SSC News and Events 2012

Dr Angelina Gutiérrez presents scholarly paper at Conference on "Religions and Asian Public Life"
By Dr. Angelina Gutiérrez, College Faculty
Posted: Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Dr. Angelina Gutiérrez, representing St. Scholastica's College-Manila, was invited to the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia conference on 'Religions and Asian Public Life' held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong at Chung Chi College/Faculty of Theology last July 6-7, 2012. The conference initiated scholarly discussions on the role of religions as these affect Asian public life.

Dr. Gutiérrez who was one of the first batch of postdoctoral fellows in 2004 at the United Board's Institute of Advanced Studies in Asian Cultures and Theologies, presented her research paper entitled 'The 'option for the poor' as the praxis of Catholic education in the Philippines: A case study of religion in the public square'. Dr. Gutiérrez was one of the four women from the eleven scholars who lectured during the conference. Her research paper explored the role of Christianity in promoting integral human development for the common good of civil society, through the space offered by Catholic education's 'preferential option for the poor' projects. Since the Catholic Church has a strong voice in the Philippine public sphere, Dr. Gutiérrez pointed out the value of investing in the cultural 'faith capital' of the Filipino people so that religion could support the state in safeguarding human dignity, human rights, the common good and the promotion of a virtuous civil society. She also recommended that other nations who have similar religious freedom like the Philippines could follow the same path.

When asked about her insights regarding the conference, she commented:

"It is always refreshing to collaborate with the United Board as an ecumenical community of Christian scholars. Overall the conference was intellectually engaging and spiritually enriching. The conference articulated the challenges and the contributions of religions towards the common good through engagement in public life. Certainly, this kind of discussion is vital today because I would not want to happen in the Philippines what is currently taking place in the USA with the controversial health reform mandate of Obama, which compels Catholic medical institutions to go against their moral conscience, hence, violating the basic human right of religious freedom. Wherever we are, I believe it is our duty as Christian Catholics, together with other faith-based higher education community of scholars, to stand up against immoral civil laws that assault our faith in defense of religious liberty, human dignity and the common good."