Faith as secular morality

(Based on the commencement address given on April 16, 2011 for Kalayaan College, Balay Kalinaw, UP Diliman, Quezon City)

(Third of three parts)

The question currently being faced by many Catholics, I think, can be phrased as follows: Am I being unfaithful, ungodly, sinful or immoral if I support the RH bill? You can probably readily guess my answer to the question. But let me pose another question in the context of religion as secular morality: who is being moral — one who follows this particular Catholic doctrine and goes to the sacraments but engages in corrupt practices, or one who disobeys this doctrine and perhaps hardly goes to the sacraments but is upright (i.e., not corrupt) and fair in his/her relations with others?

An eye-popping remark made by a high official of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life during last year’s electoral campaign period went like this: “Voters should support the candidate who is against the RH bill even if he/she is corrupt, not the candidate who favors the bill though he/she may not be corrupt.”

My dear graduates, I think a basic problem in our society is that there is a lot more emphasis given to religiosity (which tends to be of the external form) than to secular morality. There is a need for some rebalancing such that greater attention is given to secular morality. Faith that does not translate as moral behavior is hollow and meaningless, while moral behavior without faith can be rudderless and may not be sustainable. Faith nourishes secular morality while moral conduct enriches faith. In other words, faith as morals rather than faith and morals.

Buddhism, Shintoism, and Hinduism, we are told, are regarded more as a way of life than a religion in a narrow sense. Similarly, Confucianism is considered as a philosophy that guides life. Is it a coincidence that Japan, South Korea, China and Thailand, for instance, are more civic-minded, less contentious, and progressive societies?

On the other hand, that many Catholic countries in Latin America are more progressive or advanced (in terms of less poverty) than the Philippines may be attributed to the strict separation of Church and State, as mentioned earlier. The issue of family planning has long been settled in those countries because the line is clearly drawn between Church and State responsibilities. A Mexican Dominican priest, Fr. Julian Cruzalta, who was here a month back told us in a conference that while Mexican Catholics are actually quite religious in terms of going to church and receiving the sacraments, they follow the State’s, not the Church’s, line with respect to family planning. In Chile, the Church has long ceased imposing its position on people and collaborates, in fact, with the government in the implementation of family planning programs as part of the country’s development strategy.

My dear graduates, I have probably said more than enough of what I think is an underlying cause of our social malaise. I may have provoked or even disturbed you with the focus of my talk on the dysfunctional link between faith and morals. I wanted to challenge you on the critical need for our society to translate faith into practice, that is to say, religion as secular morality — whatever your individual faith or religion might be. If you are already living and practicing your faith, then the challenge is to extend that to others. That would be a real contribution to our society toward reducing corruption and helping our country progress and improve the lives of our poor kababayans.

As our national hero Jose Rizal once said, “The youth is the hope of the fatherland.” That was also meant to be a challenge. Take up the challenge and be the outstanding performers and shining leaders in whatever you do, as you join the world outside your alma mater, so that you can contribute to changing the course of our country for the better.

Let me conclude by conveying my sincerest and heartfelt congratulations to your parents, family and friends on this significant occasion of your graduation. And, to you, my dear graduates, my felicitations on marking this milestone and best wishes as you embark on the next phase of your life.

Maraming salamat sa lahat. At Mabuhay!

* * *

Ernesto M. Pernia, Ph.D., recently retired as professor of economics of the University of the Philippines. He is currently professorial lecturer at the UP School of Economics. He is a director on the current board of the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering. He is a former Lead Economist at the Asian Development Bank. E-mail at [email protected].