SPLIT-LEVEL CHRISTIANITY by Fr.Jaime Bulatao,S.J. (1966) - Part 1 of 2 [UPDATED]

"Many Filipinos are what I call Sunday-religious, that is they go to church every Sunday, take in confession and communion, but the rest of the week they bribe and do corrupt deeds..."
- Dr. Pura Santillan-Castrence

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3/26/2014

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Hi All,

It's been eons ago when I first read this enlightening essay on "split-level" Christianity by Fr. Jaime Bulatao, S.J.. Given the interest on Filipino ethical/moral values, I am posting it here.

Fast forward today, I find that the given situational samples in the essay were quite "simple" and "mild." In fact, I find them almost laughable compared to the excessiveness and gravity that characterize "split-leveling" in current times. Anyway, the bottom line is that "split-leveling" by a self-proclaimed Christian is to be unChristian (vis-a-vis what I understand as being Christian from my years of Roman Catholic upbringing).

As to the Roman Catholic Church in our homeland, it is amusing (at best) to wonder why the Catholic Church, despite its dominant influence in the homeland, seems to have failed to instill what it always claim to develop: "the whole person."

Given the prevailing social conditions in our so-called only Christian country in Asia, they only demonstrate that the church, despite its proclamation of being the "church of/for the Poor," has consistently and continually failed in its mission to teach and lead the Filipino Christians to live up according to Catholic social teachings.

• Has our Catholic Church in the homeland been stressing something else rather than addressing our present social realities, of our illiterate, ignorant and impoverished majority?
• How come Filipino Catholicism is more concerned about its religious liturgy and tradition and personal piety than its proclaimed concern/message of social justice? Such attitude and behavior have only made our homeland Christianity an effective and efficient nurturer of hypocrisy among its hierarchy and followers.

I would qualify however that there are Christians, i.e. more specifically evangelical Protestants (Calvinist variety), who can not be expected to care/act about social teachings or social justice issues since their essential belief system does not put value on social works; for Calvinists: "salvation" depended SOLELY on absolute faith in Jesus (i.e. good works do not count).

Here's Fr. Bulatao's essay, though written forty years ago but, still very relevant in gaining knowledge and understanding of our Filipino selves and maybe even lead to changes to better ourselves in terms of acting for social justice -- not towards empty religiosity-- and a better homeland society for most native Filipinos, if not all, and the future generations.  

(essay posted in two parts).



NOTES: 

1. I think and believe that ethics and morality do not necessarily emanate only out of having a religion or being a believer in a God (Christian God as traditionally or Biblically understood). There are many atheists, agnostics, pagans, non-Christians and what have you who are more ethical, moral and act for social justice than those who are supposedly religious Christians of various shades: Catholics, mainline Protestants, Pentecostals or Evangelicals.
2. This post addresses actually touches the issue of culture, i.e. our native Filipino culture. As we know, it is imperative that we obtain a deep awareness of our native history and society/culture; our society --through our home, church and school, etc.--  which embed in the subconscious Filipino mind within each of us a culture, our native society's worldview: the source of our values, attitudes and behaviors- which has been formed by a complex mix of geography, still primitive/traditional economic relations, religion, and long, divisive colonial history, etc.
3. Here our native culture is looked at just from the religious point of view. Frankly, I see this point of view as limited/inadequate, based on what I have alluded to regarding source in the preceding paragraph. I will go back, try a broader and deeper look into the issue of our native Filipino culture, i.e. cultural aspects which I see as obstacles to national development sometime later.

- Bert, 9/18/2013

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SPLIT-LEVEL CHRISTIANITY

The following story invariably provokes a good deal of laughter from a Filipino audience:

"A mother superior of a convent was once given a talented parrot as a gift, which she received and showed off to the other nuns. she pulled the parrot's right leg and the parrot, with downcast eyes, began to recite the Our father to the end. She then pulled its left leg and, just as devoutly, it recited the whole of the Hail Mary. at this juncture one of the young nuns thought to herself what would happen if she pulled both legs simultaneously. So she went up to the parrot and both of its legs hard. Immediately the parrot cried,"Putres, madadapa ako!" ("Damn, you'll make me fall!")

The laughter that greets the cry of the all-too-human parrot stems in great part from the aptness with which it reflects the culture at large: the special behavior which people show in the presence of society, authority figures, and the occasional breakthrough of one's spontaneous self. Lumamabas ang katotohanan. (The truth will out"). 

Furthermore, the story is linking the foreign language with a formalized type of behavior and untranslatable native tongue with one's spontaneous reactions reflect too the double set of automatisms of the Filipino: his behavior as conditioned by formal schooling and as conditioned by home influences, where the conditioning links are provided by one's native tongue.

The existence of two set of learned reflexes side by side seems to be a valid phenomenon worth investigating. For want of a better term we can provisionally give it the name "split-level Christianity." While this phenomenon may also be found in other parts of the world, the Philippines with its history of simultaneous colonization and Christianization by an outside power seems to lend it a special home.

Description

Split-level Christianity may be described as the coexistence within the same person of two or more thought-and-behavior systems which are inconsistent with each other. The image is of two apartments at different levels, each of which contains a family, one rarely talking tho the other.

