Batak church advised to be flexible

Batak church advised to be flexible

JAKARTA (JP): The North Sumatra-based Toba Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) should accommodate the province's traditional values as a means of gaining a wider following, a Batak scholar argued over the weekend.

A.A. Sitompul, a lecturer at the University of Nommensen in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, said at a seminar here on Saturday that the HKBP should be more flexible in its approach to the indigenous culture.

"All religions have gained their institutionalization through tribal cultures," he said. The seminar held at the University of Satya Negara and featured noted Batak scholars focused on the development of the HKBP.

The HKBP, which has long been rocked by internal conflicts so serious that the military has often intervened, is Indonesia's largest church, with over 3 million members.

It has branches in other provinces where the Batak community is sizable.

Sitompul said the church should have the courage to accommodate the cultures of the various sub-ethnic Batak groups, so that it might be acceptable to a wider spectrum of the Batak community.

"The late Nommensen was successful in propagating Christianity in Batak areas thanks largely to his ability to respect the Batak people and their culture," he said.

S.M. Simoramgkir of the Jakarta-based Indonesian Christian University proposed that the HKBP conduct research into the Batak community's "social philosophy".

That knowledge, Simorangkir argued, would provide the HKBP with a deeper understanding of Batak people.

Bihelman Sidabutar of the state Academy of Technology expressed concern that the globalization of information was having negative effects on the younger generation of Bataks.

"Many Batak youths do not know anything about Batak culture and many are even ashamed to tell others that they are Bataks," he said.

Batak culture has always been associated with backwardness and conservatism, he said. (rms)