Responses to Rapid Social Change: Populist Religion in the Philippines

Author(s): Christl Kessler and Jrgen Rland

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 79, No. 1 (Spring, 2006), pp. 73-96
Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
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ResponsestoRapidSocialChange:
PopulistReligionin the
Philippines
Christl
KesslerandJurgenRuland*

Introduction

withtidessuchas "Christianity
Re-Born:
TheGlobal
publications
in
of
the
Twentieth
"TheNext
Expansion Evangelicalism
Century,"1
Christendom.
TheComingofGlobalChristianity"2
and"Charismatic
3 reflect
initsEvanas a GlobalCulture"
thefactthatChristianity
Christianity
version
is
and
worldwide.
Pentecostal/Charismatic
gainingground
gelical
totheWorldChristian
thesestrands
ofChristianity
According
Encyclopedia,
in themid-1970s
and for11.8
accountedfor4.5 percentof all Christians
in
in
1995.
The
increase
Pentecostals/Charismatics
and,to
greatest
percent
in
a lesserextent,
has
taken
Africa
and
Latin
In
America.
Evangelicals
place
ofPentecostals/Charismatics
rosefrom4.8percentof
Africa
thepercentage
the populationin the mid-1970sto 15.9 percentin 1995. The shareof
Evangelicalsincreasedduringthe same periodfrom4.6 percentto 8.8
forLatinAmericaareequallyimpressive:
Thefigures
Pentecostals/
percent.
from4.4 percentin mid-1970to 27.1 percentin
Charismatics
multiplied
1995and Evangelicals
doubledfrom3.4 to 7.6 percent.In Asiathesuccess
is
of
Charismatic
as itssharerosefrom
one
Pentecostal/
Christianity,
story
to 3.6 percentin 1995,whiletheEvangelicals
0.5 percentin themid-1970s
remainedvirtually
unchangedat 0.5 and 0.8 percent,
respectively.4
* The authorsthankthe
of the CatholicBishops
WorkingGroupon Global ChurchAffairs
forfundingtheresearchon whichthisarticleis based. Theyalso wishto
Conferenceof Germany
to theInstitute
ofPhilippineCulture(IPC) , Ateneode ManilaUniversity
for
expresstheirgratitude
and conducting
theempiricalsurvey
fromwhichthisarticledraws.
hostingtheauthorsand preparing
In particular,
and Dr.MilagrosTolentinoand
we thankthedirectorofIPC, Dr.FilemonAguilar,Jr.,
herassistants.
Wewouldalso liketo thankDr.KatharineL. Wiegeleand threeanonymous
reviewers
on thisarticle.
forhelpfulcomments
1 Donald Lewis,ed., Christianity
Re-Born:
TheGlobalExpansion
in theTwentieth
ofEvangelicalism
(GrandRapids,MI: Eerdman's,2004).
Century
2 PhilipJenkins,
TheNextChristendom:
TheComing
(Oxford:OxfordUniversity
ofGlobalChristianity
Press,2002).
3 KarlaPoewe,ed., Charismatic
as a GlobalCulture
of South
(Columbia:University
Christianity
CarolinaPress,1994).
4 DavidB. Barrett,
Christian
GeorgeT. Kurianand Todd M.Johnson,eds., World
Encyclopedia
Press,2001),pp. 13-15.
(Oxford:OxfordUniversity

73

Volume79,No. 1- Spring2006
PacificAffairs:

conservative
as religiously
hasdescribedthesegrowing
churches
Jenkins
andFrestonhasshedlighton thediverse
waysinwhichtheyhaveemerged
as a politicalforcein manycountries
oftheglobalSouth.5In Asia,South
as countries
ofEvangelical
KoreaandChinahavegainedacademicattention
and Pentecostal
churchgrowth.6
asidefrom
Thefollowing
inthePhilippines,
articleexamines
thesituation
intheregion.
EastTimortheonlypredominantly
Christian
Although
country
here as well,the
Pentecostaland Evangelicalchurcheshaveflourished
- showthemost
- the"Pentecostal
CatholicCharismatic
Catholics"7
groups
El
Charismatic
The twobiggestCatholic
layorganizations,
striking
growth.
Shaddaiand CouplesforChrist,together
claimthreemillionregistered
members;bothmaintainoverseaschaptersall overthe globe and their
In thearticlewearguethat
missions
foster
thegrowth
ofAsianChristianity.
theenormoussuccessofthesegroupsis due to theirpopulistcharacter.8
The discussiondrawson a studyof religiouschangein the Philippines
conductedby the authorsin 2003.We startwitha briefoutlineof the
and terminology
The mainsections
usedinthestudy.
present
methodology
in the
Charismatic
movement
data
on
the
of
the
quantitative
survey
scope
of
elaborate
on
the
transfer
and,usingqualitative
data,
populist
Philippines
thearticlediscussesthe
stylesand topicsto thereligioussphere.Finally,
of the CharismaticRenewal in the
potentialpolitical ramifications
Philippines.
ResearchMethodology

in the
Our analysisrestson more thansevenmonthsof fieldwork
Philippinesin 2003. It drawson a nationalsurveyon religiouschange
5 Jenkins,TheNextChristendom;
inAsia,Africa,
andLatin
Paul Freston,Evangelicals
andPolitics
America
Press,2001).
(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity
6 Boo-Woong
amMain:PeterLang,
Pentecostalism.
ItsHistory
andTheology
Yoo,Korean
(Frankfurt
in the
1988); MurrayA. Rubinstein,
Christianity
"HolySpiritTaiwan:Pentecostaland Charismatic
inChina.From
theEighteenth
tothePresent
RepublicofChina,"inDanielH. Bays,ed., Christianity
Century
CA: StanfordUniversity,
(Stanford,
1996); Tu Weiming,"The QuestforMeaning:Religionin the
ed., TheDesecularization
People'sRepublicofChina,"in PeterL. Berger,
Religion
oftheWorld.
Resurgent
and World
Politics(GrandRapids,MI: Eerdman's,1999), pp. 91-94;GraemeLang, "Religionsand
in a Changing
World.
Studies
in
Regimesin China,"in MadeleineCousineau,ed.,Religion
Comparative
CT, London: Praeger,1998); WalterHollenweger,Charismatisch-pfingstliches
Sociology
(Westport,
Christentum
Vandenhoek& Ruprecht,1997), p.Ulff; Li Yue Hong, "The Decline of
(Gottingen:
Confucianism
and theProclamation
oftheGospelin China,"inWonsukMa and RobertP. Menzies,
in Context.
W Menzies(Sheffield:
Sheffield
Academic
eds.,Pentecostalism
Essaysin HonorofWilliam
Press,1997); AlanAnderson,Pentecostalism
Press,2004), pp. 132(Cambrige:CambridgeUniversity
and culture:Christian
139;PhilipYuen-Sang
commitment,
Leung,"Conversion,
experiencein China,
in Donald Lewis,ed., Christianity
Re-Born:
TheGlobalExpansionofEvangelicalism
in the
1849-1999,"
Twentieth
(GrandRapids,MI: Eerdman's,2004).
Century
I MeredithB. McGuire,Pentecostal
Catholics.
Charisma
and Order
in a Religious
Movement
Power,
Press,1982).
(Philadelphia:TempleUniversity
8 The conceptof politicalpopulismhas been applied to the studyof religiousphenomena
before.NathanHatch,forexample,providesan analysisof the Second Awakening
in theUnited

74

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

conductedbytheInstitute
ofPhilippineCulture(IPC) of theAteneode
ManilaUniversity
between
2003.The questionnaire
Augustand November
inFreiburg,
wasdevelopedbytheArnold-Bergstraesser-Institute
Germany,9
in cooperationwiththeIPC. It
and adaptedto Philippinecircumstances
consists
of125questions
beliefs,
covering
religious
practice,
religious
religious
theroleofreligionin politicsand society
at
attitudes,
religioustolerance,
and socioeconomic
attitudes.
largeas wellas moregeneralsociopolitical
The questionnaire
waspresented
tothreegroupsofrespondents.
The main
wasselectedbya nationwide
ransampleof1,200respondents
multi-stage
dom samplingdesign.Additional
Christians
samplesof 200 non-Catholic
and 200 CatholicCharismatics
werechosenusingthesnowballtechnique,
fromthemainsample.
withrespondents
starting
of
Multi-stage
sampledesignofthemainsampleincludedfourprovinces
thefourmajorregionsofthePhilippines
(NationalCapitalRegion,Luzon,
due to security
reasons,somerandomly
Visayasand Mindanao).However,
selectedsiteshad tobe replaced.The dataofthismainsampleisweighted
forage,sexand urban/
ruraldistribution
on thesub-regional
leveland for
distribution
betweenthemajorregionsaccording
nationwide
to
population
inthe
thenationalcensusdatafrom2000.Fifty-nine
percentofrespondents
mainsampleliveinruralareasand41 percentinurbanareas.MetroManila
residents
accountfor13 percentofthesample;thebiggestproportion,
43
intheVisayas,
inMindanao.
and24percent
liveinLuzon,20percent
percent,
The age groupsare as follows:
Genderis equallydistributed.
23 percentof
arebetween18and24yearsold,26percentbetween25 and34
respondents
years,28 percentare aged 35 to 49 yearsand 22 percentare morethan50
oftherespondents
havecompletedtheirelementary
yearsold. One-third
fromhighschooland 16percent
39percent
havegraduated
hold
education,
a college or university
degree. Only 12 percenthave not completed
of the respondentsactively
elementaryeducation.About two-thirds
in
are
the
labour
one-third
force,
retired,
studying,
participate
housekeeping
To assessthesocioeconomic
ofrespondents,
or unemployed.
background
Statesas religious
(NewHaven,
ofAmerican
populism.NathanO. Hatch,TheDemocratization
Christianity
CT: Yale University
Press,1989).
9 Manyofthesurvey
questionshavebeen developedbyTheodorHanf,Arnold-Bergstraesserand constitute
a slightly
revisedversionofthequestionnaire
Institute,
Germany,
Freiburg,
appliedin
an earlierstudyon religiouschangein CostaRica (Jean-Pierre
Bastian,UlrichFanger,IngridWehr,
Nikolaus Werz,ReligidserWandelin
CostaRica. Eine sozialwissenschaftliche
[Mainz: MatthiasInterpretation

