It is also one of the oldest religions in the world, having emerged around 3,500 years ago. The sultans declared Islam as a state religion and pursued war against each other as well as the Hindus and other non-Muslim infidels. The clear majority of Indonesian Buddhists consist of the ethnic Chinese community. This is not listed as a separate category in the U.N. data. 14/1967, which effectively banned Chinese culture, including documents printed in Chinese, expressions of Chinese belief, Chinese celebrations and festivities, and even Chinese names. The empire also served as a Buddhist learning centre in the region. Various varieties of animism were already practiced in the region before the arrival of Hinduism (Hinduism arrived in the archipelago through a trade network stretching from China to India in the first century of the Common Era). In some parts of the country, entire villages belong to a distinct denomination, such as Adventism, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Lutheran, Presbyterian or the Salvation Army (Bala Keselamatan) depending on the success of missionary activity. Both are supported by Indonesia's two largest Islamic civil society groups Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, respectively. [77], Confucianism originated in China and was brought to Indonesia by Chinese merchants as early as the 3rd century AD. Among the Indonesian Buddhists follow major Buddhist schools: Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Theravada. [7] In addition, Aceh officially enforces Sharia law and is notorious for its discriminatory practices towards religious and sexual minorities. Being deemed divisive, the 1961 census data regarding religion was not published. This loosely organised current of thought and practice was legitimised in the 1945 constitution and, in 1973, when it was recognised as Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa (Believer of One Supreme God) that somewhat gain the status as one of the agama. Languages. [63], Following the downfall of President Sukarno in the mid-1960s and the mandatory policy of having a religion,[75] founder of Perbuddhi (Indonesian Buddhists Organisation), Bhikku Ashin Jinarakkhita, proposed that there was a single supreme deity, Sanghyang Adi Buddha. Encyclopedia of Protestantism, p. 824. cf. How do they all co-exist? [57], As of 2010, 3% of Indonesians are Catholics, nearly half the number of Protestants at 7%. Idul Fitri. Only 0.7 percent of the Indonesian population - or 1.7 million individuals - are Buddhists. However, it was not always put into practice. He was also backed up with the history behind the Indonesian version of Buddhism in ancient Javanese texts, and the shape of the Borobudur Temple. 34/2021 on the Utilization of Foreign Employment, Copyright © Van der Schaar Investments B.V. Delft The Netherlands. This practice was applied in many places, including the national registration card, marriage registration, and family registration card. This Protestantism is mostly a result of Dutch Reformed and Lutheran missionary efforts during the country's colonial period. However, the figures are likely higher, since practitioners of Confucianism and Taoism, the latter of which is not considered an official religion, referred to themselves as Buddhists on the census. The world's largest Buddhist monument, Borobudur, was built by Sailendra and around the same time, the Hindu monument Prambanan was also built. There are other religions such as, Christians, Catholics, Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian. The Batak people from North Sumatra is also one of the major Protestant groups in Indonesia, comprising around 65% out of all ethnic population. Starting from the 16th century Islam became the dominant religion on Sumatra and Java. [116], Nevertheless, the 2010 report to the United States Congress by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom noted attacks against the Shia communities in Indonesia, particularly in East Java and Madura. Regarding Indonesia's recent history, one important turning point can be discerned. In 1971, three groups of Christians were recorded: Catholic, Protestant and other. [90], Dukun and pawang are Indonesians' terms for a shaman (the Malays in Indonesia use word bomoh). In the latest population census data, 87 percent of Indonesians declared themselves to be Muslim, followed by 9.87 percent who were Christian. In Indonesian society, Muslims and Christians live in social harmony. The most significant result was on the island of Flores and East Timor where VOC concentrated. [54], Catholicism arrived in the archipelago during the Portuguese arrival with spice-trading over the 14th and 15th century. [3] Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population[4][5] and the first principle of Indonesia's philosophical foundation, Pancasila requires its citizens to "believe in the one and only God". Parts of Sumatra were also targeted, most notably the Batak people who are predominantly Protestant today. [89], Indonesian social-religious Saminism Movement (also Sedulur Sikep) rejected the capitalist views of the colonial Dutch, was founded by Surosentiko Samin in north-central Java (Blora) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Darsa, Undang A. Currently, it is the only synagogue in Indonesia that provides services. 