So it is with the split-leveled person; at one level he professes allegiance to ideas, attitudes and ways of behaving which are mainly borrowed from the Christian West, at another level he holds convictions which are more properly his "own" ways of living and believing which were handed down from his ancestors, which do not always find their way into an explicit philosophical system, but nevertheless now and then flow into action.

Perhaps from another point of view, they may be described as two value systems, differing from each other in explicitation, one more abstract than the other, one of them coming to the fore under certain circumstances and receding to the background at other times. An example is the following incident, faithfully recorded by a participant-observer:

A group of alumni, sixteen years after graduating from a catholic high school, meet together one evening at a private home for a class reunion. Present at their reunion are two priests, their former teachers. The evening passes pleasantly, amid fond recollections of schooldays. At about 2230 hrs an offer is made to send the two priests by car back to the school. After the two priests left, the group transfers to Pasay to a certain nightclub of ill repute. Almost everyone goes along and a number end up with prostitutes. There is much joking about the fact that the wives think them "safe" in a class reunion.

Quite noticeable in this recorded incident is the allegiance to the school and to its authority figures. On the other hand, there is also an allegiance to what the culture considers to be the right thing to do for men when they find themselves together away from their wives. This second set of principles is accepted as a part of the talagang ganyan ways which are part of "reality."

A few more examples are given to illustrate this phenomenon of split-leveling:
1. a priest and a justice of the Supreme court enter a businessman's restaurant in the ermita district of manila, and sit down for lunch. Upon their entrance, the club entertainer stops singing and waits impatiently until they finish lunch. When they leave she resumes her naughty singing:
"Gusto kong humilig Sa tabi ng pu- Sa tabi ng pu- Sa tabi ng punong kawayan, etc."
(The Split" reverence for the priest and the justice versus "vulgar" signing.)

A Peace Corps girl, rooming with a Filipina at a local university, notices the following phenomenon. Her roommate on Sundays goes to a local church which has a big sign prohibiting sleeveless dresses. However, every night she brings pornographic literature with her, which she reads under a blanket before going to sleep. (The Split: submission to very restrictive rules on dress versus pornographic "inner life.")

3. A foreign priest steps into a public bus. A woman respectfully makes a room for him on the seat beside her.Immediately nasty remarks in the vernacular circulate about the bus. The priest, not knowing the vernacular, is not affected. (The Split: external reverence for the priest versus hostile attitudes towards him. Note the authority figure's "cultural deafness.'')

4. In a research seminar in a normal school, the students learn the latest methods in statistics which make for the utmost accuracy in the handling of data. they then apply what they have learned to actual research which they hope to publish in the school journal. To the teacher's consternation he discovers that his students, instead of actually gathering empirical data, have been making up numbers, to which they then apply the most modern statistical techniques. (The Split: scientific technical proficiency versus absence of scientific spirit in the search for truth.)

5. A policeman in the downtown district of Manila goes fairly regularly to mass and considers himself a catholic. nevertheless, he collects "tong'' from the small stores in the district as protection money. he feels he has a right to it because he their protector against gangsters. (The Split; the modern Catholic principles of justice versus a feudal attitude that the lord may tax those whom he protects.)

6. The Civil Liberties Union is a group dedicated to democracy, especially to academic freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. When a bill was presented to congress making compulsory the reading of the NOLI and the FILI (books which hurt the religious feelings of a large number of Catholics , the civil Liberties Union lead a rally in favor of the bill. (The Split: allegiance to the "Western" view of academic freedom and freedom of religion versus a conviction of the rightness of authoritarian approaches in education.)

7. In a catholic College for girls, the students in a group discussion discover that they do much cheating in class, but that most of the cheating occurs during examinations in ethics class.
(The Split: a highly refined conceptual system of ethics versus the compulsions arising from cultural expectations of high marks.)

8. An AB graduate (cum laude) from a Catholic Boys' College marries immediately after college, and takes up residence in Negros. Every time he comes to Manila he seeks out other women. Once, suspecting his wife of unfaithfulness, he hits her with his fist and drives her out of the house. When charged with inconsistency he says:"I was never serious about those other women. My wife has no right to go out with another man." When asked to reconcile the double standard with principles learned in school ("Thou shalt not commit adultery.") he answers: "it's just human weakness. In Negros every hacendero has a querida. Some have several." (The Split: catholic rules regarding marriage versus cultural norms.)


Conviction of Fitness

Often, the following of the second set of principles is rationalized as "human weakness," "ako'y tao lamang." But split-level Christianity is quite a different phenomenon from that human weakness which presupposes an allegiance to only one set of principles and, simultaneously, a temptation to diverge from those principles. hence human weakness still involves a sense of guilt a discomfort with oneself for loss of integrity.

