My American Journey, Part 1: Religious Pluralism, Immigration, and Assimilation

I grew up in the Philippines influenced by two major factors, albeit rudimentary: religion and democracy. The first being handed down from previous generations who were influenced by centuries of Spanish domination and by Roman Catholicism’s orthodoxy. The was second rooted from over a century of American domination and influence in government and society that espoused two distinct ideologies: capitalism and liberalism.

When I joined the U.S. Navy at the age 20, tucked under my belt were 12 years of primary and secondary public education, and two years of college. In the Navy, I was exposed early on to military indoctrination, training, and experience with a diverse group of people coming from different parts of the Philippines and the United States. For the first time, I had to grapple with speaking a different language (English) to communicate with other nationalities, and how to process the experience of racial bias.

The word immigration was not even part of my vocabulary then despite being immersed in such a process already while living in a different country. I had no way of knowing because the rapid transition from my old life, to boot camp, additional Navy training, and my first duty assignment in Okinawa, Japan put me in moments of an exciting journey. It was an adjustment period that lasted for several years. My military career was on autopilot including when I re-upped my enlistment early for naturalization purposes.

Going back overseas in 1979 as a naturalized American citizen, didn’t feel any different other than knowing a more secure future with a military career. My perceptions began to mature when I started thinking about raising a family and actively pursuing permanent residence for my foreign-born wife and parents who were Filipinos. Immigration petitions seemed like necessary steps as a matter of course, to bring a more stable process to adopting a new home, a new identity if you will, in a diaspora.

Being in the Navy taught me the concept of religious pluralism where a military base chapel is open to different religions who espoused Christianity. There were no retablos other than a wooden cross unlike the churches I used to attend back in Bicol where devotional art was part of the iconography. Suddenly, attending a Catholic service seemed like a different experience with English speaking pastors.

Southern California became my new homeport. First in Los Angeles, then National City, and eventually settled in Spring Valley for the long haul. In each of these cities was a Catholic Church my family frequented that were also attended by other Filipinos. In retrospect, my process of assimilation into American society was more through these religious affiliations and military career. My understanding of democracy and religion clearly evolved significantly, for the better.

I can say with clarity that the effect of immigration on my religious beliefs and practice had both a theologizing and alienating experience. I became more Catholic but paradoxically, also less American Christian. The U.S. is predominantly habited by Protestant Christians that hew more towards evangelicalism, but America is not a Christian country by constitutional fiat. The U.S. Constitution was written based on Christian principles by the Founding Fathers who themselves were immigrants to this country.

The First Amendment arose precisely because of their experiences in Europe where they came from and were fleeing religious wars and persecutions. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was the Founding Fathers' assurance to protect religious freedom and that those who came to America can practice their religious beliefs without the threats of kings, popes, and other dictators from Europe, Latin America or Asia. This did not mean that religious rivalries were not present in the United States.

The last presidential election is Exhibit A that points to a country whose religious right is trying to impose its religious beliefs and interpretations to the rest of us through political causes entertained by the presidency. The former president campaigned on anti-immigration platform and religious nationalism which are ideas anathema to the idea of the separation of church and state. Mass deportations, legalizing prosecutions of political enemies through the department of justice and sanitizing educational books of slavery and liberal ideas as the “Christian thing” to do.

Some states are not only banning abortions but going after medical personnel and others aiding such abortion practice. Legal for over 50 years, abortion now has lost its legal standing after the conservative Supreme Court justices overturned Roe vs. Wade. Next in line is in-vitro fertilization (IVF) that the Alabama Supreme Court banned. During the first term of Donald Trump, public money was spent on religious schools/organizations and support of mandating the 10 Commandments in public schools.

It is worth revisiting the formative years of the United States that brought us the First Amendment. The amendment has two major clauses: The Establishment Clause that prohibits the government from encouraging or establishing religion in any way. The second is the Free Exercise Clause that gives every American the right to worship or not as the individual chooses. Abortion and IVF are forms of healthcare and people who seek them are now being persecuted because of their religious belief or unbelief.

My current understanding of religion and democracy is astonishing. Clearly, the American dream is what motivates most immigrant families to guide their everyday living and the process of assimilation. Assimilation process is an important aspect of being an active participant in the democratic process. Many immigrants, me included, didn’t view religion as an important factor before because we didn’t recognize its value in the political exercise. Our understanding of democracy in a liberal state is that the free exercise clause of speech and religion was a wall inhibiting it.

When immigrants picked up political labels (Democrats, Republicans, or Independents) as an offshoot of assimilation, it was a divisive label that greatly inhibited spiritual growth. We believed as immigrants then that political party affiliation was a necessary undertaking to advance our interest in the United States such as refuge, resources, and respect. Political party affiliation was not something I was actively engaged in the Philippines as a student. As an immigrant and even as an American citizen, I find anti-immigrant rhetoric such as mass deportation for illegal immigrants being anathema to my Catholic belief.

Thus, it bedevils me to know that many Filipino Catholic immigrants and Catholic religious leaders have latched on to such rhetoric as part of a spiritual capital and an important aspect of citizenship by lending their voices (through the vote) to such an anti-Catholic practice or belief. In the Philippines, I would have accepted it as the influence of a Catholic hierarchy into a weak democracy where practicing Catholics can become politicians and engage in sinful and unchristian undertakings such as corruption, adultery, oppression, and capital offenses. (TO BE CONTINUED)