2021 Edition: Light at the End of the Tunnel? Surabaya (East Java): 2.843 million. Those who practiced Confucianism therefore "changed" their religion to Buddhism or Christianity (on their identity cards only). However, on most Indonesian islands this chapter in its history has been erased by time or conquest. [96], The community is subject to a measure of government discrimination. [14], Indonesian law requires its citizens to have a KTP that identifies them with one of the six religions, but they are able to leave that section blank. Eastern Christianity operates in Indonesia under the label "Kristen" together with Protestants. M/6/HI.00.01/V/2020 on the implementation of the payment of the religious holiday allowance ( Tunjangan Hari Raya – THR) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Geography - note. Today, most Buddhists are Chinese Indonesians and, to a lesser extent, among the Javanese and Balinese. This does, however, not mean that it constitutes a coherent group. [50], The Council of Churches in Indonesia (CCI) is the sole umbrella for most Protestant churches. A number of ancestral animistic/polytheistic indigenous religions (Austronesian and Papuan ethnic beliefs) are present, which were dominant throughout the archipelago before the arrival of Dharmic and Abrahamic religions. [116] On 6 December 2004, the "Dialogue On Interfaith Cooperation: Community Building and Harmony" conference was opened. [49] Although these two branches are the most common, a multitude of other denominations can be found elsewhere in Indonesia. [84], However, "the branches/flows of beliefs" (Indonesian: aliran kepercayaan), including local new religious movements, are partly recognised according to a 2017 decision of the Constitutional Court. Confucianism was brought to the Archipelago (from mainland China), primarily by Chinese merchants and immigrants starting from the 3rd century of the Common Era. In addition, the religion focuses more on art and ritual rather than scriptures, laws and beliefs. Some clerics invoke the first Pancasila principle to argue that it is illegal, while legal scholars say that the principle was adopted as a compromise between secular nationalist, Muslim and non-Muslim founders, and not intended to ban atheism. [23], The Portuguese introduced Catholicism in the 16th century, notably to the island of Flores and to what was to become East Timor. [78][79][80], After the Indonesian independence in 1945, Confucianism was affected by several political conflicts. In recent years it has happened that Indonesians who published atheist worldviews on social networks were threatened by their local community and arrested by the police on charges of blasphemy; charges that can lead to imprisonment. By representing themselves as Hindu deities, they managed to grow their status. The same distinction can be found in the other religions. Citizens in western Indonesia are mostly Muslims with Christians a small minority, while in eastern regions, the Christian populations are similar in size or larger than the Muslim population. Composition of Indonesia's Six Official Religions, Source: Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik), Population Census 2010. [81][80], Following the fall of Suharto in 1998, Abdurrahman Wahid was elected as the country's fourth president. At first sight these two conditions seem to be somewhat contradictory but Soekarno, Indonesia's first president, resolved this issue by hypothesizing that every religion (including 'soft polytheistic' Hinduism) essentially has one highest Supreme Being to which one subjects oneself. There are six official religions recognized by the government — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Their societal role is that of a traditional healer, spirit medium, custom and tradition experts and on occasion sorcerers and masters of black magic. The province of East Nusa Tenggara, where the island of Flores and West Timor are located, is the only province in Indonesia where Catholics are the majority (about 54.14% of the total population). As a result, there is an inclusiveness that the kebatinan believer could identify themselves with one of six officially recognised religions, at least in KTP, while still subscribe to their kebatinan belief and way of life. Aris Ananta, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, M Sairi Hasbullah, Nur Budi Handayani, Agus Pramono. The meeting, attended by ASEAN countries, Australia, East Timor, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea was intended to discuss possible cooperation between different religious groups to minimise inter-religious conflict in Indonesia. [2] Most Buddhists are concentrated in Jakarta, although other provinces such as Riau, North Sumatra and West Kalimantan also have a significant number of practitioners. However, it was de-recognized by the Suharto government as the regime tried to restrict expressions that originated from China (including the Chinese language, celebrations, and names) in order to prevent the emergence of clashes between the native Indonesians and ethnic Chinese (although forming less than 3 percent of the Indonesian population, this Chinese minority gained a disproportionately large share in the nation's economy). [25] Christianity later spread from the coastal ports of Kalimantan, and missionaries arrived among the Torajans on Sulawesi. It should be emphasized, however, that the Indonesian followers of above-mentioned religions do not form coherent groups. Statistically, 7% of the total population declared themselves Protestant in a 2010 census. The hostility of the Dutch toward Catholicism is due to its history where the Protestant Dutch gained their independence after the Eighty Years War against Catholic Spain's rule.