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cholars and researches at a conference in Yogyakarta are urging religious leaders to play a more active role in helping to create sustainable communities in Southeast Asia.

Attendees at the “International Conference and Research on the Resurgence of Religion in Southeast Asia” discussed the interaction between religious revitalization and political, social and economic change in the region.

“In the last 20 years, throughout Southeast Asia, there has been an increase in public expression and influence,” steering committee head Bernard Adeney-Risakotta told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The four-day forum features 30 scholars and 60 invited participants, and is hosted by the Yogyakarta-based Indonesia Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS). The consortium is funded by three universities with different religious identities — Gadjah Mada University, Duta Wacana Christian University and Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic Universty.

“We are trying to understand how religions affect or influence social and political change. Religions are also affected by social and political change,” Adeney-Risakotta said.

The conference is expected to propose suggestions to help address the issue, and policy makers, grassroots leaders and community leaders are advised to examine and learn about the issues.

“This is only the beginning of a research project that will continue for one to two years,” Adeney-Risakotta said.

“We plan to have a workshop for government leaders, activists and grassroots leaders, with the hope that they can influence policy makers.”

The conference is being held against the backdrop of increasingly strained interactions between groups in Indonesia, with minorities facing resistance from other groups in the community.

Ahmadiyah followers are being persecuted across the country, with recent reports from West Nusa Tenggara that Ahmadis had to leave their homes because of resistance from locals who thought Ahmadis were disseminating teachings that strayed from “true” Islam.

The sealing of Christian churches in Bekasi, West Java, by the government is another example. The government’s action is thought to have stemmed from outside pressures from a certain group, with the state then failing to protect another group.

“That’s one aspect. Actually, the resurgence has many aspects, not only the increasing prominence of hard-line groups,” Adeney-Risakotta said. “Because of democratization, they are now more open. They have gained more publicity than they ever did before.”

— JP/Musthofid