The Pharmacy(tm)

I usually steer clear of political discussions, because they tend to be as circular as religious ones, but nowhere near as thought provoking.

Recent news however, doesn’t give me much choice, because it’s an intermingling of the two.

First there was that bit a few days ago of Archbishop Cruz of Lingayen excommunicating President Arroyo. Then just this morning, another article came out of congressmen requesting the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) to sanction Archbishop Cruz.

This gets me thinking about the implications of the recent Vatican declaration of new sins, which incidentally also touches on the subject of confession: priests are to refuse absolution to sinners who do not appear to be sincerely contrite.

Although I was raised Catholic by Catholic parents, my appreciation of religion has expanded (can I say matured?) greatly since my childhood. At first, I merely counted on religion to explain the universe for me. Then I remember distinctly during a Grade 4 science class, when one of my classmates asked our science teacher, who was explaining the origin of the solar system: “Maam, I thought God made the universe in 7 days?”

That same confusion arose much later, especially during EDSA 2, when we would look at bishops and priests, whose main concern was the heavenly salvation, making comments and being passionate about local politics–which is a very earthly kind of salvation.

It was when I started reading about the history of Christianity when I finally expanded my appreciation of religion. In general, and this is where my current appreciation of faith stands, religion can appreciated in 3 ways:

1. To Explain Reality – only that it shares the podium with Philosophy, and more recently, Science. From the old days when people relied on Genesis to explain the origin of the universe, most religions now stick to the “purpose” of creation rather than the method. Convenient.

2. Historical Context – the top 3 religions now: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism (Jewish), apart from sharing a common Old Testament (the Islamic Koran and Jewish Tanakh), also share a common birthplace in the Middle East areas. And the way these beliefs have spread were influenced by the conflicts and politics of those areas.

3. As a Social and Political Tool – The Roman Empire, which was largely pagan, adopted Christianity as its official faith, which led to the elimination of other religions and sparked numerous wars, all the way to the European wars of the middle ages. European powers also used Christianity as a tool to colonize Asian countries, as Spain did with the Philippines–and this has largely been the root of Philippine culture.

So with that, how can you avoid talking about politics without talking about religion, and vice-versa?

Incidentally, separation of church and state, is a constitutional precept that we inherited from the United States–whose aim was to welcome all religions in the spirit of democracy. Can those ideals really apply to the Philippines?

On the opposite tack, imagine other societies, whose religion and politics are really intermingled: like China and Japan, whose ancient societies treated their emperors and royalty as being descended directly from divinity.

There are present day societies that do not separate church and state. Consider Iceland for instance, which has a state religion–and whose citizens are automatically a member by birth, whether they choose it actively or not.

The result (whether directly or indirectly):

Iceland is the most developed country in the world. Iceland is the most egalitarian country in the world. Icelanders are also considered the happiest country in the world.

Am I kidding? Nope.

Food for thought.