STRUCTURAL-ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES OF RELIGIOUS CHANGE IN NORTHERN LUZON, PHILIPPINES

Some theoretical observations are made on the basis of the collection & analysis of field data on a lowland, northern Luzon group, the Ilocanos, Philippines. The approach uses models advanced for the study of religion to clarify certain structural arrangements which can be seen in patterns of both persistence & change as reported for a variety of cultural-linguistic groups in northern Luzon. The relationship between religious belief system & soc order is briefly discussed. A process of complicated culture drift, stimulated by contacts with the Chinese, Spanish, & Amer's is noted. It is illustrated by the "Ilocanizing" of Spanish Catholicism which took place after some initial resistance to Christianity. G. E. Swanson's model for monotheism & polytheism (THE BIRTH OF THE GODS: THE ORIGIN OF PRIMITIVE BELIEFS, Ann Arbor, Mich: U of Michigan Press, 1960) is found useful. It is held that part of the dynamics of soc & cultural change in northern Luzon can be understood in terms of the diff'ial structure & org of religious beliefs, ie, the feasibility of assimilating & syncretizing one system of beliefs for another as seen in terms of the models for monotheism & polytheism. These terms help to show how certain religious or ideological changes were or are possible. M. Maxfield.