'Religious coexistence in RI strong'

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians have strong sense of religious tolerance, despite recent evidence to the contrary, a survey shows.

A poll of 1,000 people in the three major cities of Medan, Jakarta and Surabaya showed the majority (64.3 percent) do not pick their neighbors because of their religion.

Conducted by the Center for the Study of Development and Democracy (CESDA), the poll found that a whopping 97 percent would help or at least be concerned if neighbors of different faiths were in difficulties. CESDA was established by the Institute for Research, Education and Information of Social and Economic Affairs (LP3ES).

Almost 71 percent of respondents said they would not choose friends on the basis of religion, while 86.4 percent said they would not feel uncomfortable working with people of different faiths. In addition, 66.7 percent said they would recruit employees based on their skills rather than their religions.

The poll also found the majority of the people surveyed, or 63.2 percent, found it acceptable to give well-wishes to people of different faiths during their holiday celebrations, be it Christmas, Idul Fitri, Waisak or Galungan.

A whopping 95.5 percent of people surveyed said they would feel happy to receive greetings from people of different beliefs. Almost 39 percent said they would accept attending other religions' celebrations.

Quite a number of people surveyed said they would be willing to give (28.2 percent) or receive (50.6 percent) donations for the construction of houses of worship of other religions.

The poll also showed respondents were very aware of the need for religious coexistence. A total of 86.8 percent said Indonesians of different religions coexist well; only 9.8 percent said Indonesians do not live together harmoniously.

Most of the people surveyed, 48.5 percent, attributed the religious harmony to people's own awareness; 35.2 percent said religions teach them so, while 12.5 percent said they live harmoniously because of the government's call to do so.

Inter-faith marriage, however, was an entirely different matter. The researchers cited the 1974 Marriage Law, which recognized same-religion marriages only, and community opinion.

In the poll, 81 percent said they would not accept their relatives marrying people of different faiths. A total of 85.8 percent of Moslem respondents said they would not accept interfaith marriages. Among non-Moslem respondents, 50 percent said they would accept inter-faith marriages, while 47.6 percent said they would not.

Those who would accept such marriages for people other than their relatives said it was the right of the people concerned (39.9 percent). The majority of this group, 70.2 percent, said it was the individuals' right to make such marriages; in addition, 5 percent said such marriages took place because of destiny.

The poll surveyed 600 Jakartans, 250 Surabayans and 150 residents of Medan, and lasted from Dec. 6 to 20. The respondents were 500 men and 500 women; 87,4 percent Moslems, 5.8 percent Protestants, 3.1 percent Catholics and 3.7 percent believers of Hinduism and Buddhism.

"Despite the indication of strong sense of religious tolerance, there still exist potential for conflict," LP3ES Director Rustam Ibrahim said here yesterday.

Potential trouble spots were the construction of a house of worship in an area where the majority were people of different faiths, and visiting houses to preach a different faith.

Entjeng M. Shobirin dismissed suggestions that the study was not representative. He said the three major cities were chosen precisely because they represented Indonesian urban communities. (03)