José Rizal’s political novel Noli Me Tangere examines how Spain’s colonization of the Philippines allowed

the Catholic church to dominate and rule the region. Colonialism produced tensions that would, roughly
a decade after Rizal’s novel was published, lead Filipino natives to revolt against Spain’s oppressive
religious and governmental bodies in the Philippine Revolution. Through Ibarra, the book’s protagonist
who returns to the Philippines after having spent seven years in Europe, Rizal shows the shocking extent
to which the Catholic friars have commandeered the country’s politics and culture, manipulating the
lives of Filipino citizens in an attempt to assert authority and influence. Thus, Rizal illustrates the Catholic
priests’ corruption and their unchecked power, which doesn’t stem from actual religious zeal, but rather
from a love of supremacy that colonization has enabled and encouraged.

The Spanish friars’ abuse of power is evident early in Noli Me Tangere. When Ibarra returns from seven
years in Europe, he discovers that his father Don Rafael—who openly criticized the church and refused
to go to confession—tangled with the friars in his hometown of San Diego. Because of his views about
the church and his commitment to helping poor children attend secular schools, the friars slandered his
name and did everything in their power to undermine his influence