Social Science Panel

2000]). As the Philippinestakepartin the International
Grunewald-Verlag,
severalquestionsfromtheISSP on religion.The ISSPs are conducted
we integrated
(ISSP) surveys,
SocialWeatherStations,
institute
whichkindly
providedthedatafileand questionnaire
bythesurvey
is takenfrom
ofthe1991and 1998panelson religion.One additionalquestionin thequestionnaire
fromdiscussions
The questionnaire
alsobenefited
withstaff
oftheSocialWeather
theEurobarometer.
forhishelpinidentifying
andPulseAsia.WewouldalsoliketothankFatherHerbertSchneider
Stations
Christians
and Dr.ReinhardHempelmannfromthe
ofCharismatic
withinthesurvey
characteristics
Zentralstelle
furWeltanschauungsfragen,
non-Catholic
Berlin,forhisadviceinclassifying
Evangelische
churchesas Charismatic/non-Charismatic.

75

Volume79,No. 1- Spring2006
PacificAffairs:

incomewithan indexof household

we combinedthedata on monetary
both of whichcorrelatewith
possessionsand educationalattainments,
statusof17percentof
income.Basedon thesevariables,
thesocioeconomic
statusof7 percentof
isclassified
as low,andthesocioeconomic
respondents
is classified
as high.
respondents
The data gainedfromthissurveywas complementedby qualitative
and
interviews
with22 membersofPentecostal
usinginterview
guidelines
in
CatholicCharismatic
wereconducted Tagalog
groups;theseinterviews
interviewed
fromIPC. The authorsthemselves
22 leading
byinterviewers
were
membersand clergyof thesegroupsand churches.All interviews
The
data
into
translated English.
transcribed
and theTagaloginterviews
were
interviews
and
derivedfromstandardized
questionnaires in-depth
invariousreligious
observation
supplemented
bydatagainedbyparticipant
and seminars
and background
information
services
acquiredin talkswith
academicexperts.Whereasthe surveycoveredall majorregionsof the
and participant
data (interviews,
Philippines,
qualitative
expertinterviews
restricted
to
Metro
Manila.
was
observation)
ConceptualClarifications

in the
movement
The subjectofourstudyis theriseoftheCharismatic
to be
in
context
needs
term
this
The
use
of
the
Charismatic
Philippines.
to Max Weber's
as socialscientists
relatethe termCharismatic
clarified,
in thecontextof religious
sociologyof rule,whichwouldbe misleading
on religiousmovements
movements
The literature
and denominations.
in how the labelsEvangelical,Pentecostaland
revealsan inconsistency
areevenusedas synonyms.
Charismatic
areemployed;
sometimes
theterms
are sometimes
To further
confusereaders,all oftheseChristian
traditions
A shortexcursion
on theorigins
subsumed
underthetermfundamentalists.
thisseemingly
ofthesedifferent
strandsofChristianity
willhelpto clarify
arbitrary
labelling.
is rootedin the US-American
CharismaticChristianity
Historically,
Holiness Movementand its successor, the Pentecostal churches.
intheUnitedStatesatthebeginning
ofthetwentieth
Pentecostalism
emerged
Protestant
churches
Itsaimwastorenewtheexisting
"mainline"
by
century.
on the individualspiritualexperienceof believers,the
concentrating
in theBibleand theworksoftheHolySpirit.
charismatic
mentioned
gifts
However,the establisheddenominationsreacted ratherhostilelyto
itsown
Pentecostal
formed
therenewalmovement
practices.
Consequently
inthe
churches.10
Pentecostal
churches
aroundtheworldgrewenormously
secondhalfof the twentieth
In additionto thisexpansion,the
century.
10 Harvey G. Cox, FirefromHeaven. TheRise ofPentecostal
and theReshapingofReligionin
Spirituality

theTwenty-First
1995).
Century
(Reading,MA:Addison-Wesley
Publishing
Company,

76

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

on theHolySpiritandon individual
Pentecostal
emphasis
spirituality
spread
as a Charismatic
to mainlineProtestant
movement
denominations
under
theleadershipofDennisBennet,an Episcopalpriest,in 1959,and to the
inPennsylvania
RomanCatholicChurch,
andMichigan
beginning
University
circles.
Today'sEvangelicalscan trace theirrootsback to the Protestant
a movement
thatemergedearlyin thetwentieth
Fundamentalists,
century,
afterthePentecostal
movement.
Pentecostals
and Fundamentalists
slightly
can be seenas twodifferent
religiousreactionsto therapidsocialchange
in NorthAmericaafterthe
inducedbyindustrialization
and urbanization
onindividual
CivilWar.Withtheiremphasis
Pentecostals
spiritual
experience,
offered
a religious
whileFundamentalists
stroveto restorethe
innovation,
and socialorder.11
old religious
Pentecostals
and Fundamentalists
Despitetheirdifferences,
agreedon
suchas a literalbeliefin theBibleand opposition
mostpointsofdoctrine,
ButPentecostal
intrance,
toliberaltheology.
likefalling
practices,
speaking
in tongues,weeping,crying
and laughingout loud duringservices,
were
as improper
inGod'shouse,andby
behaviour
regarded
byFundamentalists
someevenas satanicactivities.
Despitesomecommonground,Pentecostals
excludedfromtheFundamentalist
movement.12
weretherefore
strictly
Up
orFundamentalist
tothe1950s,beingEvangelical
meantvirtually
thesame
intheUS. After
WorldWarII, someFundamentalists
optedforcooperation
soulsforChrist.
forthesakeofwinning
TheyadoptedthenameEvangelical
intheirmissionary
effort
withmainlinedenominations
andcooperated
that
Fundamentalists
Fundamentalists
regardedas apostate.Consequently,
fromEvangelicals.13
distancedthemselves
eventually
Giventhe broad agreementon theologicalissues,Pentecostaland
havecomeclosertoeachother.In thePhilippines
churches
this
Evangelical
the
churchesare members
is demonstrated
ofthe
by factthatPentecostal
- a councilformerly
CouncilofChurches
calledthe
Evangelical
Philippine
Churches.
Council
of
Fundamentalist
Philippine
The termCharismatic
issometimes
usedina narrow
sensetodistinguish
Christians
withinnon-Pentecostal
denominations
from
the Charismatic
churches.
In
our
of
to
Pentecostal
use
the
term
Christians
we
belonging
of Poewe,who definesCharismatic
as
followthe suggestion
Christianity
11 MartinRiesebrodt,Fundamentalismus
alspatriarchalische
Amerikanische
Protestanten
Protestbewegung.
(1910-28) und iranischeSchiiten(1961-79) im Vergleich(Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1990); Nancy T.

inMartinE. Marty
American
Protestant
and ScottR.Appleby,
"North
Fundamentalism,"
Ammermann,
ofChicagoPress,1991).
Observed
eds.,Fundamentalisms
(Chicago,London:University
12 GeorgM. Marsden,Religion
and American
Culture(San Diego, NewYork:HarcourtBrace
Protestant
Fundamentalism;
Jovanovich,1990), p.153 ff,p.182 ff;Ammermann,NorthAmerican
Christentum,
Hollenweger, Charismatisch-pfingstliches
pp. 217-218.
13 Marsden, Religionand AmericanCulture,pp. 217-18; Ammermann, NorthAmericanProtestant
Fundamentalism,
p. 37.

