Fate of the faithful

Nov. 18, 1978 would probably count as one of the darkest dates for any religious group that gave a hero’s worship to their leader. On this day, 918 members (300 of whom were children) of the “People’s Temple of the Disciples of Christ,” all loyal followers of one Jim Jones, perished as they were asked by their leader to drink a juice concoction. Except that it was a concoction of a juice drink and cyanide. Earlier that day and unknown to these members who were murdered in Jonestown, Jones’ private army opened fire and killed other escaping members.

That Jones’ combined preaching of God’s word with social change through Marxism is not what got him loyal followers. He recruited people below the social strata, many of them black people. He asked his more affluent members to dress up very simply so that the poor members will not feel out of place. He had healing sessions where he took out cancer physically, only to be revealed after this tragic event that he used chicken parts that he pretended to take out from a devotee he was healing. This increased not only faith but also financial support from the members. It was reported that he used a sophisticated and gradual mind control and behavior modification technique borrowed from communist countries.

Closer to home, on Jan. 6, 2002, 23 members of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association died in the island of Dinagat in Surigao del Norte, and many more wounded. Their leader, Ruben Ecleo Jr., was implicated with the murder of his wife and a fourth-year medical student from Cebu. When members of the Philippine National Police and soldiers of the Army’s 20th Infantry Battalion tried to serve Ecleo the warrant of arrest in connection with these crimes, he resisted; and then his members and private army tried to protect him, resulting in bloodbath.

The father, Ecleo Sr., who is also the group’s founder, has been reported to have been regarded as “Christ-like” and can speak, read and write in Arabic, Hebrew, Sanskit and Aramaic so he can “interpret the ancient mysteries”. He was said to have engaged heavily in missionary work and had healing powers that he acquired from divine prayers. It is a rich group that raised tens of millions in entrance fees and annual dues from its members. Ecleo Jr. took over as leader from his father.

The above are examples of religious leaders — talented, politically well-connected, and enriched by loyal, if not fanatic, followers.

They are not the best topics to explain the principle of separation of Church and State. They are so plain. There appears to be no issue when something as grave as murder, blatant cheating or stealing, or wanton disregard for member’s life or safety is involved. They are simply crimes to which one couldn’t connect a religious justification.

There are, on the other hand, less morbid and in fact interesting issues in respect of religious practice versus the ability of the state to step in.

For example, in the Philippines, there is the case of students belonging to the Jehovah’s Witness faith, who were expelled from a school in Masbate because they refused to salute the flag, sing the national anthem and recite the patriotic pledge. They say the flag ceremony is a form of worship to an image, the flag, and that kind of worship is against their faith. While the Court did not agree that the flag ceremony or saluting the flag is a religious ritual, it did not find compelling reasons to force the Jehovah’s Witness faithful to comply with the flag ceremony as they anyway quietly stand erect with hands on the side. In other words, this nonconformity on account of one’s religious belief was considered tolerable.

In the US, when the parents of Amish faith refused to follow the law mandating high school education for their children, they put up the tenets of their religion as defense. The State, using the parens patriae principle, said that they can step in “as parents” of the children to protect the latter’s right to proper education. But the Amish parents were able to explain that their faith “de-emphasizes material success” and “rejects the competitive spirit” espoused by the modern world. Their faith requires them to live a simple Christian life. Besides, they provide continuing vocational education to their children to prepare them for rural Amish community living. In this case, no compelling reason was found for the State to disturb the religious practice.

Not so in the case of a Native American Church member who was dismissed from employment for participating in a strange religious ceremony: the ingestion of peyote, a hallucinogenic drug. They maintain, and it is probably true, that ingesting this drug (which comes from a wild cactus) makes them more deeply in touch with their spiritual selves during the worship ceremony. The Supreme Court found more weight on the war on drugs and found that this prohibited conduct cannot be justified by religious conviction.

We can say freedom of religion does not mean freedom from the law. But the simple truth is, religion-related issues are not simple. God is Supreme over any government. One can’t help but agree though, that in the world of humans and men of laws, that the freedom to believe is absolute, but the freedom to act is not. As sure as our Creator placed the brain above the heart, devotions should always not exclude brain functions. Otherwise, like the stories retold above, the faithful can be the victim of senseless tragedy. In this regard, we say that worship should be to one’s God, the Supreme Being. Not to the person, even if his persona is supreme.

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Alexander B. Cabrera is the chairman and senior partner of Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines. He also chairs the tax committee of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). Email your comments and questions to [email protected]. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.