Of Churlish Churches and a Sanctimonious State: Will There Ever Be a State of Grace? A Public Forum

Of Churlish Churches and a Sanctimonious State: Will There Ever Be a State of Grace? 

Part One of the 2011 UP Third World Studies Center Public Forum Series "The B.S. Aquino Administration - Possible Perversities, Perverted Possibilities" 

June 22, 2011, 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 nn, Claro M. Recto Hall, Bulwagang Rizal (Faculty Center), University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 

PROGRAM: 

9:00-9:30         REGISTRATION

9:30-9:35        WELCOME REMARKS
                       JOSE WENDELL P. CAPILI
                       Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs
                       University of the Philippines

9:35-9:40        INTRODUCTION OF THE 2011 TWSC PUBLIC FORUM SERIES
                       MARIA ELA L. ATIENZA
                       Director
                       Third World Studies Center
                       College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
                       University of the Philippines-Diliman

9:40-9:45        INTRODUCTION OF THE SPEAKERS

9:45-10:05      RAUL C. PANGALANGAN
                       Professor
                       College of Law
                       University of the Philippines-Diliman

10:05-10:25    LYDIA N. YU JOSE
                       Professor
                       Department of Political Science
                       Ateneo de Manila University

10:25-11:25    OPEN FORUM

11:25-11:30    CLOSING REMARKS / SYNTHESIS

Moderator

ROLANDO S. FERNANDO 

Senior Lecturer

Department of Political Science 

University of the Philippines-Diliman

Organized by the UP Third World Studies Center 

Co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President for Public Affairs, University of the Philippines and Philippine Political Science Association

ABOUT THE FORUM:

On April 17, 2011, during the commencement exercises at the University of the Philippines Diliman, President Aquino brushed aside threats of excommunication from the Catholic Church. He made the unequivocal announcement that he is “resolved to enact into law the principles of responsible parenthood.” One wonders what the display of determination is for when the principle of the separation of state and church has been safeguarded, at least in writing, by the Philippine Constitutions of 1899, 1935, 1973, and 1987. However, organized religion—most prominently the Catholic Church—has continued, over the years, to exert considerable influence on various policymaking initiatives of the state. The recent fracas over reproductive health care and sexuality education illustrates this point. However, to confine the discussion of the dynamics of state-church relations to another heated pro-anti debate with its attendant bloviations would be to miss the point, and is thus not the aim of this forum. President Aquino’s dismissal of the Catholic Church’s threat should be read with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s inclusion of Psalm 33:12 (“Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,” as translated into Filipino, “Pinagpala ang bayan na ang Diyos ay ang Panginoon”) on the new peso bills. As the Aquino government declares its belief in God, with the clear preference for the Christian one, it is also exhibiting its faith in adroit political maneuvers against self-assured churches and religious entrepreneurs. In attempting to deal with this question, it is necessary to consider the fact that the state itself continues to be guilty of fostering organized religion’s sense of secure stakeholder positions in its customary courting of electoral support.

Below is a playlist of the videos of the forum.

For information on the forum series and the upcoming installments of the series, please see this post.