LGBTQ Deemed Non-Military Threat, Religious Affairs Ministry Outlines Prevention Strategy

The Ministry of Religious Affairs is preparing educational content to prevent the spread of LGBTQ culture following its classification as a non-military threat to national defence under Presidential Regulation No. 111 of 2025. Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Romo Syafi’i stated that the ministry must take a clear position on LGBTQ issues as they concern religious values, human dignity, education, and national resilience. “I consider this very serious because it concerns values and human dignity. Presidential Regulation No. 111 of 2025 lists the spread of LGBTQ culture as a non-military threat to national defence,” Romo Syafi’i said on Monday. As the institution responsible for religious affairs, he said the ministry has a moral and institutional responsibility to follow up on the mandate of the regulation. He stressed that the spread of LGBTQ culture must be prevented through official education grounded in religious values, Pancasila, and the 1945 Constitution. The ministry’s stance is built upon religious perspectives. Romo Syafi’i revealed he had discussed the matter with various religious leaders, all of whom shared the view that LGBTQ is not justified in their teachings. “I have asked religious leaders. Catholic leaders said LGBTQ is not justified in Catholicism. Hindu leaders said the same. Buddhist leaders said the same. Christian leaders said the same. Islam, even more so,” he said. He explained that these religious views serve as a crucial foundation for the ministry in formulating educational and preventive measures. He asserted that all policies and social movements in Indonesia must remain within the framework of the belief in the One Almighty God. The Deputy Minister further explained that Pancasila, as the nation’s philosophical foundation, must be the reference point for addressing all national issues, including LGBTQ matters, while the 1945 Constitution serves as the juridical foundation. “In the Indonesian context, we must all be based on the philosophical foundation of Pancasila and the juridical foundation of the 1945 Constitution,” he said. He emphasised that the first principle of Pancasila, Belief in the One Almighty God, animates all other principles. Therefore, the values of humanity, unity, democracy, and social justice must be interpreted within the framework of divinity. “No activity, no decision, no policy in this republic may contradict the constitution or Article 29 paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, which is based on Belief in the One Almighty God,” Romo Syafi’i stressed. Consequently, he urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs not to hesitate in formulating educational materials to prevent the spread of LGBTQ culture. He maintained that if religious teachings reject the justification of LGBTQ, then the ministry’s stance must be built on that same foundation. “All say that LGBTQ contradicts religious teachings and Article 29 paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution,” he concluded.