Trends

One predicts the future of Paganism only at great risk. Most Christians believe that the old religion is in irreversible decline, for both spiritual and economic reasons. Many Pagan leaders are also worried; not only competing religions but also secular education and bachelor cynicism threaten Paganism. One manbunung foresees calamity for the community unless at least one member of each family line continues to mollify the ancestors.

For the moment, the two faiths and a variety of syncretic offshoots uneasily coexist. Despite the reiterated predictions of its demise over the last hundred years, Paganism remains the majority faith in Buguias and in many other parts of the Cordillera as well. Neither education nor economic change consistently undermines its appeal; it is an adaptable faith, which may yet convert or reconvert adherents of other religions. Indeed, a few Ilocanos, Tagalogs, and Chinese, including some wealthy and powerful individuals, have recently called on Benguet's ritual specialists to seek heavenly favor. Clearly it is too soon to say what will become of Buguias's pluralistic religious heritage when the present generation of elders passes away.