D

espite having the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia, unlike neighboring Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, has never made Islam its official religion so as to acknowledge the existence of other major faiths in the country.

For decades, Indonesian children have been taught that the country recognizes only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

This policy, stipulated in the 1965 Blasphemy Law, was often hailed as a hallmark of Indonesia’s diversity during the Soeharto era.

More than 18 years after the former strongman’s downfall, the government has finally admitted that the policy is in fact a denial of the country’s diversity and may contravene the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.

In reality, Indonesia is also home to hundreds of native faiths and other minor religions that deserve equal rights and protection.

The Religious Affairs Ministry is now working to officially recognize the country’s indigenous religions through a bill on the protection of religious followers, which is still being drafted by the ministry.

The bill would aim to ensure the followers of native faiths have the same rights as those embracing mainstream religions.

“The fact that minority groups are still suffering is something that has become my concern, as not only does it disrespect human rights, it has also harmed Indonesia’s image on the global stage,” Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin
said in his keynote speech at an international symposium on religious life held by the ministry on Wednesday.

Lukman, regarded by many as the most progressive religious affairs minister the country has seen in years, said the government could no longer deny the existence of the followers of hundreds of local faiths because they were part of the nation’s fabric. They deserved equal treatment as that of followers of mainstream religions, he added.

There are currently about 10 million followers of native faiths across the country.

About 60 percent of them have been forced to pick one of the six religions to put on their ID cards, while the rest have refused to bow down to legal and social pressures and have opted to leave the religion column on their ID cards blank.

Consequently, they are denied access to public services across the country, such as being able to register their marriages to the government and to bury their family members in public cemeteries.

“The government should act to stop such discrimination in public services and the most importantly the government should step up efforts to stop social discrimination that followers of minority faiths are currently facing in their neighborhoods,” said Alamsyah Djafar, a researcher for the rights group, the Wahid Institute.

The ministry expects to submit the bill to the House of Representatives by the end of this year.

Other than acknowledging indigenous religions, Lukman said, the bill would also aim to address problems regarding the establishment of houses of worship and the rise of religious extremism that could disrupt religious harmony.

Indonesia has been repeatedly under an international spotlight for its failure to protect the followers of minority religious groups such as Ahmadiyah and Shia, who have been declared deviant by the majority Sunni Muslims. It is unclear if the two minority Islamic denominations would also be recognized in the bill.

The Wahid Institute recorded 190 violations against freedom of religion in 2015, a 23 percent increase from 154 cases in 2014. The violations were mostly in the form of sealing places of worship and the prohibition of their construction, as well as obstructing celebrations or the performance of rituals of certain faiths.

West Java tops the list, with 46 violations, followed by Aceh with 36 cases and Jakarta with 23, making them the most intolerant provinces.