Filipino Freethinkers (also known as FF) is the largest and most active organization for

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It aims to promote reason, science, and secularism as a means of improving every

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

's quality of life. FF is active in the

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

movement, working to promote the passage of the

Reproductive Health Bill The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, also known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, and officially designated as Republic Act No. 10354, is a Philippine law that provided universal access to methods on contracept ...

. They also fight for equal rights for women and the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community, and have been regular participants in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

Pride March The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City. Among the largest Pride events in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each Ju ...

events since 2010. They work with other organizations doing mobilization activities and were part of the Occupy for RH movement in 2011. They also advocate

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

and science education. The organization and its different chapters hold informal meet-ups, usually in coffee shops and restaurants. In between general meet-ups every other week, some chapters opt to hold local meet-ups.

History

Filipino Freethinkers was founded by Ryan "Red" Tani. It was officially established on February 1, 2009, when members of the Filipino Freethinkers

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had their first meetup. The organization then began meeting-up regularly in coffee shops to discuss current events, politics, theology, science, and other topics related to secularism and freethought.

Excommunication Party

On November 26, 2010, the organization hosted an "

Excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Party" (full title “If Supporting the RH Bill Means Excommunication, Excommunicate Me!”), as a protest against the Catholic Church's opposition to the

Bantay Bishop

In July 2011, certain

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

bishops admitted to receiving

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

s from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). This allegedly violated certain Philippine laws that prohibit and/or limit transactions between religious and state institutions under the principle of secularism. In reaction, FF founded the "Bantay Bishop Movement" and spearheaded a protest demonstration on July 13, 2011, in front of the Philippine Senate alongside other activist groups that denounced the bishops' behavior.

March against art censorship

On August 21, 2011, FF and other organizations gathered at the Cultural Center of the Philippines to protest censorship and show their support for

following the controversy generated by a recent exhibit there by Mideo Cruz entitled ''Poleteismo''. Catholic groups labeled ''Poleteismo'' as blasphemous for juxtaposing religious images and representations of genitalia, among many other objects. FF also emphasized the legal argument against censorship by referring t
General Comment 34
a document released by the

United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per y ...

, which affirms blasphemy as a human right.

Globe Tatt Awards

On August 26, 2011, FF was awarded "The One" award in the Globe Tatt Awards, "for leading the pack in terms of online popularity and shaping opinion in the local online community".

Reason, Science, Secularism (R.S.S.) Forum and Awards

On April 1, 2012, FF held their own "Reason, Science, and Secularism Forum" at

U.P.–Ayala Land TechnoHub The U.P.–Ayala Land TechnoHub is an information technology hub jointly developed by the University of the Philippines Diliman and property developer Ayala Land. It is located in Commonwealth Avenue, Barangay U.P. Campus, Quezon City.

, cosponsored by the University of the Philippines Center for Women's Studies. The forum was held to discuss issues such as the reproductive health bill, freedom of expression, science, freedom of religion, and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The R.S.S Awards were presented during the forum, with each winner receiving a trophy and 10,000 pesos awarded to their cause. The winners were former law dean

Raul Pangalangan Raul Cano Pangalangan (born September 1, 1958) is a Filipino lawyer, and a retired judge of the International Criminal Court. A graduate of Political Science and Law from the University of the Philippines, Pangalangan received his Law master's d ...

for the Reason Award, astrophysicist Reina Reyes for the Science Award, and RH-bill author Senator Pia Cayetano for the Secularism Award. Additionally, a Bigot of the Year award was given to Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III as “a Filipino who best exemplifies irrational prejudice against a group of people, and who has used considerable power and influence to offend and oppress this group.”. The 10,000 pesos prize for the award was donated to an organization that works for the betterment of the offended group or supports a cause opposed by the winner.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em Freethought organizations Skeptic organizations in the Philippines Secularism in the Philippines