IS IT REALLY true faith or mere expression of piety?
Religion teaches people about the ethical values that would guide them in their daily lives. Everyone has the liberty to choose what they believe in, because freedom of religion is a fundamental right.
But everyone must understand the responsibilities and values attached to their own belief. Religious practices are not just about expressions of mere piety. It involves the consideration of moral values.
In the third International Forum on Law and Religion last July 31 at the University of the Philippines, experts revealed that because of the restrictions imposed by governments on religion in some countries, persecution is on the rise.
Eighty-six percent or 6.5 billion people in the world are experiencing restrictions in their religious practice, according to Pew Research Center.
In the Philippines, religious freedom is adequately protected, at least by law. The state does not favor one group over another.
Article III, Section 5 of the Philippine Constitution states that: “No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed.”
While the Constitution allows various religions to practice their faith, one must not turn a blind eye to the reality of persecution happening in the country.
In the Duterte administration, there have been countless reports of attacks hurled against the Catholic Church, criminal charges filed against Church leaders, and killings of priests.
The former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Socrates Villegas pointed out that persecution is not just limited to violence. There are attacks against the Catholic Church in social media for being a “moral compass.”
When a Church leader or layman talks about the respect for the dignity of human life, they become targets of trolls, said Villegas.
What’s even more alarming are the trumped-up charges our Church leaders and some members of the clergy and religious are facing.
Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani, Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Fr. Robert Reyes and Fr. Albert Alejo, as well as “Sister Ling” of the Convent of Canossian Sisters, are all facing criminal charges filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
Some of these Church figures are facing sedition cases while others are accused of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
If religious freedom is adequately protected by the law, and the Catholic Church is just expressing its religious belief in standing up for human rights, then why are they being targeted by the state for upholding their own beliefs?
Gary Doxey, associate director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies of Brigham Young University in America, said we are in the age where the threat against religious freedom is becoming more and more serious.
Doxey said religious freedom must be supported by the government because it strengthens and protects other civil and political rights. It also confirms the spiritual dimension of humanity.
Is religious freedom really present in the Philippines? Are religious ways of promoting moral values not prohibited?
If yes, then why are Church leaders and lay people who are standing up for the truth receiving threats for their non-violent defense of what they believe in?
If yes, then why is the Duterte administration determined to jail our Church leaders?
If yes, then why are we in this era of violence and attacks against religion?
Is it enough to just express our faith through rituals when those who stand for truth are being targeted by the state?
We must go back to the roots of what we believe in. It would be hypocritical for us to go to church every Sunday and post bible verses on social media if we do not practice the moral responsibilities that our faith demands of us.