77

Volume79,No. 1- Spring2006
PacificAffairs:

and
allChristian
spiritual
experience
"encompassing
groupsthatemphasize
the activitiesof the Holy Spirit."14
Whenwe speakof the Charismatic
movement
in thePhilippines
includePentecostal
we therefore
churches,
Protestant
Charismatic
aswellas Charismatic
mainline
Christians,
Evangelical
and Charismatic
Roman-Catholic
Christians.
actors
The acknowledgement
ofsimilarities
expressedbythePhilippine
themselves
alsolegitimizes
ofthedifferent
ouranalysis
groupsas partofthe
samephenomenon.
Catholic
Charismatic
leadersarekeentoclarify
Although
thattheyadhereto Catholicbeliefsand practices,
theyoftenmentionthe
As for
Pentecostal
and Protestant
Charismatic
originsoftheirmovement.
in
a
an
19
of
the
non-Catholics, survey astonishing percent
delegatesat a
Council
the
above-mentioned
Philippine
missionary
congress
organizedby
ofEvangelical
as saved
Churchesoptedforcounting
CatholicCharismatics
soulsin theEvangelical
sense.15
The CharismaticMovementin thePhilippines

in
Pentecostal
and Charismatic
newphenomenon
groupsarea relatively
thePhilippines.
RomanCatholicism
is a legacyoftheSpanishcolonialpast
andmainline
colonizers
Protestantism
first
entered
theislandswithAmerican
in 1899. But substantialEvangelicaland Pentecostalmissions,also
ofUS-American
predominantly
origin,didnotstartbeforeWorldWarII.
andFilipino
Pentecostal
andEvangelical
churches
weresoon"Filipinized,"
which,as
movement,
preacherstookthelead. The CatholicCharismatic
mentionedabove,originatedin the UnitedStatesin 1967,reachedthe
Philippinesin the early1970s.One of our interview
partnerstracesthe
CatholicRenewalmovement
toa Filipinocouplethathadcomeintocontact
withtheCatholicCharismatic
Renewalin theUnitedStates.Mostof the
groupsstudiedbyus wereestablished
byFilipinosin thelate1970sorearly
1980s.Jesusis Lord,one of thebiggestCharismatic
Protestant
groups,16
withan estimated
ofnearly
one million,
wasfoundedbyEddie
membership
in 1978.MikeVelarde,a former
Villanueva
El Shaddai
started
businessman,
in1983.TodayEl Shaddaiclaimstobe thelargest
oftheCatholicCharismatic
withtwomillionregistered
members
andan estimated
sevenmillion
groups,
followers.
unregistered
CouplesforChristreports1.4 millionregistered
membersin 2001.17Othergroupsreportmemberships
in the tensof
thousands.
14 Poewe, CharismaticChristianity
as a GlobalCulture,p. 2.

15 "So muchmoreto do! EvaluatingDAWN2000 Philippines,"

articleavailableon the Dawn
Ministries
Website,at <http://www.dawnministries.org/
June20,2003.
old_home/phil_eval.html>,
16 JoseA. Carillo,"Aprimeron politicalpropaganda,"
ManilaTimes,
29 March2004,availableat
(30 March2004).
<http:www.manilatimes.net>,
17 Accordingto ourdata,CouplesforChristexceedsEl Shaddaiin membership:
0.8 percentof
in themainsampleare membersofEl Shaddaicomparedto 3.7 percentmembersof
respondents

78

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

In contrast
to the"explosion
ofProtestantism
in LatinAmerica,"18
which
sharesa CatholiccoloniallegacywiththePhilippines,
therecentgrowth
of
and Pentecostal
did notresultin a
Evangelical
groupsin thePhilippines
substantial
increasein theProtestant
we finda
population.In our survey,
RomanCatholicpopulationof 83 percentand a non-Catholic
Christian
Figure1
toRapidSocialChange:PopulistReligionin thePhilippines
Responses

Sources:

ofCommerceand Industry,
1948/1960:BureauofCensusand Statistics,
Department
"CensusofthePhilippines1960Population
Philippines,
Republicofthe
and Housing," vol.II, Summary
Report(Manila:1963) table19,p. 17.
Thereare no data on religionavailableforthe1970and 1980census.
1990:
NationalStatistics
"1990Censusof
Office,RepublicofthePhilippines,
Populationand Housing,ReportNo. 3: Socioeconomicand Demographic
Characteristics,"
(Manila:1992).
NationalStatistics
2000:
"2000Censusof
Office,RepublicofthePhilippines,
Populationand Housing,ReportNo. 2: Demographicand Housing
Characteristics,"
(Manila:2003).
Ownsurvey
2003:
theresultsoftheSocialWeatherStationsNationalSurvey
CouplesforChrist.Thisfindingconfirms
of 2001,whichgivesthe figuresof 2.7 percentforCouples of Christand 0.5 percentEl Shaddai

members. SWS SurveySnapshots.A reviewofsurveysconductedbySocial WeatherStations,vol. II, no. 3

(Manila,2002),p. 4.

18 David Martin,TonguesofFire.TheExplosionofProtestantism
in Latin America(Oxford, Cambridge,
MA: Blackwell, 1990).

79

Volume79,No. 1- Spring2006
PacificAffairs:
Figure2
Protestants
Philippine

Sources:

ofCommerceand Industry,
1948/1960:BureauofCensusand Statistics,
Department
"CensusofthePhilippines1960Population
Republicofthe
Philippines,
and Housing," vol.II, Summary
Report(Manila:1963) table19,p. 17.
Censusdata of 1948and 1960differentiates
onlybetweenProtestants,
and Iglesiani Cristo.The figuregivenforNCCP churcheshere
Aglipayans
is thefigureforAglipayans.
"1990Censusof
1990:
NationalStatistics
Office,RepublicofthePhilippines,
and Demographic
and
No.
3:
Socioeconomic
Population
Housing,Report
Characteristics,"
(Manila:1992).
NationalStatistics
2000:
"2000Censusof
Office,RepublicofthePhilippines,
Populationand Housing,ReportNo. 2: Demographicand Housing
Characteristics,"
(Manila:2003).
Ownsurvey
2003:

1 and2 suggest
thatthe
of16percent.19
Thedatashowninfigures
population
in
decades.
of
the
Catholic
has
been
stable
recent
percentage
quite
population
and Pentecostal
subsumedunder"otherProtestant
churches,
Evangelical
mainline
denominations.
churches,"
grewattheexpenseofProtestant
19 Asmentionedabove,forreasonsofsecurity
Muslimareasin
wehad toreplacepredominantly
thesurvey.
Thisexplainstheunderrepresentation
ofMuslims(1 percent).A SocialWeatherStations
A
of2001reportsthatMuslimsaccountfor4 percentofthepopulation(SWSSurvey
Survey
Snapshots.
reviewofsurveysconductedbySocial Weather
Stations,p. 4) .

80

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

Data on churchmembership
is ofonlylimitedvaluewhenit comesto
CharismaticChristians,as theyare foundin virtually
all
identifying
askedall Christian
denominations.
We therefore
in themain
respondents
in Charismatic
and membership
practices
sampleforCharismatic
groups.
on activeCharismatics
The resulting
showthe"pentecostalization"
figures
More than one-thirdof all non-Catholic
of PhilippineProtestantism.
in thePhilippines
ofa Pentecostal
Christians
are members
churchor a lay
These resultsbuttress
the
practices.
groupthathas adoptedCharismatic
censusfigures
on churchmembership,
thattheriseofPentecostal
indicating
and Evangelicalchurcheschangednot so muchthe relationsbetween
but the religiouslandscapewithin
Catholicand non-Catholic
Christians,
Protestantism.
Philippine
thisassessment
is misleading
insofar
as ittakesonlythelossof
However,
intoaccount.The CatholicChurchisas muchaffected
churchmembers
by
as theProtestant
movement
churches.In the
theriseof theCharismatic
as Catholicsare simultaneously
longrunit mightbe evenmoreaffected,
oftheCharismatic
movement
and therefore
Catholicand members
affect
The moststriking
resultofthesurvey
theCatholicChurchfromwithin.
is
15percentofall interviewed
ofCatholicCharismatics:
thehighpercentage
areactiveintheCharismatic
movement.
Catholics
Thus,although
Philippine
Protestantism
has a strongCharismaticwing,the bulk of Philippine
Charismatics
belong to the RomanCatholicChurch.The Charismatic
Figure3
Charismatic
Engagement

Source:2003, Own survey.