But split-leveling involves the absence of a sense of guilt, or the presence of only a very minimal amount. There is a conviction "in one's gut" that the thing one has done, while something to be shielded from society's gaze like defecation or urination, is nevertheless not wrong. This sense of fitness while noticeable in the examples given above is brought out clearly in a case study by Dr. Jocano (1964) regarding the drinking habit of the Christians of Malitbog in the province of Aklan, where the Christians look on drinking as an "adult game," a thing which adults do in their playtime after work. In fact, drinking is seen as necessary for work. A parishioner is quoted here:

"Look at it this way. I will not say that these "vices" are right. You, as a pastor, an educated man, know that. But to us here in Malitbog, i do not think these things are vices nor are they as bad as you have described them. these are part of what you are supposed to do when you become grown-up. when we were young, our parents admonished us not to drink tuba or any liquor from the Chinese store. These are drinks of adults, we were told. we were supposed to drink soft-drinks and water. 

But now that we are adults, I do not see any reason why we should not drink tuba. Moreover, let us be practical. If I want my field plowed and I offer no tuba or liquor, who will come up to help me? None. Furthermore  if drinking tuba or liquor is bad, why does not the government prohibit the sale of these liquors? because there is no prohibition, then this is not bad. The government is not stupid.

Let us take cockfighting. This is, according to you, a vice; a form of gambling. But doesn't San Pedro bring along with him a cock? he must have been playing cockfighting too --and look at him now, he is a saint. Let us be serious. when we were small boys, we played hole-ins, balinsay(jacks) and blowing rubber-bands  what would you think of us if you see us adults still playing hole-ins or blowing rubber-bands  

You see, what i am trying to say, pastor  is this: each age has its own games --cockfighting and cards are adult games. each occasion has its own social requirements. To have your field plowed you have to offer tuba or liquor or no one comes to help you. Do you understand, pastor?"

There is a conviction that drinking, even though inconsistent with the Christian teaching, is nevertheless right.

Because of this sense of the rightness of both systems, the inconsistency, while at times noticed, is not felt keenly. Thus the Christians of Malitbog believe firmly in spirits and enkantus, and in the baylan (witch doctor) who has power with them.

(Roman Catholic saints) are conceived in Malitbog to have been elevated to their present status because they possess powers similar to those of the enkantus and that they could be manipulated for personal gains....many of the details of knowledge of powers and how an individual can avail himself of their powers...are known to specialists...the priests....On the other hand, knowledge concerning the enkantus and other environmental spirits are known to another group of specialists...the baylan or mediums.

We have two theological systems, side by side, the Christian and the pagan exisitng within one man.


Unconscious Conflict

Thus one characteristic of the split-level type of Christianity is the conviction of the fitness of each of two objectively inconsistent thought-and-behavior systems. A second characteristic is the fact that the inconsistency itself is either not perceived at all, or is pushed into the rear portions of consciousness. at the most, it is taken for granted and simply "forgotten." 

Thus the feeling of inconsistency does not arise. neither is there a feeling of hypocrisy. consequently, there is no particular drive to make one system conform to the other either by a change in behavior or by the elaboration of a conceptual system, of somehow reconciling both. Both systems are left to coexist without disturbance and without guilt.

There are however, special cases in whom the unconscious has become conscious. Usually of the better-educated class, they are quite aware of the inconsistency between their philosophical system and their actual way of life. nevertheless, they use their superior awareness deliberately to manipulate their environment. These are politicians, modern Machiavellians, who allow themselves to be photographed in church receiving Holy Communion while at the same time they are blackmailing some business firm into making "political contributions" to them. One may debate whether to apply such individuals the name "split-level Christians" or not call them Christians at all.

Nevertheless, in most cases, the inconsistency remains unconscious or only semi-conscious, so that the individual within himself remains at peace with himself. The only possible source of upset is when the authority figure should "discover'' the existence of the split. Such a piercing through of the masking surface level is capable of arousing hiya to an intense degree, a calamity which must be avoided at all costs. accordingly, there arises a third characteristic of the split-level, namely, a need to keep the authority figure at a distance.


Distance making

This mechanism of defense against hiya consists of removing the self as far as possible from the gaze of the person in authority, since, as representative of Christian level, he might blame and criticize the ego for consisting with another level. hence the attempt is made figuratively and, at times, literally to push the authority figures as far away from oneself as possible. In the examples given above, the priests are sent home early by the alumni who look forward to a night on the town. 

The naughty singer waits impatiently for the justice and the priest to leave the dining club before resuming her singing. The girl reading the pornographic books hides under the blanket from her peace corps roommate. The drink-loving citizens of Malitbog try to keep the teetolating Protestant minister from intruding into their lives, and upon failure, to do so return to Roman cartholicism, as can be read in the following account from Dr. Jocano:

"And why did you re-embrace Roman Catholicism?" I asked.

"I am not satisfied with what took place after I was converted to the Protestant Church. I mean with the church activities. it demanded so much of my time --anybody's time for that matter. I really can not keep up with the restrictions and teaching of the church!. How about Roman Catholicism?"

"Oh the priest does not have so many restrictions. he lets you alone, that is, to do what you like. he does not come here often and tell "don't do that," "don't do this" and so on. he does not live here, you know. But the pastor? he keeps coming to your house calling your attention to whatever you do. Sometimes it is embarrassing because the neighbors talk. They know what you have done because the pastor preaches about them during Sundays."

From the above account one can see how the catholic priest is preferred to the protestant minister precisely because he is at a distance from these people who love their evening tuba.

