from priests or friars (prayle in
Filipino). This is shown in traditions
such as Misa de Gallo, Black
Nazarene procession, Santo Niño
and Aguinaldo procession, where
large crowds gather, honouring
their patron saint or saints.
Processions and fiestas are
conducted during feast days of the
patron saints of various barrios or
barangays. Roman Catholicism is
also the de facto state religion in
the Philippines.
Every year on October 31, Filipino
families celebrate the Day of the
Dead, which they spend much of
the day and evening visiting their
ancestral graves, showing respect
and honor to their departed
relatives by feasting and offering
prayers. On November 1 Filipino
families celebrate All Saint's Day,
where they honor the saints of the
Catholic church. Then November 2
is All Soul's Day.
Christmas in the Philippines is a
celebration spanning just more
than the day itself. Christmas
season starts in September. Many
traditions and customs are
associated with this grand feast, Philippines to the United States.
along with New Year. Holy Week in After a bitter fight for
the Philippines is also an important independence against its new
time for the country's Catholics. To occupiers, Filipinos surrendered
spread more the gospel, the and were again colonized. The
Roman Catholic Church established arrival of Protestant American
Catholic Media Network with its missionaries soon followed.
main tv station Tv Maria as a tool
for evangelization. other large • Apostolic Catholic Church
Roman Catholic television channels (Independent Catholic)
like EWTN and Familyland are also • Association of Fundamental
available and watched in the Baptist Churches in the
Philippines Philippines
• Baptist Bible Fellowship in
Roman Catholic Charismatic the Philippines (Baptist)
Renewal and the • Christian and Missionary
Neocatechumenal Way Alliance
• Church of the Foursquare
The El Shaddai movement is a Gospel in the Philippines
large Catholic Charismatic Renewal (Pentecostal)
led by 'Brother Mike Velarde'. • Conservative Baptist
Other groups include Couples for Association of the Philippines
Christ, Ligaya Ng Panginoon, (Baptist)
FAMILIA Community, etc. • Convention of Philippine
Baptist Churches (Baptist)
The Neocatechumenal Way has a • Episcopal Church in the
very large and rapidly expanding Philippines (Anglican)
presence in the Philippines, • Jesus Is Lord Church
especially in Luzon, Manila and the (Pentecostal)
Visayan Islands, especially Panay. • Jesus Miracle Crusade
Nowadays there are more than (Pentecostal)
seven hundred Neocatechumenal • Luzon Convention of
communities, the highest number Southern Baptists (Baptist)
in Asia and one of the highest • Mindanao and Visayas
numbers in the World. Convention of Southern
Baptists (Baptist)
Orthodox Church • Lutheran Church of
Philippines (Lutheran)
Orthodoxy has been continuously • The United Methodist Church
present in the Philippines for more (Methodist)
than 200 years. Today, Orthodox • United Church of Christ in
number at around 560.. the Philippines
(Congregationalist,
Protestantism Presbyterian, Disciples,
United Brethren, Methodist).
• Jesus Is The Rock Church
Protestantism arrived in the
(Full Gospel).
Philippines with the coming of the
• Christ Living Epistle
Americans at the turn of the 20th
Ministries Inc. (Full
century. In 1898, Spain lost the
Gospel/Pentecostal).
 • Victory Christian Fellowship Restorationist
(Pentecostal)
• United Pentecostal Church Restorationism describes religious
(Pentecostal) movements that follow what they
understand to be a pristine, or
Filipino Catholic Church original, form of Christianity:
independent from Rome
• The Church of Jesus Christ of
• Philippine Independent Latter-day Saints - During
Church more commonly the Spanish-American War in
known as the Iglesia Filipina 1898, two men from Utah
Independiente or Aglipayans, who were members of the
arose from a Catholic United States artillery
nationalist movement at the battery, and who were also
turn of the century.It's the set apart as missionaries by
second biggest Christian the Church before they left
denomination in the the United States, preached
Philippines, after the Roman while stationed in the
Catholic Church, which has Philippines. Missionary work
parishes and churches work picked up after World
around the Philippines and War II, and in 1961 the
parishes around the United Church was officially
States, Europe, mostly in the registered in the Philippines.