81

Volume79,No. 1 - Spring2006
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in thesurvey
Christians
of70 percentCatholicsand only30
arecomprised
In termsofnumbers,
themost
Christians.
percentPentecostal/Protestant
the Catholic
successful
religiouscurrentin the Philippinesis therefore
Charismatic
movement.
Thisresultisalsoremarkable
incomparison
toLatinAmerica,
wherethe
successofPentecostal
churcheshas substantially
increasedthenumberof
Protestant
Renewalin Latin
Christians.20
Thereis a CatholicCharismatic
in
Americaas wellbut,unlikein thePhilippines,
it seemslesssuccessful
fromCatholicism
toPentecostalism.
conversions
preventing
Therootsofthis"Catholization"
ofthePentecostal/Charismatic
religiosity
can be tracedbackto thewayin whichthePhilippine
dealtwith
hierarchy
thebeginnings
ofCatholicRenewal.After
initialreluctance
and suspicion,
The
the RomanCatholicChurchwelcomedthe CatholicCharismatics.
into
the
Church
structure
themovement
hierarchy
successfully
integrated
and ensuredthattheCharismatic
groupsstuckto Catholicdoctrinewhile
a
Pentecostal
ofworship
andreligious
simultaneously
adapting
style
practice.
Catholics
thus
do
not
have
to
dismiss
the
faith
theywerebrought
Philippine
theCharismatic
up in,iftheywishtolivetheirreligiosity
way.
Mostobservers
tendtoacceptthatsupport
fortheCharismatic
movement
isstrongest
the
strata
of
it
as
a
lower
among
society,
phenomenon
depicting
oftheuneducatedurbanpoor.Thisimpression
stemsfrommediacoverage
of El Shaddai prayerrallies,attendedby the poorersegmentsof the
populationin MetroManila,and is supportedbystudieson Pentecostal
churches
inAfrica
is notborneoutby
and LatinAmerica.Thisassumption
our data. Poor respondents
in the Charismatic
are not over-represented
movement.
residenceevenworksin theoppositedirection.
Metropolitan
of
to
the
other
thepercentage
ofactivemembers
Compared
majorregions,
to our
the Charismatic
is smallestin MetroManila.Contrary
movement
expectations,respondentswithtertiaryeducation are slightlyoverThe sameholdstrueforwomen,butmuchlessthanexpected.
represented.
The genderdifference
is not significant.
This difference
betweenthe
is
Charismatic
movement
and
Charismatic
Christians
elsewhere
Philippine
In
due
to
Catholic
dominance.
the
probably
Philippines,becominga
buta subgroup
Charismatic
is notequivalenttojoininga socialminority,
to the
withintheCatholiccultureof themajority.
Thismightcontribute
ofCharismatic
all
one
hasto
attractiveness
for
social
strata.
However,
groups
in
in
mind
that
the
the
vast
of
the
keep
majority
populationare
Philippines
of
the
vast
standards;
poor by any
consequently,
majority Charismatic
in
Christians
arepoor.Therefore,
thesuccessoftheCharismatic
movement
the Philippinesdoes not contradict
of otherstudies,which
thefindings
20 Paul Freston,
in DonaldLewis,ed., Christianity
"ContoursofLatinAmericanPentecostalism,"
TheGlobal
Re-Born:
in theTwentieth
(GrandRapids,MI: Eerdman's,
Expansion
ofEvangelicalism
Century
2004),pp. 227-229.

82

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

Itqualifies
connectCharismatic
these
religiontothelowerstrataofsociety.
thatCharismatic
forthepoor,but
findings
byshowing
religionis attractive
forthem.
notexclusively
To evaluatereligiouschange,one has to go beyondmembership
of
churchesand laygroupsand ask about religiousbeliefs,practicesand
A principalcomponent
ofourdatarevealsthatthehigh
attitudes.
analysis
ratesin theCharismatic
movement
alsoreflect
a specific
participation
type
Charismatic
includespractices
and beliefsthatare
ofreligiosity.
religiosity
inthePhilippines,
suchas tithing,
newinreligious
comparatively
expression
in Charismatic
seminars,
beingbaptizedin theHolySpirit,participating
etc.
one'sfaithin religious
services,
testifying
publicly
The Charismatic
factor
consists
of16items(Cronbach'salpha
religiosity
intensereligious
Charismatic
0.81),covering
religious
practice,
experiences
Pentecostal
beliefs.
Weclassify
thetopquartileof
or Charismatic/
religious
a high
whoagreeto at leastsevenoftheseitems,as showing
respondents,
in themainsample).
Charismatic
(26 percentofall respondents
religiosity
thissharejumpsup to64percent.
theProtestant
Within
respondents
Among
in 19percent
wefinda highCharismatic
theCatholicrespondents
religiosity
of all Catholics.The Pentecostal
stillalmostone-fifth
of respondents,
in thePhilippines
is obvioushere.The reverse
ofProtestantism
character
other
end
of
the
scale:
24 percentof the mainsample
pictureis at the
on
Charismatic
butonly3 percent
score
one
or
none
religiosity,
respondents
as
to
Protestant
of
respondents, opposed 27 percentof the Catholic
Socioeconomic
factorsare eitherirrelevant
forCharismatic
respondents.
in
an
as
orwork
withtertiary
unexpecteddirection, respondents
religiosity
educationare slightly
over-represented
among thosescoringhigh on
andMetroManiladwellers
areunder-represented
in
Charismatic
religiosity
correlation
between
thisgroup.Thereisno significant
socioeconomic
status
Our qualitative
data suggestthat
or incomeand Charismatic
religiosity.
tendto catertospecific
Charismatic
communities
socioeconomic
different
is
restricted
to
neither
the
but
Charismatic
religiosity
poorandlowergroups,
El
of
Shaddai
nor
the
elite
members
of the
middle-class
constituency
to
Brotherhoodof ChristianBusinessmenand Professionals.
Contrary
Manila
residents
are
less
to
CharisMetro
be
conventional
wisdom,
likely
matics,but in otherregionsthe urban/ruralsplitdoes not segregate
thanexpected.Some groupsof
Genderis less important
Charismatics.
thanotherstobe Charismatic,
buteducation
Catholic
womenaremorelikely
aremoredecisivethangender.
attitudes
and certainsociopolitical
Charismaticreligiosity
is clearlyrelatedto active
Not surprisingly,
intheCharismatic
movement
V 0.6**). Thesefigures
involvement
(Cramer's
in thePhilippines
movement
is based on a
indicatethattheCharismatic
a setofpractices
andbeliefsthathasthepotential
certaintypeofreligiosity,
in themovement's
to survive
organization,
leadership
possibleweaknesses
These
results
raise
thequestionofthecausesofthissuccess.
etc.
changes,
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Volume79,No. 1- Spring2006
PacificAffairs:

so attractivecomparedto other,
WhatmakesCharismaticreligiosity
ofreligiosity
in thePhilippines?
older,forms
presumably
The CharismaticMovementas PopulistReligion

We proposethethesisthatthetransfer
of populiststylesand populist
into
the
accounts
for
the successof Charismatic
topics
religioussphere
in
the
It
is
the
religion
preachers
Philippines.
populiststyleofCharismatic
and thepopulistcharacter
ofCharismatic
practiceand beliefthatrenders
thistypeofreligiosity
in thePhilippines.
so successful
as
a
Populism
politicalphenomenoncombinesa certainstyleof
of
a certainsetoftopics,and a specificstandon theeffects
mobilization,
modernization,understood as complex, interrelatedprocesses of
industrialization
and individualization.
urbanization,
mobilization
drawson charismatic
leadership(in the
Populistpolitical
methods
Weberian
senseoftheconcept),rhetorical
skills
andunconventional
the
elite
and
toattract
articulate
attention.
against
public
Populists
protest
classthesystem
frompropagating
thatthiselitesupports,
whilerefraining
and
basedinterests.
in (institutional)
complexity
Theycallfora reduction
in
a
mass
idealizethepast.Insteadofcomplicated
representative
procedures
democracy,populistspropagatepersonal relationships,face-to-face
in whichgrass-roots
interaction
and smallcommunities
democracycan
flourish
andleadersarepersonally
accountable
totheirfollowers.21
Populists
strivefora societyand a statethatis firmly
groundedin a sharedmoral
thatencompasses
aswellaspolitical
andeconomicinstitutions.
system
private
In otherwords,populists
thesacredcosmosofpremodern
wanttoreinstate
societiesand get rid of the complexity,
and pluralismthat
insecurity
a "revolt
has
been
considered
modernization.
therefore
accompany
Populism
againstmodernity."22
thisequationfailsto recognizethatpopulistsdo notsimply
However,
sticktoa backward
visionofa lesscomplex,traditional,
society.
premodern
bureaucracies
andarrogant
elites,anonymous
Populists
fight
against
corrupt
man.Theylegitimize
theiractionswith
expertson behalfoftheordinary

21 Hans-Georg
inWestern
Macmillan,
Betz,RadicalRight-Wing
1994);
Populism
Europe
(Basingstoke:
TorcuatoS. Di Telia,"Populism
intotheTwenty-first
Government
andOpposition,
22:46 (1996),
Century,"
Political
thePeople!Populismand theTwoFacesofDemocracy,"
Canovan,"Trust
pp. 187-200;
Margaret
vol.XLVII(1999),pp.2-16;YvesMenyandYvesSurel,"TheConstitutive
ofPopulism,"
Studies,
Ambiguity
inYvesMenyandYvesSurel,eds.,Democracies
andthePopulist
Challenge
(Basingstoke:
Palgrave,2002);
inMeny
YannisPapadopoulos,"Populism,
theDemocratic
Governance,"
Question,and Contemporary
and Surel,Democracies
and thePopulistChallenge;
Paul Taggart,"Populismand the Pathologyof
in Menyand Surel,Democracies
andthePopulist
Puhle,
Politics,"
Representative
Challenge,
Hans-Jiirgen
in NikolausWerz,
"Zwischen
Protestund Politikstil:
und Demokratie,"
Populismus,
Neo-Populismus
in Ubersee
ed.,Populismus.
2003).
Populisten
undEuropa(Opladen:Leske+Budrich,
22 Betz,RadicalRight-Wing
in Western
Populism
Europe,
p. 22.

