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In a small far off archipelago in Southeast Asia, there lies the Philippines. These islands are formally known as the Republic of the Philippines. The Philippines is a land which consists of a large population of people, many of whom have entirely different religious theories and beliefs. It is known, that on this small island, there are three main religions, which vary immensely in teachings, practices, beliefs and rituals in death and afterlife. The religion also plays a very important role in the culture.The pre-hispanic belief system of Filipinos consisted of gods, spirits, creatures, and men that guarded the environment and houses. Their supreme god was named Bathala. Upon this native religious foundation, two foreign religions were introduced; Islam, and Christianity. First ,in 1350, Islam had been spreading northward from Indonesia, into the archipelago of the Philippines. In 1565, with the arrival of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Spain introduced Christianity to the Philippines. By time, the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, Islam was firmly established.
More than 86% of the population in the Philippines is Roman Catholic. 6% belong to numerous Christian sects, and 2% belong to over 100 Protestant sects. In addition to the Christian majority, there is a 4% Islam minority. The remaining 2% followed indigenous beliefs and practices. The Chinese minority, although statistically negligible, colors the Filipino Catholicism with many of the beliefs of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
The people of the Philippines, have many different religions in which they follow, however, most of them are very different. The Roman Catholics follow the 10 Commandments, ten very important rules of life, which were given to us by God in order to make it into heaven. It is also believed that every person will be judged of how respectfully they lived their life has been when they die. When they are judged, the Roman Catholics believe that they go to either "heaven" or "hell". Heaven is known as a reward, and is a place of eternal greatness and happiness. However, hell is a place of eternal torture, where the devil resides, and that every Catholic dreads.
The Muslim Religion is the second most common religion in the Philippines. It is the religion believed by more than one million people, from many ranges of cultures, and races around the world. The Muslims believe in one god, and the words of Mohammed and angels. Mohammed's teachings encourage them to lead good lives with respect, compassion, and love for one another. They also live by 5 pillars, which are also very similar to the Ten Commandments. The five Pillars are profession of faith, prayer, giving to the poor, fasting and pilgrimage. The Muslim people also follow the Koran which is very similar to the Christians Bible. Religion plays a very important role in every Muslim's and Christian's daily life. For example, Muslims are supposed to pray towards Mecca at least six times a day and they are urged to visit Mecca at least once in their life. For Christians, religion is also a very important part in their every day life. They are requested to visit a church and to pray for forgiveness of their sins, to stay on good terms with their God.
http://filipinoheritage.com/religious/religion.htm
http://divinedigest.com/
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/crossroads/sussell/christianity.htm
http://people.enternet.com.au/~beswick/basicch/whatwe.htm#howrec
http://www.frclasrm/readings/r000011.htmRepublic of the Philippines. Brigham Young University: Culturgram, 1997. "Divine Digest" [Online] available http://divinedigest.com/.
"Filipino Heritage" [Online] available http://fillipinoheritage.com/religious/religion.htm
"Philippines Religion" [Online] available http://www.frclasrm/readings/r000011.htm