One can see the same distance-making trend in the insistence, especially in the provinces, that the priest should stay in the convento and not mix with the people. A priest who visits his parishioners is bound to arouse talk. Sometimes the interdiction affects not only the social visits but even "official" visits in the exercise of ministry. parishioners are often left to die without the last sacraments because of the in-congruence within peoples' minds of the picture of a priest entering their own home.

This distance making need is socio-syntonic that even the priests themselves and the bishops enjoin their own separation from the people, usually for ascetic or moral "reasons." Distance is the socially accepted thing, and is the actual social effect whether the conscious reason is "reverence for priests," "self-protection," "prayer" or anything else.

Dynamics

It may be interesting to enter into the dynamics of this situation and study the forces that bring about such an unconscious splitting of the ethical psyche. Where do the two levels come from? What keeps them apart? What keeps their in-congruence unconscious? Such questions obviously call for speculation and hypothesis formation.


Sources of Content

A study of the two levels may bring out the following analysis. the top or surface level is the more "Christian" part. it is made up of rules and beliefs picked up in school or in church. In large part it is conceptualized, or at least verbalized, usually in a foreign language like English, Spanish or Latin. Much of it is learned by rote, from the catechism or from books. It is the side which is presented to the authority figure in much the same way as a conductor plate in a condenser presents its positive charge on its surface to another conductor plate bearing negative charges.

The lower or deeper level is made up of the rules, beliefs, attitudes and action tendencies which are more common in the environment, which are picked up at home and in the street rather than at school. A large part of it is never verbalized, but acts as a sort of unspoken philosophy, spontaneously flowing into action when the occasion calls it forth and the inhibitory forces are removed. Thus in Malitbog the beliefs are drinking is an adult game spontaneously found expression in the evening when work was done and as long as the priest was away.

to be continued....next is Part 2 of 2, Click -->  Split-level Christianity, Part 2 of 2 

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Hi All,

The below link will show a short list of my past posts (out of 540 posts so far) which I consider as basic topics about us native (indio)/ Malay Filipinos. This link/listing, which may later expand, will always be presented at the bottom of each future post.  Just point-and-click at each listed item to open and read. 

Thank you for reading and sharing with others, especially those in our homeland.

- Bert

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"Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual; the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country." - Karl Kraus, 1874-1936.

"We shall be better and braver and less helpless if we think that we ought to enquire, than we should have been if we indulged in the idle fancy that there was no knowing and no use in seeking to know what we do not know..." – SOCRATES

“In the long-run every Government is the exact symbol of its People, with their WISDOM and UNWISDOM; we have to say, Like People like Government. “ - Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881, Scottish Philosopher, Author

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"Beware of the yeast of Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops." (Luke 12, NRSV)

UNDERSTANDING THE FILIPINO VALUE SYSTEM - FR. VITALIANO R. GOROSPE, S.J. ...LOOKING IN THE MIRROR (Updated)

"Many Filipinos are what I call Sunday-religious, that is they go to church every Sunday, take in confession and communion, but the rest of the week they bribe and do corrupt deeds..." 

-- Dr. Pura Santillan-Castrence

"Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual; the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country." - Karl Kraus, 1874-1936.

"I either want less corruption, or more chance to participate in it." - Ashleigh Brilliant, 1933

"The accomplish to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference." - Bess Myerson, 1924-present

"Upang maitindig natin ang bantayog ng ating lipunan, kailangang radikal nating baguhin hindi lamang ang ating mga institusyon kundi maging ang ating pag-iisip at pamumuhay. Kailangan ang rebolusyon, hindi lamang sa panlabas, kundi lalo na sa panloob!" --Apolinario Mabini,  La Revolucion Filipina (1898)

"Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." Education allows us to better understand the world in which we live in. - Nelson Mandela (1918-2013

UPDATE (3/21/2022): ANOTHER ELECTION COMING ON MAY 9, 2022. I SEE THE NEED TO REPOST THIS ONE...NOTHING HAS REALLY CHANGED FOR THE BETTER...ACTUALLY FOR THE WORST YES...FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE NATIVE FILIPINO CITIZENRY. .. THE COST OF IMPOSED IGNORANCE ON THE MAJORITY AND INDIFFERENCE OF THE SO-CALLED EDUCATED ELITE... ENRAGING AND SAD AS ALWAYS... 3/30/2022: Our Native Filipino value system is not necessarily the same as what is commonly labeled "Asian values" which I identify as more Confucian, etc. But that's another topic. Glad to find feedback under Comments. Thank you all.

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4. The postings are oftentimes long and a few readers have claimed being "burnt out."  My apologies...The selected topics are not for entertainment but to stimulate deep, serious thoughts per my MISSION Statement and hopefully to rock our boat of ignorance, apathy, complacency, and hopefully lead to active citizenship.

LET US NOT KEEP OUR HEADS IN THE SAND

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Hi All,

 I have noted that this particular posting about our Filipino traits and values has been/is very popular among visitors and I guess the popularity stems from the desire of seriously concerned fellow native Filipinos to: learn, have a deeper understanding, find solutions to stop and reverse the national predicaments suffered and being inflicted on the lives of past, present and foreseeable future generations of our fellow native Filipino majority. 