84

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

reference
totherights
ofordinary
this
people.The assumption
underlying
- thatordinary
legitimization
people haverightsto defendand thatrulers
areaccountableto the ruled- is based on quite modernconceptsof
and democracy.
reactsto modernsocietal
citizenship
Populismtherefore
andplurality
themodernnotionofcitizens'
complexity
bycombining
rights
withthe imaginedqualitiesof premodernsocietiesbased on personal
relationsgovernedbymorality
and sharedethicsinsteadof procedural
agreements.
thepoliticalconceptofpopulismtothereligious
fieldisnot
Transferring
a novelidea. The above-mentioned
NathanHatch,forinstance,
fruitfully
inhisseminal
oftheSecond
appliedtheconceptof"religious
populism"
study
intheUnitedStatesbetween
1780and1830.23
Weprefer
tospeak
Awakening
ofpopulistreligion
insteadofreligious
populisminordertoemphasizethat
- suchas
wearenotdealingwitha hyphenated
version
ofpoliticalpopulism
orleft-wing
ofa certain
right-wing
populism
populism butwiththetransfer
politicalstyleto the religioussphere.As a resultof externalinfluences,
exacerbatedbyhomegrown
institutional
factors,
populisttechniquesare
inPhilippine
deeplyentrenched
politicalcultureandreadytobe pickedup
and usedbyreligious
movements.
The Philippines
inherited
fromtheUS a politicalsystem
thatprovides
Presidentialism
andplurality
forinstance,
amplespaceforpopulism.
voting,
and populiststyles
ofelectioneering.
In theabsenceof
favourpersonalism
candidatesusuallyoperatewithsimplistic
election
partyprogrammes,
whichaddresskeyconcernsofordinary
platforms
peoplewithout
solving
them:jobs, prosperity,
shelterand publicsafety.
The enormoussuccessof
in politicswashighlighted
bythepresidential
populiststrategies
campaign
in
E.
Estrada
1998.
It
no
coincidence
thatmanyofhissupporters
was
ofjoseph
El Shaddai movement.
of the Charismatic
werealso followers
Political
to
the
distrust
and
attitudes
ofmanyordinary
cynical
responds
deep
populism
theirpoliticalinstitutions,
whichin theirviewhavebeen
Filipinostowards
a
elite
and
are
thechallenges
of
hijackedby corrupt
incapableofmastering
world.
have
neither
a rapidly
sustained
economic
They
produced
changing
distrustof
growth,nor a modicumof socialjustice. Not surprisingly,
institutions
and
towards
generalcynicism
Philippinepolitical
politicsis
El
Shaddai
members.24
This
coincides
with
the
results
of
among
widespread
institutions
ranklow,whereas
otheropinionpollsinwhichpolitical
churches
scorewell.25

23 Hatch, TheDemocratization
ofAmericanChristianity.

24 GraceGorospejamon,"TheEl ShaddaiPrayer
Movement:
PoliticalSocialization
ina Religious
Science
vol.20,no. 43 (1999), pp. 83-126and pp. 116-117.
Political
Context,"
Journal,
Philippine
25 JoseV.Abueva,"PhilippineDemocratization
and theConsolidationofDemocracySincethe
in FelipeB. Miranda,ed.,
An Overview
oftheMainIssues,Trendsand Prospects,"
1986Revolution:
ofthePhilippinesPress,1997),p. 77.
Democratization:
(Quezon City:University
Philippine
Perspectives

85

Volume19,No. 1 - Spring2006
PacificAffairs:

has shownthat
movement
The enormousattraction
oftheCharismatic
fromthe
be transferred
can successfully
populiststylesof mobilization
sections
describethistransfer
tothereligious
political
sphere.Thefollowing
ingreater
miracles
as unconventional
features:
detailforthecentral
populist
of the
methodsof gainingattention,
massmedia,theinternalstructure
ofcomplexity.
andreduction
movement
andthetopicsofanti-system
protest
Supernatural
powers:Miracles

Likepoliticalpopulists,
Charismatic
leadersrelyon powerful
language
with
andjoyfulrites.The persuasiveness
oftheirrhetorical
appealincreases
from
a
derived
of
theirability
toinducean aura extraordinary
power, power
tothegreat
oftheirclosenesstoGod.Miraclesareoftencitedas testimony
poweroftheHolySpirit.
One favoureddomainformiraclesis healing.Leadersoftenhave a
as successful
healers.WhileMikeVelardeofEl Shaddaiand the
reputation
chairmanof the NationalServiceCommitteeon CatholicCharismatic
in thisrespect,nearlyall
Renewal,FatherJoeyFaller,are outstanding
of
the
Charismatic
and Pentecostal
groupshighlight healingexperiences
a kindof
theirfollowers.
The invitation
to a "Lifein theSpiritSeminar,"
states:"Healings
movement,
entryseminarintotheCatholicCharismatic
in thelivesofthosewhoexperienced
and miracleshavebeen manifested
theBaptism
intheHolySpirit.
... yourlifewillnever
Youareinfora surprise
inwhichhealthcare
benefits
forthemajority
be thesameagain."In a country
the
of the populationare virtually
nonexistent, prospectof miraculous
to
must
have
a
healings
strong
Addingtothisappealareaffinities
appeal.26
was
sickness
and
traditional
Involvement
with
healing a
religious
practices.
thus
and
centralelementofPhilippine
Tuggy Toliver
religion.
pre-Christian
notedthathealingis moreimportant
thanspeakingin tonguesamong
FilipinoPentecostals.27
are
ofthepreachers
Testimonies
ofmiraculous
andthemessages
healings
In fact,El Shaddai,
broadcast
toa wideaudiencebyradioandtelevangelism.
the largestCharismatic
movement,
began as a radio apostolate.In the
Velarde's
radio
station
broadcasts
DWXI
24 hoursa dayand has
meantime,
inMetroManila.El Shaddaialsohas
becomeoneofthemostpopularstations
14hoursofTV timeweekly,
whichgivesita presenceon severalchannelsall
overthecountry.28
RadioandTVcoverEl Shaddai'sprayer
withpeople
rallies,
rallies.29
to
on
to
or
live
broadcasts
even
while
the
listening
way
attending
prayer
26 Jenkins,
TheNextChristendom,
p. 73.
27 LeonhardA. Tuggyand Ralph Toliver,SeeingtheChurch
in thePhilippines
(Manila: O.M.F.
Publishers,
1972),p. 80.
28 LeonardoN. Mercado,SVD,El Shaddai.A Study(Manila:LogosPublications,
2001),p. 10.

29 KatherineL. Wiegele, Investing

in Miracles:El Shaddai and theTransformation
ofPopularCatholicism

in thePhilippines
ofHawai'iPress,2005),p. 43 ff.
(Honolulu:University

86

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

and
everyCharismatic
grouphasitsownradioprogramme
Today,virtually
reacha substantial
of thepopulation.
Christian
programmes
proportion
in themainsamplerevealthatthey
Thirty-one
percentoftherespondents
on radioorTVweekly
listentoreligious
services
and 8 percentdo so daily.
Electronic
massmediahavecreated"virtual
Christian
which
communities,"30
alsocaterto thosewhohavenotjoined a parish-based
prayer
group.Their
mobilizingeffectis supplementedby othermedia such as newsletters,
and books.El Shaddai,forinstance,
videocassettes
distributes
pamphlets,
whichcontains
300,000freecopiesofitsmonthly
BagongLiwanagmagazine,
Velarde'ssermons.31
structures
Strong
leadershipand authoritarian

WhiletheCharismatic
groupsand churchesusuallystressequalityand,
inkeepingwiththeidealsofearlyChristianity,
choosecongregational
forms
inpractice
oforganization.
oforganization,
theyrelyonhierarchical
patterns
andPentecostal
MostCharismatic
neither
groupsinterviewed
byuspractice
recruitment
nordemocratic
decisionmaking.
democratic
Often
leadership
ofthegrouporchurch,
theleaderisthefounder
supported
byan oligarchy
ofelders.Eldersare usuallypersonswitha longtrackrecordin thegroup
in an informal
and top-down
whoareproposedand nominated
processby
thegroup'sleaders.Ultimately,
theauthority
ofleadersisbasedon theBible.
foundin a surveyof 200 El Shaddai
Not surprisingly,
Gorospe-Jamon
in everything
that
70.5
believed
thattheirleader,Mike
members
percent
if
occur
thecongregation,
Nevertheless,disagreements within
Velarde,
says.32
whichis one reasonforthespreadofvariousnew
theyoftenendin schism,
communitiesand organizations.However,althoughone could sense
conflicts
between
different
Charismatic
underlying
groupsinourinterviews,
cause
of
and
Charismatic
thecommon
renewal
revivalseemsto
spiritual
internal
differences
andfractions.
outweigh
Anti-elitism
and anti-system
protest

isanti-system
Itmaybe directed
The populistanti-elitism
protest.
against
of
a particular
business
bureaucracies,
system government,
politicalparties,
or even establishedchurchorganizations.
The factthat
conglomerates
are
unable
to
the
institutions
interests
of
existing
represent
ordinary
people
thekeytargets
thesystem,
oftheprotest
aretheleaders
delegitimizes
although
Their poweris viewedas
and functionalelites of these institutions.
thus
have
no
chance
toprotect
theirinterests
Ordinary
overwhelming.
people
are
as
and
these
which
andtoblame
elites,
against
perceived arrogant corrupt
30 Gorospe-Jamon,TheEl Shaddai PrayerMovement,
p. 100.

