This article
refers to the controversial topic of religious freedom, one of the
constitutional rights guaranteed in democratic societies, which ironically
is considered taboo in RDL discussions. I have to change the title
in the hope of removing any allergic reaction associated with the
word religion.
Religious discussion
can be objective and constructive if only each one appreciates the
purpose of discussion that is to break up or dissect the subject matter
to understand each part better and make the fragmented understanding
whole. The more incisive the discussion or study is, the sharper or
more clear-cut our mental perception and understanding of the whole
subject. There would be no wars or conflicts in the world if we have
a continuous dialogue on the sharing of a universal faith - the faith
in one God, the loving and merciful God.
My favorite analogy
is that a discussion is like the turbulence created by the propeller
of a ship or airplane. The turbulence is actually the reaction of
the water or the air to the motion of the propeller that eventually
causes locomotion of the ship or the airplane.
The dialogue on
religion was first brought up by Fred Santos. He posted the following
message on Jan. 18, 2000 on the subject of Catholicism and the Wealth
of Nations:
"I am writing
to correct some misconceptions regarding the link between
Catholicism and economic well-being.
"First, the
world's largest three economies are not predominantly Catholic. The
United States is around 58% Protestant and 26% Catholic; Germany is
35% Protestant and 34% Catholic; and Japan, whose postwar rise to
prosperity is unparalleled, is 85% Shintoist and Buddhist and no more
than 1% Christian.
"Second,
the Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia. Several other
Asian countries exhibit superior economic performance, as measured
in terms of GDP per capita, for example. These countries - among them
South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan, in addition to Japan
- have populations that are predominantly Muslim, Buddhist, Confucian,
or Taoist.
"Third, as
Max Weber writes in 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism',
Catholicism emphasizes religious contemplation and the afterlife.
Protestantism, on the other hand, values hard work, thrift, and efficiency.
Because of this ethic, Protestant nations saw previously unknown advances
in science and technology and an unprecedented accumulation of capital.
Thus, Protestantism is responsible for the rise of modern science
and capitalism."
Delia Famatigan
responded: "Louie Pasteur, the 'Father of Bacteriolory' (a devoted
Catholic) was one of our greatest scientists. While in a train going
to a place where he was invited to speak among the scientists of the
wonders of microbiology, a student from a well-known university was
sitting beside him. The student noticed him praying the rosary in
silence so many times. The student asked him why he was doing that
and said that he should study the modern technologies and the new
discoveries of the time. The student said that he should stop praying
the rosary and aspire for more advance education. He did not stop
...he told about the discoveries of microbiology and mentioned the
name of that 'genius of bacteria'. Pasteur just listened to him and
his stories. When they parted Pasteur gave the student his calling
card. The student looked at him in wonder and he cried. This student
became one of his great colleagues.
"Whenever
Pasteur gave talks in scientific meetings he always acknowledged
that his discoveries were God given and he was just used by God to
let God's
glory known.
"God blesses
all peoples regardless of their religious faith. That is how God
loves us. God even cares for those who says they are atheist."
Minnie Festin-Navato
wrote: "Modern science was started by Copernicus and Galileo
who were both Catholics. Of course, the Catholic religion also emphasized
industry but never promised wealth in this life. I admit that Christianity
emphasized greater value in the everlasting life, not in the present
life. But they also did emphasize hard work. The Catholic religion
teaches that sloth is one of the cardinal sins. Religion is not really
equated with wealth in life. In many cases, wealth is a hindrance
to eternal life."
Doc Simp retorted:
"Copernicus laid the foundation of modern astronomy by assuming
the earth's diurnal rotation and postulating a sun-centered universe
- a position that challenged both ancient science and religious dogma.
Galileo embraced the Copernican view of the universe with the earth
moving around the sun. This was declared a heresy by Pope Pius V.
Galileo defiled the pope by making his views even more explicit. As
a result he was brought to the inquisition at the age of 70. Recanting
his views publicly, he was reported to have muttered, ' even so the
earth does move.' Galileo in his remaining years was silenced by the
Church.
"What an irony! Well, perhaps Copernicus and Galileo are good
candidates for sainthood?"