With such understanding, it is hoped that it will lead to an appreciation and realization that a great part of the problem is ourselves.  I think and believe that many of our national problems are created and/or heightened, knowingly or unknowingly, by our so-called Filipino Norm of Morality. 

Although we may explain our behavior by referring to traits or values, to those of us who have some exposure in psychology we may define traits as more about dispositions or tendencies; while values as generally what we consider important and thus prioritize and use as the standard for behavior or justification/rationalization for actions or choices. 

We appreciate and realize that traits and values may influence one another reciprocally, but I believe and think that the latter has greater influence in more instances (a thinking person tend to behave more consistently according to his values).

Let us hope and work for --in our own little way at the very least-- this realization to come sooner (as it is almost too late), and recognize the urgent need for changes in our Filipino traits and values, more fundamentally to re-examine our values: 

1. to employ their positive and dampen their negative potentials in our culture and society, 
2. to appreciate acting with less individualistic, personal selfishness; and instead
3. to recognize the higher need for a strong sense of national community which we desperately miss; and
4. to express in terms of national unity, i.e. Filipino nationalism; the sine qua non for national progress, that is, the attainment of the common good

This post touches on the issue of culture, i.e. our native Filipino culture. As we know, it is imperative that we obtain a deep awareness of our native history and society/culture; our society which embeds in the subconscious Filipino mind within each of us --through our home, church, and school, etc.--  a culture, our native society's worldview: the source of our values, attitudes and behaviors- which has been formed by a complex mix of geography, still primitive/traditional economic relations, religion, and long, divisive colonial history, etc. 

Here our native culture is looked at just from the religious point of view. Frankly, I see this point of view as limited or inadequate, based on what I have alluded to regarding the source in the preceding paragraph.  I will go back, try a broader and deeper look into the issue of our native Filipino culture, i.e. cultural aspects which I see as obstacles to national development sometime later.

[ ADDENDUM: As I commented in Split-level Christianity, Part 2 of 2, below essay is similarly a synthesis of Christian/Catholic theology and social science; thus expectedly with a Catholic spin.

I personally think and believe that (personal and social) ethics and morality do NOT necessarily emanate only out of having a religion or being a believer in a "God" (for us: the monotheistic Christian God as traditionally or biblical understanding). 

Contrary to the assumption or belief of many Christians, native or not, there are atheists, agnostics, so-called pagans, non-Christians, and what have you who were/are more ethical/moral and unselfishly act for social justice than those who are self-proclaimed or supposedly religious Christians of various shades: Catholics, mainline Protestants, Pentecostals or Evangelicals.

In short, I believe in the possibility of a Godless morality, though I admit that it is much more difficult to attain. With a religion that stresses fear of supernatural justice or retribution, then believers will tend to follow what they think or are taught as God's (or gods') command.]

- Bert, 9/18/2013

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Hi All,

With the ever-worsening greed and corruption that gravely permeate all branches of our civil government and military, including the public/social service institutions (see all these crimes and treasonous acts as essentially glossed-over legacies of the Marcos Dictatorship); and with the majority of our fellow Filipinos kept functionally ignorant by design, the latter can only feel perennially abandoned by its government. 

All the while the minority who benefit from the recognized system of patronage take care of their extended families and associates. Transparency in government has not taken root:

1. thanks to the apathy of the upper/middle classes -some of whom benefit (or want to) from this status quo; 
2. and thanks to the imposed ignorance of the native majority (as transparency can be put in place only by strong demand from a well-informed and active majority).

We oftentimes wonder what kind of values we have now; what have we lost in terms of social conscience, of social morality (let us forget here about sexual morality to which the church hierarchy seems to pay relatively more attention to). The question nowadays seems to be "Why can't we be good?"

We Filipinos point out, ad nauseam, about our homeland as being the only Christian nation in Asia, as if it were a badge that we can brandish around. We do not seem to wonder whether that really is something to be proud of; or are we just -unknowingly- exposing our ignorance about what authentic of Christianity is all about?

With hundreds or thousands of Catholic schools we have, where many members of our socioeconomic and political rulers/elites got their so-called education (maybe "instruction" is more apt). let us ask ourselves:

1. What kind of Christian education did these members and/or children of the elite class get?
2. How come some, if not many, of those who commit crimes and are guilty of corruption were from exclusive Catholic schools?
3. What kind of scholastic mentors/teachers did they have? Have the mentors themselves sold out? 
   
4. Why did the good moral and church social teachings not stick? We have expected these alumni of Catholic schools/colleges/universities to be better than those who attended public or secular schools. 
   
5. Is it our unique case that social morality can not really be taught in schools nor be practiced in the real world?

Below is an interesting and informative essay on understanding our Filipino value system, written just a few years after the Marcos downfall, by the late Fr. Vitaliano Gorospe, S.J. 

(However, I think Fr. Gorospe was quite naive about the kind of leadership our homeland needs then and now. I also doubted his knowledge of the true character of Cora Aquino).

- Bert M. Drona

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CHAPTER VI: UNDERSTANDING THE FILIPINO VALUE SYSTEM - FR. VITALIANO R. GOROSPE, S.J.