31 Mercado,El Shaddai,p. 11.

32 Gorospe-Jamon,TheEl Shaddai PrayerMovement,

p. 109.

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Volume79,No. 1 - Spring2006
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forhardships.
interests
of
thusactas advocatesofthesuppressed
Populists
thecommonpeople.Withtheirappeal to thepeople theyseekto create
socialclasses.
unityand to transcend
Ifpopulismis an assaulton established
so is theCharismatic
authority,
movement.
Whilepoliticalpopulismtargets
theantipoliticalauthorities,
elitismof the Charismaticmovementchallengesestablishedchurch
hierarchies.
TheCatholic
Charismatic
hierarchies
movement
evenchallenges
from
within.
Aselsewhere,
inthePhilippines
isdirected
theircriticism
mainly
theCatholic
Church.
ButProtestant
mainline
churches
arenotspared
against
fromcriticism.
liberal
Theyare also takento taskfortheircold,cerebral,
whichhasno placeforemotionand spiritual
theology,
experience.
In thePhilippines,
criticism
of theCatholicChurchvariesin intensity.
and Pentecostal
EvangelicalCharismatics
groupsare morevocalin their
criticism
of theCatholicChurchthanCatholicCharismatics.
Mostof the
dominant
Charismatic
theEl Shaddai,
Catholic
numerically
including
groups,
accentuate
theirCatholicidentity
and acceptthedoctrinal
guidanceofthe
RomanCatholicChurch.
But apartfromthisstreamlining
in doctrinalmatters,Charismatic
Catholics
seemtomaintain
In oursnowball
a senseofdistinctiveness.
sample
of200 CatholicCharismatics
observation
that12
we madetheinteresting
themselves
not simplyas "Catholic"but as "Charismatic
percentidentify
some
even
"El
as
Catholic,"
Shaddai"; none of the membersof nonCharismatic
Catholiclayorganizations
werespecificwhenaskedfortheir
affiliation.
This
indicates
that
somehow
religious
beinga Charismatic
qualifies
one's "Catholicness"
as different
fromfellowCatholics,
notonlyin scope,
butalsoin quality.
serado"verydevoted
Charismatics
arenotonly"Katoliko
are
Charismatic
Catholics.
thisas a subtlebut
We
Catholics,
they
interpret
of
Churchas such.
oneself
from
the
Catholic
recognizable
way distancing
ofCharismatic
WhattheniswrongwithCatholicism
fromtheperspective
a
hint
she
El
Shaddai
leader
Velardeas
when
groups?
Wiegelegives
quotes
of
that
he
to
free
from
the
because
wants
saying
bondage religion,
people
This
is
echoed
blocks
the
with
the
byone
religion
relationship
HolySpirit.
ofourCatholicCharismatic
when
she
says,"Myreligioncan't
respondents,
me."
sheandVelardeare
saveme,onlythrough
faith
...
can
save
What
my
itspreoccupation
to
here
is
Catholic
ritual
and
tradition,
obviously
referring
is mediated
withsacraments
and itsneglectof evangelizing.33
Spirituality
in
stand
the
of
a
direct
and
who
through
way
personalrelationship
priests
withGod. "Weare theChurchand theChurchdoesnotbelongtobishops
and cardinals,"said the leader of anotherCharismaticgroup when
interviewed.34
VelardeclaimsthatFilipinoCatholicswentoverto "Born
forthesereasons.
Again"groupsprecisely
33 Wiegele,Investing
inMiracles,
p. 50.
34 In-personinterview
withtheleaderofa Charismatic
group,Manila,September2003.

88

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

is a common
Whilethe remotenessof the churchfromthe faithful
Velarde'sEl Shaddaiwentfurther
denominator
ofCharismatic
discontent,
initsdistance
fromtheCatholicChurchthanmostotherCharismatic
groups.
Unlikethemoremiddle-class-based
groupssuchas LovedFlock,Couples
andBukasLoob sa Diyos,whichstrictly
adheretotheinstitutional
forChrist
been at loggerheads
church'spoliticalagenda,El Shaddaihas repeatedly
in the politicalarena.In the 1992 and 1998
withthe churchhierarchy
presidentialelections,forinstance,El Shaddai supportedpresidential
Bothwerevehemently
candidatesFidelV. RamosandJosephE. Estrada.35
ofManila,Cardinal
JaimeC. Sin,thenthemost
opposedbytheArchbishop
senior Churchofficialin the Philippines,and the Catholic Bishops
of President
Conferenceof the Philippines(CBCP). The impeachment
led to another
Estradathreeyearslater,based on chargesof corruption,
betweenEl Shaddaiand theCatholicChurch.While
seriousconfrontation
the
thelatter,
likemanymainlineProtestant
churches,
strongly
supported
eventually
forcingEstradaout of office,the
people's powermovement,
wereintheirmajority
members
ofEl Shaddai
mobilized
byEstrada
supporters
In
ni
their
President
Estrada
wasa man
view
and theIglesia CristoChurch.
but
to
do
better
with
the
who mayhavefailed, waswilling
help of his
Brother
Mike
Velarde.
Velarde
gave the
trustworthy
spiritualadviser
to
Estrada
as
someone
he
to
be
that wassimply
trying loyal
seeking
impression
- a sinner,
butan honestseeker.Hisopponents
hisspiritual
maybe,
support
forpower.In thisviewanymemberof the
wereviewedas simplystriving
as
for
elite
was
Blamingotherpoliticians
regarded beingcorrupt.
political
to
seize
as
a
veiled
was
thus
regarded thinly
attempt
powerfor
corruption
to
have
but
Estradawasnotnecessarily
oneself.President
thought
integrity,
and
democratic
whoclaimedtoprotect
neither
werehisopponents,
political
whereasVelarde
morals.Theyadvocatedabstractdemocratic
principles,
in
times
of
demonstrated
crisis,
putting
personaltiesabove
personalloyalty
abstract
principles.
The anti-elitist
outlookofmanyCharismatic
groupsissupplemented
bya
needsofordinary
another
central
feature
concernforthe(religious)
people,
massmovements
suchas El Shaddaiin particular
ofpopulism.Charismatic
andreligious
needsofthemassesneglected
claimtomeettheemotional
by
theofficial
church.Thisincludesa strongquestforunity,
denyingsocial
the equalityof richand poor.The onenessof
and stressing
differences
in prayermeetings
is symbolized
likeholdinghands
followers
bypractices
in a circleand huggingeachother.36

35 EdgardoE. Dagdag,"ThePoliticization
ofthePhilippineCatholicChurch,"AsianStudies,
vol.
TheEl ShaddaiPrayer
34, centennialissue (1998), pp. 50-77,p. 55; Gorospe-Jamon,
Movement,
p. 89;
see also Today,
28January
2003,p. 1.
2003,p. 2, and 7 February
36 Mercado,El Shaddai,pp. 8-9.

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Asalready
oursurvey
datashowthattheCharismatic
mentioned,
populist
claimoftranscending
socialclassesisnotsimply
However,
although
ideology.
offers
commongroundforpeoplefrom
theCharismatic
movement
definitely
socioeconomic
all socialstrata,it does so in a fragmented
way.Different
classesconcentratein different
WhereasEl Shaddai is
organizations.
dominatedbythe poorersegmentsof society,
CouplesforChristcaters
suchas the
audience.Otherorganizations
toa middle-class
predominantly
to
restrict
"Brotherhood
of Businessmen
and Professionals"
membership
is
in
Christ
theupperclass.In reality,
thepronouncedunityand oneness
maid
but
the
withpeopleofone'sownsocialbackground,
attending
practiced
breakfasts
with
ralliescanrelatetoherboss'sSaturday
Velarde'smassprayer
as manifestations
ofthesamespirituality.
hisBrotherhood
ofBusinessmen
Reductionofcomplexity

