Religion in Indonesia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Religion in Indonesia - Essay Example The Indonesian population is estimated to be 88 percent Muslims, 5.8 percent Protestants, 2.9 percent Catholics, 2 percent Hindus and 0.9 percent Buddhism (Slater, 2004). According to the Indonesian Constitution (McLeod & McIntyre 2007, pp 91): â€Å"the state is based on belief in One God† And,â€Å"the state guarantees the freedom of all residents to worship according to their own religion and beliefs† Although this is written in the constitution, the government does not show as much tolerance, as it acknowledges just five religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, and Buddhism (Gort, Jansen & Vroom, 2004). Religion in Indonesia was considered to be a complicated and unpredictable matter in the beginning of the 1990s. It could not be evaluated without difficulty in terms of social rank, location or race. Even though Islam, Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions had a part in affecting the different parts of life, the Indonesian government did not allow religious parties to play a part in politics. The government assured acceptance of some particular religions (agama) which were monotheistic. These religions included Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. However, these were only tolerated provided that they did not enter the political arena. Since the mid 1970s the government of Indonesia has officially recognized five religions that are mentioned above. Indonesia happens to be the most heavily populated nation with Muslims, globally (Forshee, 2006); about 88 percent of the Indonesians are Muslims (Slater, 2004). In the country, several of the provinces and islands consisted of a majority of the population being Islamic adherents. The range was from more than 50 percent in Kalimantan Bara and Maluku provinces to the degree 97.8 percent in the Special Region of Aceh. In Indonesia the two sects of Christianity, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, are acknowledged as two separate religions. The Christians in Indonesia are in a minority. Around 5.8 percent of the Indonesians are Protestants while 2.9 percent are Catholics. Then there is Hinduism. The certified figure of Hindus in Indonesia is 10m (2007). According to this figure, Indonesia is globally the fourth largest country with Hindus. Just like Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism was also very much changed so as to suit the Indonesian culture. Even though the caste system existed in form, it was not at all strictly put in practice. Mahabharata and the Ramayana were the Hindu religious classics and they were made permanent cultures amongst the Indonesian followers (Forshee, 2006). They expressed it through shadow puppet and dance presentations. Sikhs are recorded as Hindus in Indonesia due to the fact that the country does not recognize Sikhism as a religion (Kesavapany, Mani & Ramasamy, 2008). The last of the fifth official religion is Buddhism which happens to be the second oldest religion in Indonesia. The 1990 national census showed that greater than 1 percent of the Indonesian population follow Buddhism as their religion. Initially Buddhism was a scholarly doctrine and just slightly related to the paranormal. However, there have now been plenty of changes in it due to politics as well as the individual emotive wish to be protected from the so many fears by a supreme divinity. In several manners, Buddhism is very much distinctive, with every human being responsible for his own person. Any person can perform meditation by himself and does not require any