Since the February 1986 Revolution(1), values development has been one major concern of the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS).

Undersecretary Minda Sutaria has publicized the second draft of the DECS Overall Values Framework, designed to assist teachers at all levels. This latest draft, basically similar to that proposed by Fr. Raul Bonoan, S.J. in "Paideia, Humanism, and Magpakatao: Values for National Reconstruction,"(2) bases its framework on the provisions of the Philippine Constitution of 1986.

If we are to discover our traditional values and make sure that they contribute to the "just and humane society" and "total human liberation and development" of which the Philippine Constitution speaks, we must ask some basic questions.

1) What is the philosophical basis of Filipino values?
2) What is distinctive about the Filipino value system?

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VALUE PHILOSOPHY

A brief introduction to the philosophy of human values is necessary for an understanding of Filipino values and values education. A Filipino experiences family closeness and solidarity (pagpapahalaga sa pamilya), politeness (use of po or ho), hospitality (tuloy po kayo), gratitude (utang na loob) from "within", that is, subjectively and emotionally, unlike a non-Filipino observer, social scientist, or psychologist who studies Filipino values objectively from "without" or "from a distance".

Such Filipino values as social acceptance, (pakikisama, amor propio, economic security, pagmamay-ari), and trust in God (paniniwala sa Diyos, bathala or Maykapal) find their philosophical basis in man's dynamic openness toward nature and the world (e.g., the value of hanap-buhay ng magsasaka), one's fellowmen (the values of paggalang, hiya, katarungan, pag-ibig), and God (the values of pananampalataya, pananalangin, kabanalan). 

This dynamic openness of man is an openness to the possibilities of the future. That is why values are something to be realized. Take the value of peace. The Philippine situation is now characterized by insurgency; the conflict between the NPA, the MNLF, and the AFP; vigilante groups; hostility and division--in short, an absence of national peace and order.

Human values are not merely private. All values have a social aspect. The government official who demands porsiyento, the fireman or policeman who extorts tong or lagay for a service which is his duty, all contribute to the worsening graft and corruption. We are all responsible for one another (tayong lahat ay may pananagutan sa isa't-isa).

Values are both subjective and objective. They involve a subject or person who values (e.g., a young girl) and an object or value to be realized (e.g., pagkamahinhin). Justice is objective because it is a value that should be realized by all. It also becomes subjective if justice becomes a value for me. There is an objective difference between value and disvalue, pleasure and pain, life and death, poverty and affluence, heroism and cowardice, truth and error, right and wrong, holiness and sinfulness. The difference is not only in the mind or a matter of personal taste or preference. Even if I close my eyes to the ugly poverty around me, the poor will not disappear.

Values are not objective in the sense that they are found in some static heaven: they are relational and embodied in person-value-types (ideal moral persons). For example, to a tipong-mukhang kuarta [an avaricious look] profit is more important than service; to a tipong-politiko [political type], pera [money], propaganda, politika [politics] are more valuable than honesty; tipong siyentipiko [scientist type] or tipong-artista [actor type] personify agham [science] and sining [art]; tipong madasalin [pious type] may exemplify kabanalan (piety).

Cory Aquino embodied all that we wanted our President to be--credible, honest, just, with a strong faith in God and in our people. The ideal type or Filipino model during the "parliament of the streets" was the tipong-maka-Diyos (religions), makatao (people-oriented), makabayan (nationalistic).

The heroes of EDSA placed the good of the Filipino people before the safety and security of their families. They were willing to risk their lives for God and people. Value-ranking or the priority of values is not merely arbitrary or subjective. There is an objective ranking of values based on existence or reality and other objective criteria.

Using the criteria of permanence, ability to be shared, and depth of satisfaction, Max Scheler ranked human values from the lowest to the highest as follows:(3) sense values like sensual pleasure are exemplified by the lakuatsero or pabling; utilitarian values like profit and efficiency by the businessman and technocrat; life values, by the doctor and the hero, e.g., Dr. Bobby de la Paz and Emilio Jacinto; cultural values, by the genius and the artist, e.g., Jose Rizal and Francisco Balagtas; religious values, by the saint, e.g., Mother Teresa or Lorenzo Ruiz. Moral and religious values are pre-eminent and claim the highest priority in the objective scale of values because they are absolutely necessary in order to become fully human (magpakatao). 

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FILIPINO VALUES: NATURE, CONSTELLATION, AND CONTEXT

What are Filipino values? What is distinctly Filipino in our value system? The Filipino value system arises from our culture or way of life, our distinctive way of becoming human in this particular place and time. We speak of Filipino values in a fourfold sense.

First, although mankind shares universal human values, it is obvious that certain values take on for us a distinctively Filipino flavor. The Greek ideal of moderation or meden agan, the Roman in medio stat virtus, the Confucian and Buddhist "doctrine of the Middle", find their Filipino equivalent in hindi labis, hindi kulang, katamtaman lamang.

