The Iglesia Ni Cristo: Separation of Cult and State? Religion has played an integral role in Philippine Society. From uniting millions in peace and devotion to fuelling divisions and tensions between members of opposing faiths, it is an empirical fact that the religious nature of the Filipino masses has been a major influence in our nation. Although the Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country based on the majority of the population adhering to the church centred in Rome, numerous churches from different dominations of Christianity or based from the Bible are present and gaining popularity and influence within society. One of these faiths is the Iglesia Ni Cristo or the “Church of Christ”, a Filipino founded church based on the …show more content…
Although both faiths worship the Christian God and adhere to the Old and New Testaments as the essential scripture, the INC does not recognise the Holy Trinity. This is because according to the Iglesia, Jesus Christ is the Son of God and only Mediator between God and Man but recognises His divinity as God (INC, n.d.). Such beliefs are contrary to the Roman Catholic stance that Jesus is God while taking the full presence of Man, as stated throughout the Book of John and Revelations (Staples, 2011). As a result, the two churches regard each other as Apostates and there are deep divisions between members of the Iglesia with members of the Catholic …show more content…
As religious organisations are tax-exempt in the Philippines, the INC is able to acquire assets and properties through their funds without being subject to the government. One example of the cult’s properties is the Philippine Arena, the largest indoor stadium in the world. Located in Victoria, Bulacan, the 55,000 seater dome is one of the church’s most notable and expensive projects, costing over $213 Million (P9.4 billion) to construct (Newcomb, 2011). In addition, the INC has educational institutions such as the New Era University, a private centre for higher education based in Bulacan. Their media wing, Eagle Broadcasting Corporation provides free to air news and information about church activities. The group has also purchased a small town in South Dakota for $700,000 (P34.9 Million) in 2011 (ABS-CBN, 2015b). Other notable properties include a luxury apartment tower in Bonifacio Global City that was sold for P1 Billion and two private jets; a Boeing 737-700 worth over P3.6 Billion and and Airbus A330-200 aircraft worth P10.3 Billion (Hofileña, 2015 & Hofileña and Santos,
Bergunder, Michael, Anderson, Allan, Droogers, Andre, and Van Der Laan, Cornelis. Studying Global Pentecostalism: Theories and Methods. California: University of California Press, 2010. Print.
...e facilitated through religion and its institutions and communities as well as one’s personal religion which is primarily based on religious practices. While communal religion allows the individual, particularly immigrants, to find a sense of attachment in society, individual religion allows one to find “practical coherence” with their everyday life and society. Religious practices can be found and used in religion and their institutions, the importance of these activities are emphasized. With that being noted, religious practices are a core essential in one’s adjustment in life and society.
For many years, cult leaders always had a psychological hold on their followers' minds. Whether it was to kill other people or to kill themselves, they did it without question. Some cult leaders used fear, violence and guilt as a means of a weapon to control the minds of their followers. Other cult leaders used persuasive and spiritual speeches that made their followers believe they were doing good and fulfilling God's plan. Because cult leaders are powerful through psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldn't normally do in their right state of mind.
The vastly different traditions of religion forms in the United States show that how diversity of worldwide people merged into one society and formed separate traditions all while dealing boundaries between religions in America. The mystery of religious belief beyond the definition is still and will always be a much-debated topic. Regardless of whether these arguments are ever resolved, it is important to bear in mind about the powers from Albanese‘s theory, which is a system of symbols by means of which people orient themselves in a world with reference to both ordinary and extraordinary powers, meanings, and values (Albanese). She also identified
Religion is too rigid and has many definitions with just as many denominations. Each religion has its own set beliefs, as well as its own way to worship. Pope Francis, who was elected as the world’s top religious leader said, “The Church is or should go back to being a community of God’s people, and priests, pastors and bishops, who have the c...
Religion has had a profound effect on human culture; unfortunately, the trouble with it is faith, which creates skepticism in many individuals. In order to accommodate the issue of faith, religions have regulations, values, and ceremonies, making religion a belief system, hence creating clarity to support faith. Catholicism has become a belief system that feeds its follower with answers; however, these answers are only assumptions. There are no factual answers, and as a result, religious leaders have created an expectation in which religion is supposed to fit; nonetheless, its accuracy is unknown. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” the values of religion are the center of criticism. A man with enormous wings, the protagonist of the story, is never strictly classified as man or angel. He is a rejected by society because he goes against the society’s expectation of what a true angel should be, an expectation taught to them by religion. The ambiguity of the old man with enormous wings tests the true faith of the followers of Catholicism, symbolizing an archetypical Christ figure. Both the priest and society’s foul response to him demonstrates the society’s understanding of religion to be superficial. As a result, the story argues, followers of religion must not rely on the assumptions their religion has created but believe instead, with faith.