istheresult
Thiscomplexity
isusually
Modernity
equatedwithcomplexity.
ofinstitutions,
ofongoingdiversification
and differentiation
roles,norms
toadaptto
are
forced
to
modernization
andinterests.
Peopleexposed rapid
inunfamiliar
rolesshapedbynewnorms
andfindthemselves
newinstitutions
and interests.They have to cope withthe growingcomplexitiesand
renderpopulist
Theseexperiences
technicalities
ofa modernizing
society.
and
blurs
viewssuch as "complexity
only
responsibilities undermines
and
attractive.
accountability"37
acceptable
is a returnto simplesolutions.
The populistanswerto thesegrievances
of
common
thus
to
the
wisdom
sense,are suspiciousof
Populists
appeal
on the
If
and
hostile
to
deliberation.38
politicalpopulismthrives
experts,
in the Philippines
reductionof complexity,
the Charismatic
movement
correspondsto thispatternof behaviour.Withregardto the complex
a simpleexplanation:
intheworldly
domain,Charismatics
provide
challenges
the modernworldhas turnedawayfromGod and his ways.The own
isthenseenas reactiontothisgodlesswayoflife.Byinterpreting
movement
leadersexplainwhyworldly
socialchangeinmoralterms,
populistreligious
to
institutions
are seemingly
unprepared respondadequatelyto rapid
needed.In fact,
modernization
and whya Christian
renewalis so urgently
thesinful
are
an
of
the
institutions
problem.
worldly
integral
part
The solutionto all
withsimpleexplanations.
Simpleremediescorrelate
and hardships,
temporal
problems
personalas wellas societal,economicas
inGodandrelianceon thepoweroftheHoly
wellas political,
issimply
trust
thismessageis a recurring
themeofthesermons
Spirit.Correspondingly,
andprayers
inCharismatic
andPentecostal
meetings.
"Prayhard,itworks!"
readsan advertisement
on one ofthemajorhighways
ofManila.Thisis an
37 Papadopoulos, Populism,theDemocraticQuestion,and Contemporary
Governance,
p. 53.

38 Papadopoulos,Populism,
p. 51.

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PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

fromthe pastorallettersof the Catholic

markedly
approachthatdiffers
Protestant
whichprovidea structural
churches,
analysis
bishopsormainline
and callforpoliticalsolutions.
MikeVelarde,forinstance,is famousforhis "prosperity
gospel."He
to makeprayerrequestsand loveofferings
or to
encourageshisfollowers
- giving10 percentof one's income to one's religious
tithe.Tithing
- ispracticed
ofrespondents
withhighCharismatic
community
by36percent
in ourmainsample,comparedto 13 percentofall respondents.
religiosity
ina very
thatGodwillreward
theseofferings
material
Velardepreaches
literal,
of
The prosperity
way.39
gospelisthuslittlemorethana religious
equivalent
a mostbasicentrepreneurial
premise:itpaysto investin God. In a society
isbelowthepoverty
where40 percentofthepopulation
line,suchprospects
havea powerful
mustcertainly
appeal.Theyarea sourceofhopefora better
fora placeinheaven.In otherwords,
leaders
future
anda guarantee
worldly
thatthereis practical,
of Charismatic
groupssuggestto theirfollowers
otherworldly
help forworldlyproblems.Unlikethe distancedGod of
candidatesusingpopulist
mainlinechurchesor unreliablepresidential
promisesin theirelectioncampaigns,the God proclaimedbypopulist
a personalrelationship
leadersnotonlymaintains
withhisfollowers,
religious
inworldly
on behalfofthefaithful
intervenes
affairs
likevisa
he alsoactively
examinations.
and university
applications
Thisidea ofan activeGod corresponds
withthewidespread
beliefthat
There is no place foran intellectual
the Bible mustbe takenliterally.
the
awaysignsand wondersor demonsand Satan.Whatever
interpreting
notexegesis.The
Bibletellsus aboutGod'sdeedsis trueandrequiresfaith,
for
wholookforscientific
explanations
approachofsomebiblicalscholars,
rejectedby
phenomenareportedin the Bible,is entirely
supernatural
in oursurvey
takethe
Charismatics.
Fifty-five
percentofactiveCharismatics
50
of
all
sharethisperception,
as percent respondents
Bibleliterally.
However,
Charismatic
leaderscanrelatetoa pre-existing
belief,insteadof
widespread
is
their
audience.40
Active
involvement
notconfinedto
havingto convince
in themodern
are
and
much
active
Satan
and
demons
God:
present very
in
for
is
such
an
world.Speaking tongues, example,
important
giftofthe
"this
is
to
Charismatic
Christians
because
the
onlylanguageSatan
HolySpirit
seminars
and services.
as welearnedin Charismatic
cannotunderstand,"
Poewe can thushardlybe faultedforconcludingthatCharismatic
"reverses
the emphasesthatwe have takenforgranted:the
Christianity
the
ofcalculateddoing,ofarticulate
verbalskills,of
of
rational,
centrality

39 Wiegele, Investingin Miracles,p. 17 ff.

40 The questionconcerningliteralbeliefin theBiblewastakenfromthequestionnaire

ofthe
in thePhilippines
SocialSciencePanelon religionin 1991and 1998,administered
International
by
SocialWeatherStations.

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Volume79,No. 1 - Spring2006
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andofthings
Thisre-enchantment
oftheworldisnot
Western."41
doctrines,
in a modernizing
world,butalsofor
onlya solutionforpersonalproblems
broaderpoliticaland economicproblems.
PopulistReligionas a Recipe forSuccess

the parallelsbetweenpoliticalpopulismand the

Havingillustrated
Charismatic
intheirstyle
movement
ofmobilization,
theiranti-establishment,
and class-crossing
anti-hierarchical,
drive,as wellas theirsimplesolutions
andbackward
visionofa society
governed
bysharedmoralsandvalues,one
remains:
is
question
Why populistreligionso attractive?
inthePhilippine
Wecitedsomerootsofpolitical
system
populism
political
above.Buttheattractiveness
ofpopulistreligionhasdeeperrootsthanthe
of thepoliticalsystem
to populism.These rootslie in the
responsiveness
aswellas failed
successful
modernization
modernization,
questions
posedby
modernization.
To put it verysimply:successfulmodernization
erodes
and
modernization
erodes
material
emotional
and
failed
cognitive
security,
Masscommunication
moral
confronts
individuals
withcompeting
security.
of
become
that
there
are
alternatives
to
their
aware
systems;
way life.
people
Institutions
like churchesand familiesthatformerly
providedmoral
and
Economicprocessesfostermigration
guidelineslose theirmonopoly.
moderneducationsystems
forsocialmobility.
offeropportunities
People
toSingapore
havechoicesanddecisionstomake:Do I migrate
increasingly
tooffer
traditional
theopportunity
ofbetter
Do I trust
mychildren
schooling?
healersor trytogetaccesstoWestern
Do I staywithmypartner
medicine?
or leave him for good? Where industrializationand processes of
modernization
havefailedtoimprove
ofliving
forthemajority
thestandard
as is thecase in thePhilippinesmodernization
increasesthenumberof
withexistential
material
crisesand extreme
peopleconfronted
poverty.
enablespeopletoparticipate
inmodernization
Populist
religion
processes
and offers
fromtheirdrawbacks,
bothsuccessful
and otherwise.
protection
withmembersof Charismatic
Summingup the resultsof the interviews
wecanstatethatpopulistreligionmeetsa rangeofdifferent
needs.
groups,
The religiously
worldview
and moraloutlookof Charismatic
legitimated
foreveryday
decisionsand generalconductof
teachings
giveorientation
life.Spiritualexperiencesprovidethe emotionalenergyneeded to cope
withthestrains
ofeveryday
life.Membership
a socialnetwork
and
provides
thesenseofbelonging
toa community.
TheseaspectsrendertheCharismatic
movement
topeopleofdifferent
attractive
in
socioeconomic
backgrounds,
different
andfordifferent
reasons.Poorandunedupersonalcircumstances,
catedpeoplemaybe attracted
and
bythemessageofhopeforbetterment
as wellas materialassistance.
thefragility
of
spiritual
Peopleexperiencing
41 Poewe, CharismaticChristianity
as a GlobalCulture,p. 12.