Secondly, when we speak of Filipino values, we do not mean that elements of these Filipino values are absent in the value systems of other peoples and cultures. All people eat, talk and sing, but they eat different foods, speak various languages and sing different songs. Thus, we easily recognize Filipino, American, Chinese, Japanese, or any other foreign food, language, or music. The difference lies in the way these elements are ranked, combined, or emphasized so that they take on a distinctively Filipino slant or cast.

For instance, in China, honesty and hard work may rank highest; Chinese and Japanese cultures give great value to politeness and beauty; American culture to promptness and efficiency; and Filipino culture to trust in God and family centeredness. In this sense of value-ranking and priority of values, we can speak of dominant Filipino values.

Thirdly, universal human values in a Filipino context (historical, cultural, socio-economic, political, moral, and religious) take on a distinctive set of Filipino meanings and motivations. This is true not only of the aims and goals, beliefs, convictions, and social principles of the traditional value system of the lowland rural family(4) but also of what Fr. Horacio de la Costa, S.J. calls the Filipino "nationalistic" tradition (pagsasarili, pagkakaisa, pakikisama, pakikipagkapwa-tao, and pagkabayani.(5)

A Filipino value or disvalue does not exist alone, in isolation, or in a vacuum. Filipino values like bahala na, utang na loob, hiya, pakikisama, pakiusap are clustered around core values like social acceptance, economic security, social mobility, and are always found in a definite context or set of circumstances.

Both positive values and negative disvalues together form a characteristic constellation in school (aralan at dasalan [studying and praying], kuwentuhan at laruan [story telling and game], inggitan at tsismisan [envying and gossiping]), which differs from the configuration found in government offices (pagkakaisa [unity] , pagkabayani [heroism], intriga [intrigue], palakasan [show of power], sipsipan [bribery], palusot), in business firms (palabra de honor [word of honor], delicadeza [finesse], "commission", "kickback", padulas [grease money], lagay [bribe]), or in the barrio barangays (paggalang [honoring], pagdadamayan [comforting], bayanihan [cooperation], bahala na [come what may], utang na loob [gratefulness], hiya[shame]/pakiusap[appear], palakasan [show of power]).

To change a framework of values, it may be necessary to change the constellation and context of those negative values that hinder Filipino and Christian development

Fourthly, we can speak of Filipino values in the sense that the historical consciousness of values has evolved among our people. The Filipino concept of justice has evolved from inequality to equality, and to human dignity; from the tribe, to the family, and to the nation(6). Filipino consciousness of these different values varies at different periods of our history.

It is only in the last two decades that the Filipino people have become more conscious of overpopulation and family planning, environmental pollution (Kawasaki sintering plant) and wildlife conservation (Calauit Island), and the violation of human rights (Martial Law), active non-violence and People Power (1986 non-violent Revolution).

It is only in the last two decades that the Filipino people have become more conscious of overpopulation and family planning, environmental pollution (Kawasaki sintering plant) and wildlife conservation (Calauit Island), and the violation of human rights (Martial Law), active non-violence and People Power (1986 non-violent Revolution).

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FILIPINO VALUES: AMBIVALENCE AND SPLIT-LEVEL CHRISTIANITY

Are Filipino values good or bad? The truth is that Filipino values are ambivalent in the sense that they are a potential for good or evil, a help or hindrance to personal and national development, depending on how they are understood, practiced or lived. They can be used in a good or evil context, e.g., pakikisama sa kabuktutan or sa kaunlaran. Filipino values have both positive and negative aspects depending on the context in which they are found.

In a social system or atmosphere of extreme insecurity, the positive qualities of the Filipino take on negative and ugly appearances. For example, utang na loob can lead to pakiusap, nepotism and "cronyism". Pagmamay-ari ng kapangyarihan (the possession of power) and their abuse could lead to class distinction or the "malakas-mahina system". Hiya can become pakitang tao or gaya-gaya; machismo (tunay na lalake) is partly responsible for the "querida system" and the doble kara morality.

To show the ambivalence of Filipino values, one example will suffice. Take the well known but ambivalent Filipino bahala na mentality. On the one hand, this Filipino attitude could be the root of the positive value of risk taking, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. Prof. Jose de Mesa, in a pioneering book on the Filipino and Christian meaning of bahala na, stresses the positive meaning of this virtue of risk-taking, enterprise, and joint trust in both human effort (bahala tayong lahat) and divine Providence (bahala ang Maykapal)(7).

A people's will to take chances and risks, no matter what difficulties and problems the future entails, is necessary for a nation's growth and destiny. Bahala na could be a genuine faith and trust in Divine Providence that also presupposes self-reliance (pagsasarili) that took the form of People Power in the EDSA revolution. Bahala na was a positive and nationalistic virtue for Jose Rizal, who believed that Filipinos could no longer rely on the Spaniards but only on themselves and on God.

On the other hand, in the past, the negative aspect of bahala na which dominated Filipino life meant a false sense of resignation (ganyan lang ang buhay), a superstitious belief or blind faith (malas/suwerte, tadhana, kapalaran), or escape from decision-making and social responsibility. As such it may be the root cause of national apathy (walang pakialam) and collective paralysis of action (bakit pa kikilos) to solve both local and national problems. Everything is already predetermined or fated.

