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Saturday, September 20, 2014

Di ka Naniniwala?! Bastos ka!: How Atheists are viewed in Philippine Society

A few years ago on a cold windy Christmas Eve, the holiday decorations in my village were on full swing, the caroling street children with their screeching voices were screaming their lungs out (most of the time these kinds don't even know the fucking lyrics), and the MMFF is raping the minds and wallets of Filipinos even a martial law era cop would feel sorry. Like the typical Filipino family, we invited all of our close relatives to spend the evening with us and the event was like a mini family reunion. As they went to attend the Christmas Eve mass, I stayed behind for two reasons, in order to help the maids prepare dinner and Noche Buena, and i'm an Atheist.

This was something which my family knew of and was fine with, but I was yet to come out to my extended family. As I was sitting at the dinner table talking and chatting with my beloved cousins and nephews, the shit hit the fan. My elderly aunts and uncles found out about my disbelief and were outraged. They stormed into the dining room and told me how could I be so blind, sinful, and disgusting.They said lines such as "bakit ka ganyan!", "di naman nagkamali Nanay mo eh!", and "namatay si Cristo para sayo! Walang hiya ka!". When I tried to defend my disbelief citing various positions (such as the burden of proof), they responded lines such as with "tanga lang ang di naniniwala", and "tanga lang humihingi ng ebidensya"(mind fuck right?). It was then that my parents stepped in and eased the tension, but a few minutes later my entire extended family (about 30 people) were asking me to leave my own fucking house, because Christmas is only for Christians. When I tried to reason that Christmas is not exclusive to Christians, and that its more of a Capitalist holiday than a religious event, they were even more outraged that I tried to speak back to them (I swear they were acting as if I gave the pope the finger while banging a nun), so they place down the terms, its either I leave, or they leave. Knowing that majority of them were business partners with my Mom, I took one for the team and left. So on Christmas Eve 2012, I was kicked out of my own home by a Christian mob.

It seems that the equivalent of being a non-believer in the Philippines is the same as being a Playboy model in a low security all male prison, you will stand out and will be fucked from all directions.

If you come from a Filipino family there is a HUGE chance that you will be born into a Christian family (well according to the article it should be around 86% to a Christian family, 98% to a theist family). With the overwhelming theist majority in Philippine society, many Filipinos think that people AUTOMATICALLY believe in a God.  If you declare your disbelief you will instantly draw negative attention to yourself. They will then start insulting you, whats funny is that when you try to talk back and defend yourself, you are the one who is seen as the aggressor and the oppressor (thats why shitty movies such as this have a huge following in the country). This isn't indigenous to my shitty personal experience but is ubiquitous all over the country. Thats why there was such a knee jerk butthurt reaction when the Deped removed the word "God loving" from their vision statement.

Thats all because believing in a higher power is THE norm in this shit hole (a shit hole that I love). Majority of Filipinos live thinking that everyone, is on the same page about a higher power. Thats why when someone disagrees with them, they get insulted and defensive. Doubting God's existence in the Philippines is like saying:

"The Holocaust was the greatest thing ever"
"Ted Bundy is innocent and should have won a Nobel Prize"
"Sana matalo si Pacquiao"

or even

"Sexual contact with children is appropriate"  ohhh wait


There is no doubt that the Philippines has a Roman Catholic majority and will have one for a long time to come. But in order for our beloved nation to have a place for everybody, secularism must take the front seat and religion at the back seat beside the fairy tales of old.





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