Government told not to meddle in religious affairs<\/p>\n
By Febiola Desy Unidjaja and Ahmad Junaidi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Religious groups, observers and legislators
\nsupported calls to limit the role of the state in religious
\naffairs to that of a facilitator to curb radical sects which
\ncould disrupt social harmony.<\/p>\n
Both the Indonesia Ulemas Council (MUI) and the Indonesian
\nCommunion of Churches (PGI) concurred that the existence of a
\nparticular religion in the country should not be dependent upon
\nthe state's consent.<\/p>\n
MUI acting chairman Amidhan told The Jakarta Post on Monday
\nthe state should not have the power to officially recognize or
\nban any major religion.<\/p>\n
He added that the government should not interfere in the
\ntheological teachings of a religion.<\/p>\n
\"Religion should be the concern of the people that hold the
\nbelief. Religion is the right of every man and should not be
\nrestricted by others,\" Amidhan said.<\/p>\n
Similarly, PGI secretary-general J.E. Pattiasina asserted that
\nall major beliefs should be free to exist in the country.<\/p>\n
\"Religions should grow not because of the state's prompting
\nbut due to the people that hold those beliefs,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
Debate about the state's role in religion came to the fore
\nwhen President Abdurrahman Wahid, during a gathering last week to
\ncelebrate the Chinese New Year, said it was not the state's
\nbusiness to interfere in religion.<\/p>\n
He said the existence of any belief or religion was not based
\non whether it was recognized by the government. \"It is actually a
\nmistake for the state to recognize a particular religion .... If
\nthe government does so, it means the government has made a
\nmistake.\"<\/p>\n
Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution guarantees religious
\nfreedom and the first principle of the state ideology Pancasila
\nspecifies the belief in one God.<\/p>\n
However, the government only recognizes five religions: Islam,
\nHinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism and Protestantism. Each citizen
\nis required to acknowledge one of the five as their religion.<\/p>\n
Government Regulation No.4\/1978 also stipulates tolerance for
\nanimistic beliefs.<\/p>\n
Faiths like Confucianism are not officially recognized by the
\ngovernment, although their practice is often tolerated as long as
\nthey are kept out of the public eye.<\/p>\n
The case of Confucianism was aggravated further by the Chinese
\nphobia brought about by the 1965 abortive communist coup.<\/p>\n
Presidential Instruction No.14\/1967 limited the practice of
\nChinese traditions and faiths. This instruction was annulled on
\nJan. 17 by Abdurrahman through Presidential Decree No.6\/2000.<\/p>\n
Damage<\/p>\n
Taufiqurrahman Saleh, deputy chairman of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB), said the state should no longer \"regulate\"
\nreligion.<\/p>\n
\"As long as religions do not harm each other, the state should
\nnot interfere in religious affairs,\" Taufiqurrahman said on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
He believes the past practice of prohibiting certain religions
\nis no longer relevant.<\/p>\n
Golkar Party legislator Ferry Mursyidan Baldan also voiced
\nsupport for the President's comments, saying they were in
\naccordance with the principle of freedom of religion.<\/p>\n
\"But freedom of religion should not cause conflict among the
\nfaiths. This is where the law plays an important role,\" Ferry, a
\nformer chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Students Association,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Social observer Azyumardi Azra noted that the very essence of
\nreligious faith was the freedom of belief, and thus it was
\ncontradictory for the state to interfere with and ban faiths.<\/p>\n
\"The state should have no right to determine whether one
\nreligion is legitimate or not,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
Despite the convergence of views, most of those questioned
\nagreed some administrative intervention was still required from
\nthe government.<\/p>\n
\"For example, the state could be the facilitator in
\ninterreligious dialogs to avoid social clashes, or assist in
\ngiving permits to build houses of worship,\" Amidhan said.<\/p>\n
But Azyumardi warned the government's withdrawal from
\nreligious affairs could lead to the growth of sects with the
\npotential for sparking religious disharmony.<\/p>\n
One important role the government would have to retain,
\nAzyumardi said, was issuing licenses to construct houses of
\nworship.<\/p>\n
He said this issue would remain a highly sensitive subject and
\ntherefore the government should maintain its authority in the
\nmatter.<\/p>\n
Another question is whether all faiths should be allowed to
\npersist without any limitations, particularly sects whose
\nteachings are contradictory to mainstream religions.<\/p>\n
Most agreed in the end that the government should have a role
\nin limiting such sects. However, the government's control should
\nnot be in the sects' theological teachings, but in curbing any
\nsociopolitical impact on social harmony.<\/p>\n
\"The government could ban sects if they were contradictory to
\nthe nation's ideology and became a source of unrest among the
\ncommunity,\" Amidhan said, adding that any prohibitions should not
\nbe based on the objections of the five mainstream religions.<\/p>\n
\"For example, one of Islam's sects is Al-Arqam. This sect is
\nclearly in conflict with (state) ideology. So in this case, the
\ngovernment should ban it,\" he remarked.<\/p>\n
Those questioned said other \"sociopolitical factors\" which
\nwould warrant a sect's banning include the advocacy of violence
\nor the rejection of the state.<\/p>\n
Azyumardi said \"social conflict\" should be the primary reason
\nfor banning a faith.<\/p>\n
\"New religions should be allowed to form as long as they don't
\nignite social contradictions in the country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Taufiqurrahman simply said religions and faiths
\nshould be tolerated \"as long as they don't violate the law\".<\/p>\n
But some concern was voiced by Pattiasina, who underlined the
\nneed to consider the views of the five mainstream religions.<\/p>\n
\"For example, PGI would not accept the government asking us to
\nreview our rejection of the Children of God sect, because its
\nteachings clearly contradict ours.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-told-not-to-meddle-in-religious-affairs-1447893297",
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