Secularism: the real people power

The August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) was the first one to call for strike and civil disobedience against the Marcos government. Although surprisingly Cardinal Sin and the Catholic Church got all the credit for starting the People Power that eventually led to the toppling of the Marcos dictatorship back in February 1986. If the Catholic Church did not steal the idea from secular heroes like Ninoy Aquino, Butz Aquino, Jovita Salonga and Lorenzo Tanada, who all labored tirelessly in defiance of Ferdinand Marcos, and who were obviously great leaders, then we would have witnessed a stronger foundation by which to build a democratic society. The Catholic Church definitely had the power, time and opportunity to counter the dictatorship, but lacked the imagination to mobilize an effective movement to counter the massive machinery of Marcos. That credit certainly belonged to secular and civil leaders, not the religious ones, who kept the fire of defiance up in the air.

This is the reason why when the Catholic Church took on the big leading role in the People Power movement, although it had an aura of success for a few years, it did not have the sustaining and liberating power that superior secular ideas have. What was initially a secular movement, of Filipino unity and solidarity, to topple the Marcos dictatorship, it was replaced with a facetious claim that the February revolution was divinely inspired, suddenly taking the credit away the poor people who have carried the burden for so long. Instead of ordinary people, the heroes became the priests and nuns who, for the most part, stayed silent, even worse as some colluded with the regime, regarding the many crimes committed against farmers, laborers and ordinary families. In essence, the 1986 EDSA People Power and the events after that was an advertisement for one religion, the Catholic Church, its power, influence and religious leadership in transforming the current zeitgeist in Philippine society. The strength and convincing power of this promotion, we found out, failed miserably. After almost 30 years after the original People Power, our society remains so divided by one religion who is actively blocking any attempt at social progress like same-sex marriage, divorce and RH Law by citing bronze-age dogmas, instead of focusing on more important issues like our 21^st century economy. Religion cannot unite humanity. Wherever religion touches, it poisons. As long as religion controls the government, there will never be true progress. This is the reason why secularism is the key to true people power for the following reasons.

Secularism is about equality.

Secularism is not about getting rid of religion, it is about treating all religions, and no religion, as equal. Secularism is about protecting minorities and the weak in our society. Secularism is democracy. Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine advocated for secularism, better known as the separation of church and state, because they saw and experienced the real danger of clerical tyranny, intimidation and clerical abuse when men in long, white clothes were given temporal powers. Jefferson believed that human and civil rights do not depend on religious opinions. This set the path in recognizing religious freedom. Jefferson knew about the history of Europe and its religious wars because religion and religious leaders were given free rein to do whatever they want. He absolutely made sure this scenario will not happen in America and so he put this trend to an end when he proposed the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the founding document which was adopted into the US Constitution in 1786, and of course we see echoes of it in our very own 1987 Constitution: the principle of the separation of church and state.

Only in secularism where the issues of same-sex marriage, divorce, and free speech are fully recognized and actively promoted because it addresses the human need for equality and fairness. Religion, like the Catholic Church, will always be opposed to free speech, divorce and gay marriage because of their static and unbending dogma. As long religion sticks to ancient texts for guidance, it cannot claim to reform humanity while it alienates the minorities in society.

Secularism promotes true morality

It is often assumed that religion gives us morality, or that we derive morality from religion. What we don’t see is that religion is only telling us what to do. Telling people what to do or commanding people is not morality. The real test for morality is to be able to reason and come up with your own conclusion based on the best outcome and well-being for all. Most theists claim that humans alone cannot organize this world without the help of a supernatural being. This is an insult to all humans. We have innate morality. We can distinguish right from wrong without being divinely supervised. Even some animals have shown empathy to their fellow animals.

Secularism promotes science and reason

Since the state takes no sides in religious matters, it actively promotes science and reason that generates progress to society. The state recognizes that science and reason are the tools that unites society and solve problems that plague society.