Marriage outside the five religions illegal in Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Religion can be a touchy subject for couples, particularly for those of different faiths.

Predominantly Muslim Indonesia prohibits interfaith marriages and denies the civil rights of followers of religions other than the five major state-recognized faiths -- Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Data from the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP) shows that more 400,000 people follow nondenominational faith Kepercayaan Terhadap Tuhan Yang Maha Esa (Belief in One God), which is not officially recognized by the state.

Nor does Indonesia recognize Khonghucu, a faith to which many ethnic Chinese adhere.

According to the ICRP, there are around 245 nondenominational faith organizations across the country.

These groups are under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism instead of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, as they are categorized as mysticism or cultural concepts rather than religions.

Followers of nondenominational religion are discriminated against, regardless of the integrity of their beliefs.

In 1973, calls increased for such beliefs to be given an equal footing with the five officially recognized religions. However, the 1978-1982 State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) stated that a special ruling stipulated that Kepercayaan Terhadap Tuhan Yang Maha Esa was not to be recognized as a religion.

Marriage between believers of these faiths is illegal under the law, and thus, couples are not entitled to marriage certificates, unless they convert to a state-recognized religion.

If they refuse to comply with the law, children born in wedlock are nevertheless declared illegitimate.

In Bogor, West Java, many residents follow the Khonghucu faith but their ID cards often state otherwise -- they have converted to official religions on paper only.

The ICRP said the existence of nondenominational sects had been observed by the government's Society of Spiritual Ideology Monitoring (PAKEM) team.

The team comprises officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the National Police.

Moreover, the government considers the groups associated with the unrecognized religions merely as mass, not religious, organizations.

ICRP secretary-general Siti Musdah Mulia has called on the government to give every religion the same recognition and rank, as required by the 1945 Constitution.

"Religion is like love, it can't be rationalized. It's ridiculous that people have to follow only recognized religions. Indigenous religions were practiced in this country long before the major religions arrived," said Musdah, a gender expert and Islamic jurisprudence scholar.

She said the civil rights of followers of unrecognized religions had long been neglected and it was time to remedy the situation.