Conversation with Brian Dela Masa — Member, Humanist Alliance Philippines, International
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Humanist Voices)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2018/06/11
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Was there a family religious environment?
Brian Dela Masa: I wouldn’t consider it as a religious environment. We just went through the motions like most christians do. We try to go to mass every sunday. We pray the rosary every halloween.
Jacobsen: How did you come to find religion as not for you?
Masa: I started having doubts while watching bishops lie through their teeth about contraceptives on tv. I found a group in facebook that was also fraustrated as I am about church leaders. It got me into researching about religion.
Jacobsen: Why do you think people are drawn to religion?
Masa: People can’t help it. They were raised with some form of religious belief.
Jacobsen: What is the best argument for humanism?
Masa: We only have each other.
Jacobsen: How did you find HAPI?
Masa: I was a part of PATAS before it branched off to HAPI.
Jacobsen: Why is the organization important in a largely religious country?
Masa: People should know that there are alternatives to religion.
Jacobsen: Does religion have sway over politics there?
Masa: Yes. It took an eternity to pass the reproductive health bill. And we’re the only country in the world without divorce.
Jacobsen: Is there a way in which religion can be weakened and more tolerable, and so away from the fundamentalisms that it is prone to?
Masa: People should be aware that religion and politics does not mix. That not favoring any religion would ultimately be beneficial to all religions.
Jacobsen: How many people believe in the devil, angels, ghosts, and so on in the Philippines?
Masa: Most Filipinos.
Jacobsen: Any final feelings or thoughts?
Masa: A person’s beliefs is only a part of the person. We should always find the middle ground for us to get along.
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