How Religious Marginalization Shapes Political Life in the Philippines

How Religious Marginalization Shapes Political Life in the Philippines
Muslims from Marawi and other Filipinos march to protest the city’s siege and the martial law imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte in the southern Mindanao region, Manila, Aug. 31, 2017 (AP photo by Bullit Marquez).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series about religious minorities in various countries around the world.

In late January, the Department of Tourism in the Philippines announced plans to make the country a significant “religious pilgrimage destination,” especially for Catholic communities in Asia, by restoring old churches and historical shrines. Yet efforts to capitalize on its status as the largest Catholic-majority country in Asia and draw in more tourists could create problems in the Philippines, which has sizeable non-Catholic Christian communities and a Muslim population that has long felt marginalized by a state heavily linked to the Catholic faith. In an email interview, David T. Buckley, an assistant professor of political science and Paul Weber Endowed Chair in Politics, Science and Religion at the University of Louisville, discusses the historical experiences of religious minorities in the Philippines, how they have informed the country’s politics, and the state of religious freedom today.

WPR: What is the historical experience of religious minorities in the Philippines? Do religious minorities hold grievances against the state?

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.