So many people claim to believe in the Resurrection, and yet it means so little to them. It has no effect in their lives. It is not enough to celebrate Easter and say ‘Christ is risen!’ Indeed, it is useless to proclaim it at all, unless at the same time we can say that we too have risen.

“The long passage of time has brought with it a temptation to keep on speaking about Good Friday without being moved by it. We hear about Christ’s death, and we sit there bored, as if we were reading a newspaper. In fact, we would find a newspaper a good deal more interesting.” — C. F. Blumhardt (1842-1919)

I don’t mean to sound preachy but it’s Holy Week. I cannot help but ponder about the kind of Christianity we practice here in the Philippines and whether such has any role to play in the rut we find ourselves in as a nation.

Indeed, going by the number of religious festivals we have here, the places of worship that dot our landscape, and the religious symbols we see at homes, in workplaces and on people, one can’t deny by casual observation that Filipinos seem to be a very religious people.

But is it the kind of religiosity wherein one can do what one wants for as long as he, or she goes to Mass on Sundays, says the Rosary, or performs the rituals during Holy Week?

How can one explain, for instance, the institutional and cultural corruption in the country? How can a people so deeply religious practice or tolerate such corruption?

Our country’s perennial poor ranking on regional and international survey results on corruption is well known. Just recently the Philippines was rated the fourth most corrupt of 16 major Asia-Pacific investment destinations, according to the survey conducted by the Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC). That’s actually an improvement because in the 2007 PERC survey we were ranked the most corrupt. It’s certainly not news that we’ve been a regular bottom-dweller in similar surveys.

These surveys, of course, always lead to finger pointing at government. Bureaucrats and politicians are blamed for the official corruption that drains public coffers of its already meager resources.

But private corruption is just as extensive and extreme. Many businessmen are not actually paragons of virtue. Private corruption may be just as responsible as public corruption is for making “lack of integrity” a societal problem.

How can one explain the disconnection between our people’s religiosity and the ethics we practice or do not practice in government, in workplaces, in society in general?

Christianity teaches that faith without action is nothing, that for faith to make a difference it has to be lived and fulfilled in our lives. Faith without action is nothing more than false enthusiasm, empty phrases, much like the political rhetoric we hear today.

It’s foolish and shortsighted to talk about economic and political change without seriously addressing the moral fiber of our nation. Should we not depend on our religious values to sustain the commitments we want to see in society?

I don’t want to sound like Brother Eddie, but the man hit on something solid. Religion may not be a cure-all against corruption but it should matter. It should even be the starting point for change.

I know, people don’t necessarily have to be religious to hold values and to have firm ethical principles.

Over the years, I have met many people who don’t even go to church and yet are close to being as humanitarian as Mother Theresa.

Conversely, I have also met many church-going politicians and businessmen who even as they rant against corruption, lying and dishonesty, practice these all the same to advance their personal interests. They believe in “survival of the fittest” because they happen to be on top of the food chain.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has invoked the name of God in a lot all of her public addresses. She regularly attends the prayer rallies of various congregations and flaunts her religious convictions every chance she gets. When she chose to renege on her promise not to run for another term, she even implied that the decision was inspired by her 2003 meeting with John Paul II, who she said blessed the Philippines through her and approved of her policies because they were in accordance with the doctrines of the Church.

This just bolsters the point that Christianity, or Catholicism or any other religion should matter more in the ethical behavior of individuals and organizations.

Sure, we need to deal with public issues of vigilance, enforcement and punishment. We need to look at reforms in our system of governance, look at possible changes in our economy and politics.

But all the political and economic reforms in the world will not succeed if there are people willing to corrupt and be corrupted. No amount of legislation or policy-making can truly prevent crime and corruption because, bottom line, we cannot legislate or appoint integrity or character or honesty. By: Ernesto Herrera