The religious influence on American policies in the Philippines, 1898 - 1916

Abstract

Church and State in the Philippines, 1565-1898. The political setup in the Philippines during the Spanish period was chiefly characterized by the union of Church and State. It should be noted that the conquest and colonization of the Archipelago was a joint effort of the Spanish sword and the Christian cross. Commenting on this union, Agoncillo and Alfonso point out: . . . one of the most unwelcome features of Spanish colonization was the encroachment of the church upon the jurisdiction of the government, and the exercise of political power by the religious. In the central government, representatives of the church or the religious orders sat in the highest councils. The friars were heavily represented in the powerful Permanent Commission on Censorship. . . In the towns the masses were subject to the will of the parish priest, who dominated the town officials. Indeed, in the towns, the friars and priests became integrated into the government machinery: they had become the government.

In this paper “religious influence” is meant the efforts of Protestant, Catholic, and Aglipayan groups (Protestant and Catholic in the United States and in the Philippines; Aglipayan, only in the Philippines) to effect the formulation and/or implementation of certain American policies in the Philippines. By “American policies’’ is meant those measures adopted by American authorities, either persons or offices, authorized to rule the Philippines from 1898 to 1916. The period is limited to approximately two decades of Philip- pine-American relations because it was during this period that the religious influence was markedly visible and active.