Popular and even academic discourses about Philippine Catholicism fall into the trap of seeing it as monolithic and essentialist. This view is reinforced by Catholicism’s profound presence in Philippine society—one intricately woven into the very fabric of communal and personal life—and the perception that it is socially conservative and blindly docile to clerical authority. The book offers critical reflections on the contours of present-day Philippine Catholicism, fully cognizant of its ambiguous past and its unknown future. It examines what Philippine Catholicism faces by looking at its current resources and inferring insights on its prospects for the foreseeable future. The different essays in this anthology put the spotlight on critical concerns, amplify muted voices, and open pathways oriented toward action. In doing so, they point to the inclusivity and fluidity of religious belonging and the diversity of practice in Philippine Catholicism, which expand the resources of contemporary faith, open the horizons of its prospects, and reveal a vibrant dynamic that has local and, to a certain extent, global implications.
Published in 2025.