Defining 'religious' in Indonesia

Toward neither an Islamic nor a secular state

Bibliographic Data

ID4525486
AuthorsM Seo (0000-0002-4677-498X, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume16
Issue8
Pages1045-1058
Publication date2012-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCitizenship Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-1025 • E-ISSN: 1469-3593
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13621025.2012.735028
OpenAlexW2090226065
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited23

Every state manages religion in one way or another, and religious violence often justifies state intervention to control how a religion should be presented, preached and, most importantly, limited. This paper examines the state management of religion in Indonesia with focus on state regulations promulgated during the New Order period. The Indonesian state has managed religion by making religious practices less focused on spirituality but more a matter of state administration. Four regulations in particular exemplify the state's attitude toward religion, namely the Presidential Decree in 1965 on the state-recognised religions, the Joint Ministerial Decree on Houses of Worship in 1969 and 2006, the National Marriage Law in 1974 and the Ministerial Decrees on mission activities in 1978.In brief, this state management of religion has been enabling Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, to be governed as neither an Islamic state like Saudi Arabia nor an outright secular state like Turkey among the Muslim countries. Keywords: Indonesiastate management of religionsecularismPancasilareligious majority and minority Acknowledgement This work was supported by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund of 2012. Notes 1. The motivations for conversion are varied. My fieldwork in Java indicated however that conversion was often associated with the issues of the post-marital residence and revenue source. Important determinants of conversion and its timing mostly coincided with the time when the couple decided the location of residence after marriage and where they could find work. I found Wawan made up his mind to convert to Christianity around the time when the couple talked about the possibility of settling down in Sugiati's hometown after the marriage ceremony. For the details of conversion in contemporary Java see Seo (Citation2013). 2. Although the background of the conflict is multi-layered, the governmental policy of transmigration, which relocated impoverished Javanese Muslims into the predominantly Christian area of Maluku, intensified the competition between Muslims and Christians for limited state resources (Klinken Citation2001). 3. After Japan's surrender, the Dutch attempted to reoccupy Indonesia and Islamic organisations such as Masyumi and the NU encouraged Muslim youths to join the fight for independence from 1945 to 1949. 4. The Jakarta Charter again failed to gain parliamentary approval in 2002. 5. Cited in Crouch (Citation1978), p. 207. 6. Regarding a conspiracy in the coup plot, see Roosa Citation2006. Roosa argues that there never was an organised PKI movement which was plotting to overthrow the government. 7. The Chinese Pentecostals require a separate study in its own right because Pentecostals have contributed much to the development of both Christianity and religious violence in contemporary Indonesia. 8. According to the census from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2000, there was 0.2% whose beliefs fell outside state-recognised religions. These minority groups have been campaigning for their beliefs, for example, Kepercayaan in Kalimantan, to be recognised as official religions (Ricklefs Citation2001, p. 354). 9. Indonesia went through massive proselytisation campaign in the post-1965 period. The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) experienced the rapid growth of its membership and began to enjoy the influence such growth brought about. Founded in 1950 with 27 member denominations, the PGI membership reached 36 in 1965, 44 in 1974, 49 in 1978 and 88 in 2008 (Ukur and Cooley Citation1979, Seo Citation2013). 10. For example, there was only one Christian church in the Central Javanese district of Getasan in 1965, but the number of churches in the region had reached 74 (21 denominations) by 2008. Furthermore, high-profile missionary activities, especially among Evangelicals and Pentecostals, led to heated discussions in public and contributed toward the deteriorating relationship between Muslims and Christians. 11. The Indonesian state failed to protect minorities at this time from ethnic violence (Chinese), inter-religious violence (Christian) and intra-religious violence (Ahmadiyya sect). 12. According to Katz and Katz (Citation1975, p. 653), there are about 19 customary legal systems in Indonesia; some parts derive from Islamic law, some from Dutch law, some from English legislation and some from post-colonial Indonesian legislation. 13. Rendi Akhmad Witular, 2006. SBY urges end to debate on Pancasila's merits, The Jakarta Post, 2 June, Business

Christianity · Geography · Islam · Political science · Politics · Population · Religious conversion · Secular state · Secularism · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Gender and Women's Rights · Law · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies

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