Govt called on to recognize Confucianism
BANDUNGAN, Central Java (JP): Experts called on the government over the weekend to recognize Confucianism, a faith traditionally held by people of Chinese descent here, and to treat its followers as equal to followers of other faiths.
Speaking in a discussion here on Saturday about the recent case of a civil registry office in East Java refusing to register the Confucian marriage of a Chinese couple, the experts warned that the government is running the risk of violating the people's rights if it does not sanction Confucianism.
"Regulations and rulings against anyone's effort to observe their faith are violations of human rights," said Is Susanto, a legal expert at the Semarang-based Diponegoro University.
The other speakers in the seminar were Soewoto, head of the Surabaya University's center for human rights studies, Budhi Munawar Rachman of the Jakarta-based Paramadina Foundation's Islamic Studies Center, and Salatiga-based sociologist Arief Budiman.
The Surabaya Civil Registry Office in East Java recently refused to register a Chinese couple after their wedding ritual was conducted in Boen Bio, a Confucian temple. The couple has filed a lawsuit against the Registry Office at the State Administrative Court in Surabaya.
Marriage Law No.1/1974 states that couples should marry by observing their religious rituals first before being registered at the Registry Office. The law does not mention any specific religion.
Confucianism in Indonesia is widely regarded as an illegal and unrecognized religion, even as a non-religion by some.
The state recognizes five faiths here: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism and Buddhism.
According to Soewoto, however, Confucianism also has legal grounds to exist here because it's mentioned along with the five faiths in a 1965 law.
"The law can be used to say that Confucianism is a sanctioned faith," Soewoto said. "All lower rulings which attempt to negate Confucianism can then be revoked."
The public, he said, could call on the Supreme Court to review all rulings and regulations which are against the 1965 law.
Soewoto said no problems would occur if the government regulated in detail the faiths that people can embrace.
"Religions should not be a state affair," he said. "Unless the government can prove that certain religions and faiths threaten national security, it should allow people to follow any faith."
Budhi agreed, saying that among people's basic rights is the freedom to choose their own faiths. "The state doesn't have the authority to negate this freedom," he said.
Is Susanto called for the legal protection of people's right to follow and practice their faiths.
Arief Budiman saw the case from another point of view, namely the prejudice against people of Chinese descent.
"The power holders shouldn't be suspicious of people who adhere to Confucianism," he said. "Confucianism is a faith, not a culture which has the potential to threaten Indonesia's native cultures.
"Please provide some space for the followers of Confucianism, especially the people of Chinese descent here," Arief said. "If they are trusted and allowed to follow their own faith, I believe that they will be loyal to the Indonesian government."
President Soeharto has often stated that Indonesia does not recognize the terms "legal" or "illegal" religions.
Ethnic Chinese number nearly five million in Indonesia's population of 190 million. A great number of them have abandoned Confucianism and converted to one of the five "official" religions. (har/swe)