As many may know, the Philippines is a very Catholic country. I believe it’s something like 92% of the country is Christian (there’s a large Muslim population in the south, near Indonesia) and probably 85% of the people are Catholic. Unlike the in the United States there is no separation of Church and State (though that may sometimes be questionable in the states as well) and it doesn’t seem to be a problem with anyone. Meetings and official functions here have been starting with invocations that are largely group prayer thanking the lord Jesus and asking him to watch over us all. It’s very odd to me, and something I’m not sure that I will ever get used to.
Our language and culture teacher Eva explained to us the other day that there’s a religion class that’s part of the standard public school curriculum, where they teach Catholic catechism. We asked if all students had to participate in this portion of class, given that not all Filipinos are Catholic and she said, yes- but that they usually didn’t mind because most all students were Christian and that much of what they study applies to the various denominations found around the country. I asked if this was part of the curriculum in Mindanao, where there is a fairly large Muslim population, and she said yes and didn’t seem to understand why I would even ask. It reminds me of something my host mother said the other day as we were walking through town. She commented that she thought it was so great how religiously diverse the barangay was, and listed off about five different Christian denominations. While I’m sure that is horribly diverse, it struck me as odd because from my viewpoint it’s quite the opposite. I think it’s really lucky that there is so much diversity at home, it may not seem like it when one is in the middle of it- but here it is pretty apparent.
Anyway, there are a few things here related to the topic at hand that have been making me feel a little bit uncomfortable. For those who do not know me well, I do not consider myself a religious person- though I find it fascination to learn about religious practices. However, when it comes to actually subscribing to one or another set of organized beliefs I cannot really put myself down as a “follower”. My family here is, as I have gathered from observation, fairly religious and quite devoutly Catholic. They asked me within about 10 minutes of meeting if I went to mass, but were also quite understanding when I explained that I do not. Once or twice they have asked me if I am interested in going to service with them, but being that they go to the 4:30 am service I don’t attempt to go even for the cultural experience.
Before every meal the children take turns saying grace and I make a point to respect this and pause for a moment of silence, though I never join in or offer to say grace. This does not seem to be a problem and it doesn’t make me uncomfortable. There is one practice amidst all here that does make me feel a little bit odd, and that is the practice of blessing. It is pretty much expected of people to bless their elders; this is done by taking the person’s hand in yours and bringing it to your forehead in a sort of pseudo bow-handshake.
After talking to our resource volunteer tonight, it seems that it’s standard practice to bless people who at home would be considered “senior citizens” though you have to be careful not to bless someone too young because they might take offense at it. As of late, ate Shirley has been requesting the children to bless me when I come home from class and this makes me more than a little uncomfortable. The idea that it will be expected of me (and I will be thought rude if I don’t) to bless my elders is something that I’m finding difficult to reason. Personally, I feel like it’s a superficial act coming from me because the act is purely physical and has no spiritual meaning to me and feel like I will be making light of something that is so serious to the majority of the population here because I’m going through the motions of something special just to be culturally acceptable. On the other hand, I will be considered rude if I don’t make the gesture, empty or not, and it’s not likely that most people will ever know my thoughts on the subject. I think I will proverbially shoot myself in the foot if I don’t adopt the gesture as a way of showing respect, even though I feel disrespectful in doing it.
In the meantime, I’m trying to work on a way of approaching it so that I can be culturally sensitive and not feel that I’m being untrue to myself or feeling disrespectful toward those to whom I’m trying to show respect. So far it seems that my fellow cluster-mates think that I’m making too much of the situation and don’t agree with me that it’s disrespectful to perform a religious gesture without sincere belief in the act, but they’re also much more religious people than I and I don’t believe can truly see if from my point of view. Perhaps I’ll just have to rationalize it as “respecting” people (not “blessing”) and remember that it’s a mainly secular gesture that has roots in religion. I’ve got about a month and a half to figure out my stance on the situation before I go to my site and, in the meantime, it will remain a moral dilemma.
Perhaps you can adopt some similar, but distinctly different show of respect that you would do in place of the local tradition? I was thinking a two-handed handshake/handhold and a bow of the head or something? …this might be understood as a sign of respect, even though it is not THEIR sign of respect and might be a more comfortable middle ground.
Interesting idea. I’m gong to see what I can figure out.