[15]
UK and Sweden, and in Asia. In 1969, the Church had
The total membership spread to eight major islands
counts vary from 3 to 7 and had the highest number
million members. It is in full of baptisms of any area in
communion with the the Church. A temple was
Philippine Episcopal Church, built in 1984 which located
the rest of the Anglican in Quezon City and another
Communion, and the Union one which is under
of Utrecht. construction is in Cebu City.
• The Apostolic Catholic The Manila Missionary
Church (ACC) is a catholic Training Center was
denomination founded in the established in 1983.
1980s in Hermosa, Bataan. It Membership in 1984 was
formally separated in the 76,000 and 237,000 in 1990.
Roman Catholic Church in Membership was 594,655 in
1992 when Patriarch +Dr. 2007. In 2008,
John Florentine Teruel groundbreaking began on a
registered it as a Protestant new temple in Cebu.
and Independent Catholic
denomination. Today, it has • Jehovah's Witnesses -
more than 5 million Missionaries of the Jehovah's
members worldwide. The Witnesses arrived in the
largest international Philippines during the
congregations are in Japan, American Occupation (1898-
USA and Canada. 1945). They have been
involved in several court
controversies because of
 their stand on flag-saluting
and blood transfusions. They
are best known by their
preaching in pairs from
house to house. Currently
there are more than 150,000
members in the Philippines
as of the year 2006.
• The Kingdom of Jesus Christ,
the Name Above Every
Name - The Kingdom of
Jesus Christ, the Name
Above Every Name was
founded by Pastor Apollo C.
Quiboloy, claiming to be the
appointed Son of God, on
September 1, 1985.
• Members Church of God
International - The Members
Church of God International,
is a nontrinitarian religious
organization known through
its television program, Ang
Dating Daan (ADD). This
group is an offshoot of
Nicholas Perez's Iglesia ng
Diyos kay Kristo Hesus Haligi
at Suhay ng Katotohanan
(Church of God in Christ
Jesus, Pillar and Support of
the Truth). The split occurred
after Eliseo Soriano was
excommunicated from
Perez's group, the former
believes that Perez's
successor, Levita Gugulan,
should not lead the church
because she is a woman.
The church leadership keep
their membership a secret
but is estimated to be more
than 2,000,000 as of 2008,
and their membership is
phenominaly increasing
because of the truthful
teachings in the scriptures
by Eliseo Soriano. But this
church also is the very
persecuted church during
Arroyo's administration.
• The Most Holy Church of God
in Christ Jesus is a Philippine
religious
• organization established in
May, 1922 by Teofilo D. Ora.
This church is also known in
the country through its radio
program Ang
Kabanalbanalan which airs
on several radio stations
nationwide.
• Seventh-day Adventist
Church - The church founded
by Ellen G. White which is
best-known for its teaching
that Saturday, the seventh
day of the week, is the
Sabbath, and that the
second advent of Jesus
Christ is imminent. As of
2007, there were 88,706
Adventist churches in the
Philippines, with a
membership of 571,653 and
an annual membership
growth rate of 5.6%
• The Iglesia ni Cristo a
corporation sole religious
organization that originated
from the Philippines.
Iglesia Ni Cristo was founded by
Felix Y. Manalo when he officially
registered the church as a
unipersonal corporation at the then
Kawanihan ng Komersyo or
Securities and Exchange
Commission with him as executive
minister on July 27, 1914 and
because of this, most publications
refer to him as the founder of the
church. The Iglesia Ni Cristo is
widely regarded as very influential
due to their ability to deliver votes
through block voting during
elections but this statement is only
a deception of INC. The church
leadership keep their membership
a secret but is estimated to be less
than 500,000 as of 2008, and their
membership is rapidly decreasing
because of the many rampant bad
doings of their ministers.
