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View all search resultsCritics lambaste anti-LGBTQ syllabus plan for religious schools
The government's plan to introduce a syllabus that aims to prevent "the spread of LGBTQ culture” has garnered broad criticism from education and rights observers for its antidemocratic stance and its potential to not only reinforce but also legitimize systemic discrimination against a minority group.
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Two people walk past a billboard that reads “Firmly reject LGBT” on July 27, 2026, in Banda Aceh, Aceh. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
E
xperts and activists have censured the government’s plan to introduce a syllabus for religious schools aimed at preventing what it has described as the “spread of LGBTQ culture”, calling the policy a misplaced priority that risked fueling discrimination.
On July 27, the Religious Affairs Ministry announced it was finalizing learning materials that would be integrated into classes at religious educational institutions nationwide, including pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), faith-based schools and religious higher education institutions based on the six constitutionally recognized faiths.
“At the very least, we see that the most important thing is to build awareness on preventing the spread of LGBT cultures to students in education institutions under the ministry,” Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Romo Muhammad Syafi’i said in a statement on July 27.
According to Islamic Higher Education Director Inung, who also heads the ministry’s syllabus drafting team, work is ongoing on the materials with the education directorates for Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism engaging in collaborative discussions on a shared framework.
The syllabus would later be adapted in line with each faith’s views on LGBTQ, he added.
Inung said the team aimed to complete the draft by mid-August, after which it would be discussed further with experts and other stakeholders prior to its formal adoption at a date yet to be determined.
The ministry stated that the planned syllabus was a follow-up to Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 111/2025 on the 2025-2029 national defense policy, which identifies the promotion of LGBTQ culture as a nonmilitary threat alongside from trafficking, atheism and terrorism.