In conclusion, it is important to realize that it was not one single factor which was responsible for the spread of Christianity, all these figures came together to give the perfect platform for a new religion to develop, " Never before in the history of the race had conditions been so ready for the adoption of a new faith by the majority of the peoples of so large an area" (K.S Latourette).
Over the years many scholars have tried to define the Christian identity. Raimon Panikkar, in his article “Who is a Christian”, takes an in depth look at this topic and approaches it from many different angles.
Throughout the history and development of the Catholic Church, there have been several links discovered between Catholicism and the social institution of the Church. Two critical terms arise from this relationship, “sympathetic familiarity” and “critical insider.” These two terms present a different approach of analyzing and viewing ideas than a modern critique. This approach can help individuals look at ideas and concepts in a distinctive lens, rather than a simple view enabling them to find relationships and patterns between the areas of interest. In the world of Catholicism and the institution of the Church, similar and different perspectives arise from a variety of sources based upon a certain analysis. For instance, there are many similarities and differences between texts like the third century text The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome and a modern day Catholic liturgy . Through this comparison a number of developments and patterns have been noticed. Primarily this comparison will focus on the connection, development and analysis of scripture/prayer, Catholic sacraments, and the Church order of both areas.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest body of Christians in the world. Catholics are concentrated more heavily in North America, Europe and South America than any other place. The traces of the beginning of the Catholic Church began about A.D. 30; this is the time when Jesus Christ was mandating his apostles to spread the teachings about the Kingdom of God. (Gills Web). Catholics have the belief that Christ inaugurated the church to carry to his people the salvation that he had brought to the world. They also believe that with the aid of God they have managed to preserve his teachings. Belief in God’s revelation is religious faith. Some beliefs that the Roman Catholic’s acquire are the Trinity and creation, Sin, the Incarnation, and salvation, Life after death, Worship and Baptism, Confirmation, and Mass. (Gills Web). Trinity and creation is where Catholics presume there is only one God. This one God exists of a unit of three persons – The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons form the Holy Trinity. (Gills Web) Although this is true there is still only one God.
Religion is an institution that can provide stability for societies through various religious concepts, and is substantial for the support of social cohesion and order. Many functionalist theories of religion, for example, claim that religion functions in such a way as to integrate societies (McCauley, 1984). There are many types of religion that people practice world-wide such as Christianity, Catholi...
Religion has a great influence on people, providing faith and direction to each individual while controlling a co...
First, ethnic fusion defines ethnicity as the major religious foundation. Success of such religions is attributed to the preservation of fundamentals that may be “at odds with the dominant culture (Christiano et al., 2016).” Second, ethnic religion links language and national identity to an ethnicity (Christiano et al., 2016). Third, religious ethnicity is defined as more than one group sharing the same religion (Christiano et al., 2016). Lastly, ethnic autonomy is defined as playing a minimal role in defining ethnic identity (Christiano et al., 2016). Ethnic autonomy is viewed as a less frequent identity, such as gypsies. Further elaborated in the text is the influence of religious institutions on the implementation of culture in the new
In the Western world, the schism within the Catholic Church has made its most significant impact due to rapid changes in social standards. Of greatest importance is the evolution of modern society and their response to the reverberated traditions of the Catholic Church as well as the evolving Protestant sects. In consequence of increases in technology and science, modern society has redefined its acceptable and moral behavioral standards within a social setting, whereas, the Catholic Church stands firm in its doctrines despite social and moral movements in the twentieth century. Except for the Second Vatican Council and the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church has not worked to revise its religious traditions in response to a changing society. As a consequence with this unparalleled development, many young adults and the population in general has swayed from the devout Catholic worship.1
There is no doubt that the fundamental idea of Church, faith, and prayer lived by the early Christian, needs to be rediscovered among many contemporary Christians. The conviction that the apostles had to preach the Gospel of Jesus certainly was aided by their idea of Church, faith, and prayer. In his book “Catholicism: A Journey to the Heat of the Faith”, Father Robert Barron tries to revive the idea of Catholicism that seems to weaken and lose its real sense. With my understanding of Church, faith, and prayer, I argue that because of the lack of understanding about Catholicism that exist today in our midst, many people fall short about what Catholicism really means. However, it is not my intention to answer this question.