Negatively, bahala na could engender a false sense of security with God as insurance or a security blanket. For example, if God wants Filipino families to have plenty of children (anak ay kayamanan), God will take care of everything. Bahala na could be the cause of the absence of national initiative and of that discipline required for national growth.

When negative bahala na prevails, nothing ever gets done. Potholed roads, uncollected garbage, countless unsolved murders, carnapping, and smuggling remain year after year. How many have ever been arrested, convicted, or jailed for wanton murder or for notorious graft and corruption? A sense of national frustration, helplessness, and despair grips the nation and the people no longer care. Nothing is going to happen--Bahala na, come what may.

From a Filipino perspective, what social reforms are necessary to transform bahala na positively? No society will long endure unless there is justice; that is, unless a system of reward and punishment exists and is effective. If in Philippine society lying and stealing people's money are rewarded and truthfulness and honesty are punished, what else can one expect but a badly broken political will for national reform?

The present government should therefore prioritize an effective system of universal sanctions for those who hold power. From a Christian perspective, the Christian doctrines of divine Providence, creation, stewardship of land and property, and the conservation of our natural resources remain the challenge and task of parents, educators, and Christian evangelizers.

Split-level Christianity or double-standard morality, the immorality and hypocrisy of many so-called Filipino Christians, is a scandal to both Christians and non-Christians alike.
A people's will to take chances and risks, no matter what difficulties and problems the future entails, is necessary for a nation's growth and destiny. Bahala na could be a genuine faith and trust in Divine Providence that also presupposes a self-reliance (pagsasarili) that took the form of People Power in the EDSA revolution. Bahala na was a positive and nationalistic virtue for Jose Rizal, who believed that Filipinos could no longer rely on the Spaniards, but only on themselves and on God.

On the other hand, in the past the negative aspect of bahala na which dominated Filipino life meant a false sense of resignation (ganyan lang ang buhay), a superstitious belief or blind faith (malas/suwerte, tadhana, kapalaran), or escape from decision-making and social responsibility. As such it may be the root cause of national apathy (walang pakialam) and collective paralysis of action (bakit pa kikilos) to solve both local and national problems. Everything is already predetermined or fated.

Negatively, bahala na could engender a false sense of security with God as insurance or a security blanket. For example, if God wants Filipino families to have plenty of children (anak ay kayamanan), God will take care of everything. Bahala na could be the cause of the absence of national initiative and of that discipline required for national growth.

When negative bahala na prevails, nothing ever gets done. Potholed roads, uncollected garbage, countless unsolved murders, carnaping and smuggling remain year after year. How many have ever been arrested, convicted or jailed for wanton murder or for notorious graft and corruption? A sense of national frustration, helplessness, and despair grips the nation and the people no longer care. Nothing is going to happen--Bahala na, come what may.

From a Filipino perspective, what social reforms are necessary to transform bahala na positively? No society will long endure unless there is justice; that is, unless a system of reward and punishment exists and is effective. If in Philippine society lying and stealing people's money are rewarded and truthfulness and honesty are punished, what else can one expect but a badly broken political will for national reform?

The present government should therefore prioritize an effective system of universal sanctions for those who hold power. From a Christian perspective, the Christian doctrines of divine Providence, creation, stewardship of land and property, and the conservation of our natural resources remain the challenge and task of parents, educators, and Christian evangelizers.

Split-level Christianity or double-standard morality, the immorality and hypocrisy of many so-called Filipino Christians, is a scandal to both Christians and non-Christians alike.(8) It is important to distinguish between pseudo-Christianity in all its varied forms and authentic Christianity; between bad and good Christians. We must also take into account the ambiguity of any religious commitment, which is not something made once and for all, but a life-long process that demands constant conversion and renewal. We must also distinguish between Filipino actual and normative behavior (between what is and what ought to be).

Filipino values are not static, i.e., they are not simply what they are, but dynamic, i.e., they become. From a historical perspective, the question to ask about Filipino values is: Ganito kami noon: paano kayo ngayon? How are we to know towards what goal or direction Filipino values ought to move or become?

Now that we have regained our democratic form of government once again and have arrived at a privileged historical kairos, how do we transform Filipino values to build a more "just and humane society" (Preamble, 1987 Constitution)?

Filipino values are not static, i.e., they are not simply what they are, but dynamic, i.e., they become. From a historical perspective, the question to ask about Filipino values is: Ganito kami noon: paano kayo ngayon? How are we to know towards what goal or direction Filipino values ought to move or become?

Now that we have regained our democratic form of government once again and have arrived at a privileged historical kairos, how do we transform Filipino values to build a more "just and humane society" (Preamble, 1987 Constitution)?

We need both external structural and internal cultural change. It is here that the Christian faith should, in the last analysis, point the way to the kind of values education needed for national reconstruction.

Ateneo de Manila University
Manila
Source: http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-7/chapter_vi.htm

"The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain" - Thomas Jefferson, 1809

"We shall be better and braver and less helpless if we think that we ought to enquire, than we should have been if we indulged in the idle fancy that there was no knowing and no use in seeking to know what we do not know..." – SOCRATES

“They do not easily rise whose abilities are repressed by poverty at home.” - Decimus Juvenalis, 120 AD (CE)