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PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

socialtiesofthe
networks
theirfamily
mightbe attracted
bytheclose-knit
Middle-class
andwell-educated
communities.
peoplemightbe attracted
by
offers
ina world
worldview
theclearmoralsandvaluesthattheCharismatic
fullofchoices.
materialistic
Therefore,
alongthelinesof the"opiumof
explanations
thesuccessofpopulistreligion.
Thereis
themasses"fallshortofexplaining
but
theaspectofreligionthatgivesmeaningtodesperate
livingconditions,
thancomfort.
Thiskindofcomfort
thereis moretoCharismatic
religiosity
hastooffer
aremeaning,
isoffered
WhatCharismatic
religion
byanyreligion.
anda socialcohesionforindividuals
whoretaintheirability
and
orientation
theirrightto choose. It is exactlythiscombinationof acknowledging
individualsas independent,empoweredpersonsand simultaneously
tobe embeddedin a socialnetwork
theneedofindividuals
acknowledging
and meaningto lifewhichrendersCharismatic
thatprovidesorientation
The Charismaticmovementoffersa (modern)
religionso attractive.
individualaccess to God as well as the comfortof the (pre-modern)
This combination
resemblesthe politicalpopulistblend of
community.
modernindividualcivilrightsand politicsbased on sharedvaluesand
personalrelations.
Conclusion

inpejorative
treats
terms.
more
Muchoftheliterature
However,
populism
view.Canovanand Taggart,
recentresearchhas brokenwiththisnegative
haveshownthatpopulismis notnecessarily
forinstance,
anti-democratic,
in
of
the
but mayaddressinclusivist
aspirations
people representative
As outlinedabove,thepopulistsupportfortheinterests
of
democracies.42
of
thecommonpeopleis basedon themoderndemocratic
concept equal
theethicsofface-to-face
interaction
forequalcitizens.
Reintroducing
rights
aimstolegitimize
democratic
intocomplexpoliticalprocedures
leadership
Atthesametime,populism'srelianceon sharedmoral
and government.
in a modern
the plurality
of valuesand lifestyles
valuesdelegitimizes
the
need
for
and
democracy,
by disregarding
specialization and
in a modern,functionally
differentiated
administration
societyit deprives
oflegitimacy.
stateinstitutions
andpopulist
attack
thedrawbacks
ofmodernity.
Political
religion
populism
of
stable
social
structures
caused by
criticize
the
breakdown
They
and tryto protecttraditional
and pluralization
social
individualization
the
of
modern
institutions
caused
structures.
Theyreject complexity
by
reducesthe "Gestaltungsmacht"
becausethiscomplexity
of
differentiation,
42 Margaret
in
Canovan,"TakingPoliticstothePeople:Populismas theIdeologyofDemocracy,"
and thePopulist
YvesMenyand YvesSurel,eds.,Democracies
Challenge
(Basingstoke:
Palgrave,2002);
Politics.
Taggart,Populismand thePathologyofRepresentative

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Volume79,No. 1 - Spring2006
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theirownlives(and theirrelationship
with
ordinary
peopleto determine
and
God). Theyadvocatesimplesolutions,
comprehensible
bynon-experts
as the
applicablebylaity.Theyrejectimpersonal
proceduralrelationships
basisofsociety,
as thesedeprive
insocialstructures.
peopleofembeddedness
the perceivedills of modernity
and appealingto
However,in fighting
premodern
qualities,politicalpopulismand populistreligionrelyon the
verymodernnotionof individualrightsand freedomto choose. This
ofpopulismresults
in ambiguous
societalpotential:
itcanfoster
ambiguity
democracywithits reliance on individuals'rightsand it can foster
authoritarian
withitsquestforsimplicity
and intolerance
towards
regimes
thosewhoareperceived
as different.
retains
thisambivalent
character
withregardtodemocratization
Populism
iftransferred
to thereligioussphere.Populistreligionin thePhilippines
has a pro-democratic
an ethicofhonesty
potentialin as muchas itfosters
and accountability
in
If
Christian
this
ethicgainsground
values.
grounded
withinthepoliticalsphere,thecurrently
ofpolitical
lackinglegitimization
institutions
could be effectively
improved.Populistreligionmayalso
in
other
strengthen
democracy
ways,althoughitsinfluenceon political
cultureand politicalattitudes
is indirect,
convoluted
and ambiguous.
The
effect
of
a
that
the
democratizing
theology emphasizes personalrelationship
toGodoverthechurch's
function
hasbeenanalyzed
intermediary
byHatch
in
detail.
to
his
individual
liberates
(1989)
According
analysis,
spirituality
from
subordination.
one's
to
God
and
own
people
dogmatic
Finding
way
to
circumstances
relating
spiritual
experience personal
requires
independent
thinking,a requisite usuallyattributedto democrats.As religious
individualism
in
producesfrequentchurchschisms,it erodesthinking
hierarchies
andcentralized
and
accustoms
organization,
authority
questions
- again, importantrequisitesfor
people to a pluralistsocial reality
democracies.Martinhas made a similarpoint about contemporary
Protestantism
as a "creatoroffreesocialspace"withregardto
evangelical
LatinAmerica.43
It is assumedthatthesereligiouscharacteristics
wouldsoon spillover
intootherspheresoflife,notleastthepoliticaldomain.However,
in the
the
anti-elitist
and
anti-authoritarian
thrust
of
Philippines
populistreligion
is muchweakerthanin theUnitedStatesduringtheSecondAwakening.
Giventhepredominantly
Catholiccharacter
ofthePhilippine
Charismatics,
itisquestionable
whether
conclusions
drawnfrompredominantly
Protestant
Charismaticscan be transferred
to the Philippines.As the Catholic
CharismaticMovementis firmly
embeddedin the CatholicChurch's
hierarchical
itscapacity
tocreate"freesocialspace"issurely
more
structure,
limited
thanthatofPentecostal
In theUS,religious
orEvangelical
churches.
43 Martin, TonguesofFire,p. 279.

94

PopulistReligionin thePhilippines

wenthandinhandwith
anditsassault
Jeffersonian
Republicanism
populism
Such a politicalmovementis missingin the
on political authority.44
the elementsof thenewreligiosity
Moreover,
contemporary
Philippines.
mustbe weighedup againstthe
consideredsuitablefordemocratization
and apoliticalelementsof populistreligion.One is the
authoritarian
hierarchicinternalstructure
of mostCharismatic
and
layorganizations
Pentecostalchurches,a traittheysharewithotherintermediary
and
institutions
in thecountry,
suchas NGOs.
supposedly
democratizing
Anothercounterdemocratic
elementis thefundamentalist
tendencies
aim to builda societyrootedin
inherentin theCharismatic
movement's
Christian
faith.Enforcing
Christian
ethicsbylawin a society
witha
family
substantialMuslimminority
contradictsthe democraticprincipleof
In a very
minorities.
basicsense,themoraloutlookandenchanted
protecting
of Charismatic
Christians
can be criticized
as anti-democratic:
worldview
whoevertrulybelievesthathis or her politicalopinionsreflectdivine
in a democratic
discourse
to
revelation
participating
mighthavedifficulties
The Charismatic
Renewaltherefore
searchforthebestarguments.
might
and theocratic
visionofsociety.
a Christian
authoritarian
foster
Stollhas askedsimilarquestionsabouttheLatinAmericancontext:"Is
Latin AmericanPentecostalisma step on the road to demystifying,
aspredicted
andrationalizing
LatinAmerican
byMartin,
society,
secularizing,
- thatismagicalandmystifying
- as argued
orisitinevitably
thaumaturgical
or do
caudillistic,
basically
byBastian?... Is LatinAmericanProtestantism
itstendenciesto fragmentation
giveit moredemocratic
implications?"45
Strobele-Gregorhas aptlycalled this ambiguity"anti-enlightened
"46
enlightenment.
ofpopulistreligion
On balance,the"anti-enlightened
enlightenment"
to
but
a highly
inthePhilippines
indeed
contribute
may
democracy, certainly
little
for
social
a
that
offers
action.
conservative
democracy,democracy
scope
coincideswiththefactthatmostCharismatic
Suchan assessment
groups
in theirdevelopment
work.So farnoneofthem
hardlygo beyondcharity
alleviation
andsocialchange,unless
approachtopoverty
pursuesa systematic
and individualspiritualrenewalas such an
one regardsevangelization
approach.
do affectpeople's
Althoughwe are convincedthatreligiousattitudes
in
if
a
social
movement
likethepopulist
embedded
behaviour,
especially

44 Hatch, TheDemocratization
ofAmericanChristianity,
p. 10.

45 David Stoll,"Introduction,"
in VirginiaGarrard-Burnett
and David Stoll,eds., Rethinking
Protestantism
inLatinAmerica
Press,1993),p. 14.
(Philadelphia:TempleUniversity
46 Juliane Stroebele-Gregor,DialektikderGegenaujkldrung.
ZurProblematik
und
fundamentalistischer
Missionierungbei den urbanenAymarain La Paz (Bolovien) (Bonn: Holos Verlag, 1988),
evangelikaler
Sektenund religioseBewegungenin der sudlichenHemisphdre.Eine
quoted in: Yves Bizeul, Christliche

Literaturstudie
1995),p. 143.
(Bonn:DeutscheBischofskonferenz,

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Volume79,No. 1 - Spring2006
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Charismatic
religiousrenewal,we concludethisarticlewitha caveat.All
in
considerations
thepotential
ofthismovement
regarding
politicaleffects
thePhilippines
aretheresultofdeductive
ratherthanofempirical
thinking
Thisishardly
theenormous
analysis.
surprising,
methodological
considering
in establishing
difficulties
testedcausalrelations
betweenpopulistreligion
andtheactualpolitical
behaviour
ofCharismatic,
Pentecostal
andEvangelical
Christians.
Our studyexploredthescopeand qualityofpopulistreligion;
itslastingtangiblepoliticaleffects
and
willbe thechallenging
researching
taskoffuture
work.
promising
ArnoldBergstraesser
Institute
research,
forsocio-cultural
Freiburg,Germany,and
Albert-Ludwigs-Universitdt,
Freiburg,GermanyAugust 2005