Islam
Islam reached the Philippines in the
14th century with the arrival of
Malay and Javanese merchants and
Arab merchants from Malaysia and
Indonesia, although the spreading
of Islam in the Philippines is due to
the strength of Muslim India. India
brought Islam to Southeast Asia,
specifically Malaysia and Indonesia,
and in turn the latter two brought
Islam to the Philippines. Filipino
Muslims make up about five
percent of the population and are
concentrated in the western
portion of the island of Mindanao.
The Bangsamoro or Muslim Nation,
a term used to define the disparate
ethnic groups that profess Islam in
the Philippines as their religion,
have been fighting the most
protracted war of independence in
world history. These include the
Tausugs and the Maranaos. The
Islamic separatist movement in the
Philippines had been and is being
waged for almost five centuries --
against the Spanish, the
Americans, the Japanese and the
predominantly Christian Filipinos of
today's independent republic.
Filipino Muslims follow the Sunni
tradition.
Sikhism and Hinduism
Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism
has existed in the Philippines for
centuries. A great deal of Philippine
mythology is derived from Hindu
mythology. Many Filipino customs
have strong Buddhist influences.
Hinduism arrived when the Hindu
religion and culture arrived from
India by southern Indians to
Southeast Asia from the 4th
centuries to the 1300s. The same
case can also be found in
Buddhism since early Buddhist did
follow many of the Hindu
cosmology and Hindus themselves
considered Buddha to be an avatar
of their god, Vishnu. The Srivijaya
Empire and Majapahit Empire on
what is now Malaysia and
Indonesia, introduced Hinduism
and Buddhism to the islands[24].
Statues of Hindu-Buddhist gods
have been found in the Philippines.
Today Hinduism is largely confined
to the Indian Filipinos and the
expatriate Indian community.
Theravada and Vajrayana
Buddhism, which are very close to
Hinduism, are practiced by
Tibetans, Sri Lankan, Burmese and
Thai nationals. There are Hindu
temples in Manila, as well as in the
provinces. There are temples also
for Sikhism, sometimes located
near Hindu temples. The two Paco
temples are well known,
comprising a Hindu temple and a
Sikh temple.
Atheism and agnosticism
Phil Zuckerman estimated in 2007
that slightly less than 1% of the
population of the Philippines were weekly meetings, they have held
atheist. two open forums, with a combined
attendance of over 100 members.
Discussions on atheism are active
in academic institutions such as
the University of the Philippines.
One of the well known atheist
organizations in UP is UPAC
(University of the Philippines
Atheist Circle). There were also
atheists in Luneta Park, yet they
never called themselves as
"atheists". Most label themselves
as freethinkers. Filipino non-
believers are comfortable to label
themselves as agnostics, Humanist
and rationalist than atheists.

Prominent atheists here in the

Philippines were quite few. Most
notable is Mr. Ramon "Poch"
Suzara of the The Bertrand Russell
Society, Philippines. The advent of
the Internet revolution in the
1990’s was also a landmark in
Philippine atheism. A lot of Filipino
atheist went "out" and started
posting their atheism on their
personal blogs. There were also
groups that came out like
Radioactive atheist, a Yahoo
atheist group created by Joebert
Cuevas, Alixi Gumila and Jose Juan
"John" Paraiso in November 2002.
Today there are a lot of atheist
blogs and forum created by
Filipinos. One of the first is Pinoy
Atheist. It was created by Jose Juan
"John" Paraiso in Feb, 2005.

On February 2009, Filipino

Freethinkers[28] was formed. The
group, composed mostly of
atheists, agnostics, and humanists,
discuss daily through its online
channels, with a combined
membership of more than 200
members spread across their
mailing list, forum, and social
networking group. Aside from