Religion and History in the Philippines

Spain governed the Philippines for over three centuries largely through the religious orders, which meant that in most of the archipelago the parish priest was the effective agent of the state. That produced the deepest Catholic penetration in Asia and also produced the reaction against it: the execution of the three priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora in 1872 for seeking the transfer of parishes from Spanish friars to Filipino clergy is generally treated as the beginning of Filipino nationalism, and Jose Rizal's novels are directed at friar power as much as at Spain.

Filipino Catholicism absorbed a great deal of what preceded it. The Santo Nino image given to the wife of Rajah Humabon at Cebu in 1521 is venerated in the Sinulog with dancing that predates the image; the Black Nazarene procession in Quiapo draws millions who attempt to touch a dark wooden Christ credited with healing; and the self flagellation and voluntary crucifixions of Holy Week in Pampanga continue despite consistent episcopal disapproval. Islam reached Sulu and Mindanao through trade in the fourteenth century and had established sultanates before the Spanish arrived, which is why the Spanish never fully subdued the south and why the region's subsequent history differs from the rest of the country.