Contention, Rhetoric, and Power

Pagan ideology is far from a single orthodoxy. Theories of reality and notions of proper conduct vary considerably; continual debate on such questions creates a shared field of discourse more than a unified body of ideas. Since whole groups of individuals have rejected the ideology of their parents for Christianity, that field of discourse has been widened and partially rent in the postwar period.

Inequalities of power color ideological discussions. Wealthy individuals seek to maintain their positions by manipulating the religious order, while less powerful groups try to counter the status quo or at least to effect compromises. In Buguias the elite cling fervently to Paganism. The richest, the chrispa sycretists, espouse Christian doctrine as well, but all seek to perpetuate the feast system.

Even the elite do not comprise an entirely homogeneous group with respect to this issue. The truly wealthy, a cosmopolitan group residing in the provincial capital as often as in Buguias, can finance their required celebrations at little cost to their businesses or to their accustomed levels of consumption. For these fortunate few, Pagan ceremonies are reasonable social and political investments, yet not indispensable ones; if the feast system were to collapse, their positions would not be jeopardized.

The village-bound middle ranks of the elite have more at stake in the system's perpetuation. This group is largely comprised of elders who owe their positions more to lifelong diligence than to dramatic business successes. They live frugally, saving as much as possible to finance their own and their neighbors' observances. By their clothing one might suspect many of them to be among the poorest members of the community. But their role in Paganism brings them considerable power in the council of elders, and if the feast system were to collapse, these individuals would fall with it.

In general, ritual obligations weigh heaviest on those of intermediate wealth. The poorest can simply decline to celebrate without fear of being turned away from their neighbors' feasts. But this option is not open to the less successful members of respectable family lines, individuals who must endure the financial and social pressures of their richer relatives. If such persons announce that they cannot afford the requisite ceremonies, they are virtually cornered into joining a Christian church. Converting will not convince relatives to desist from their hounding, but it does afford an ideological stance from which to resist, as well as an alternative community. Although all Christians do not convert for economic reasons, Christian leaders recognize that initial leanings toward the church often stem from resentment against the expenses of Paganism and the relentless pressures associated with it.

New Christians in Buguias are encouraged to study the scriptures in order to derive a less worldly foundation for their beliefs. In essence, they are taught to reject the premise that material wealth reflects spiritual worth. The fully converted level the charge of materialism against Paganism, accusing traditionalists of debasing the spiritual with the economic. Pagans, who insist that it is precisely through material goods that the linkages between heaven and earth are made manifest, return the accusation, arguing that Christians prefer to squander their wealth on personal luxuries rather than to share it with the community at large.