Fred Santos rebutted:
"Of course there are Catholic scientists but anecdotes are not
sufficient to refute the basic facts that I presented. I wonder, who
is this 'student from a well-known university' who "became one
of [Pasteur's] great colleagues?" Incidentally, Galileo became
a victim of the Inquisition for his defense of Copernican theory."
Religion became
a hot topic after the 9/11 tragedy. Minnie Festin-Navato wrote on
Sept. 25, 2001: "I am not an expert on Islam but what I hear
is this. This is my speculation. Islam, as interpreted by the fundamentalists,
states that its followers are rewarded by going to heaven if they
kill the enemies of Allah.
"Christianity,
on the other hand, pays tribute to its followers who get killed for
not renouncing their religion. They are our martyrs and go straight
to heaven.
"It seems
to me that Bin Laden and his followers often invoke the term 'holy
war' because they think they can get support from the zealous Muslims.
As
Bush said, 'We are not carrying out this war for religious reasons.
We are
just after those who do criminal acts'.
"Were the
intended victims in the World Trade Center holocaust the enemies of
Allah? So many Muslims were among the victims.
"Is America
the enemy of Allah? There are so many Arab-Americans and mosques here.
We consider them as part of us."
There was a lively
discussion at first. Later, the discussion on religion turned hot
and so there were suggestions to minimize discussions of sensitive
topics such as religion, politics and sex. Max Fabella wrote on June12,
2002:
"I was wondering,
if I could suggest we should minimize discussions of the
3 taboo/controversial subjects: religion, politics, and sex. Nobody
wants censorship. I would like to throw the suggestion to the to the
pot, and would invite contrary opinion? The 3 general topics, seems
to invite 'passion' in our listers. Just an idea."
Minnie Festin-Navato
quickly responded: "Religion and politics are topics people are
very much interested in. If people want to talk about them, let them.
If it arouses their passion, well and good. That shows it is important
to them. That's why they are passionate about it. Give them a chance
to talk about their passions. So long as there is no dirty fighting
and does not incite hatred or attempts to deliberately hate one another,
what's wrong with that?
"Discussions
which include politics and religion are exciting and stimulating.
If we limit our RDL discussion to happy birthday greetings and praising
the Philippines and Romblon, 'bale wala ang RDL' (translated as RDL
would be worthless).
"When I
read newspapers, I am inclined to skip the society pages and sports.
I lean more towards the editorials and the front-pages because they
help shape the course of human events. Discussions of any topic are
healthy and
stimulating. It broadens one's mind and exposes one to other people's
way of thinking and personal feelings."
Delia also disagreed
with the taboo proposition of Max Fabella. She wrote: "If you
do not like these topics just please delete them. This RDL duscussions
will be too boring if we do not discuss religion and politics."
As moderator,
Doc Simp invoked the principle locally known as "patugsiling"
or the so-called ethic of reciprocity or the "Golden Rule"
to remind listers to be considerate of others' feelings on their religious
beliefs.
Chu Mangoba explained
the meaning of "patugsiling":
"English
synonyms of 'patugsiling' are the words consideration, empathy,
sympathy and tolerance. Consideration is thoughtful concern for others.
Empathy is identification with and understanding of the situation,
feelings and motives of others. Sympathy is the act of sharing or
understanding the feelings of others. Tolerance is recognizing and
respecting the opinions, practices of behavior of others. 'Patugsiling'
is the derivative of the 'Golden Rule' which means doing unto others
what you want others do unto you. In other words, be considerate unto
others as you want others to be considerate unto you."
There were heated
discussions of the taboo proposition but they are not featured in
this Dialogue to let bygones be bygones. However, suppressing ideas
on faith or religion may not be good for RDL in the long run.
Faith is part
of our culture so we can't close our eyes, our ears and our hearts
on its essence to our physical and spiritual existence. Faith can
move mountains so it can also move hearts of stone or minds of prejudice.
It is religion that teaches us the virtues of faith, hope and charity.
We, therefore, need religion to nourish us with spiritual power in
accomplishing our "sanrokan" mission.
