Irreligion in Indonesia

Last updated

Atheism, or irreligion in Indonesia, is uncommon among the country's inhabitants, as there is a great stigma attached to being an atheist in Indonesia and it is widely condemned by the Indonesian people.

Contents

Society

It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Indonesia as they are not officially counted in the country's census. [1] Indonesian atheists, such as those belonging to the Indonesian Atheists organization, predominantly communicate with each other solely via the Internet. [2] According to Human Rights Watch, tolerance towards atheists among the general Indonesian public is growing, but they are still subject to violence by "largely militant Islamists." [3] The founder of Pancasila and the first President of Indonesia Sukarno stated that belief in the Almighty as a characteristic of this nation needs to be recognized, even by those who do not believe in God. Accepting the First Precept means not only tolerating religious diversity in Indonesia, but also tolerating those who are irreligious, and asking for tolerance from those who do not have a religion to those who have a religion. [4]

Discrimination

Atheists are subject to discrimination in Indonesia, seeing as irreligion violates the first principle of Pancasila (i.e. Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa, The One and Almighty God). Religious tolerance in Indonesia is limited to muted acceptance of other religions apart from Islam. Indonesian atheist activists are pursuing their religious freedom. [5]

Law

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Indonesian Constitution; however legal protection is afforded only to six recognised faiths of the country—Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. [3] B. F. Intan has written that natural law does not require one to follow a particular religion. Atheism as he sees it, however, is used more as an example of harmony between various religions and is not used as grounds to denounce popular religion. [6] This natural law is used as grounds for the creation of a common law, which is more usually employed elsewhere as the basis for laws governing criminal activity or civil disputes. [6] The 7th part of the first precept of Pancasila states “Not forcing a religion and belief in God Almighty to others.” [7]

Blasphemy

Insulting or interfering with the practice of one of the official faiths stated above in Indonesia can bring a five-year prison term. [3] In the past, prominent atheists have only been prosecuted under religious customary laws, so it is unknown if atheism is prosecutable under secular law. [8] [9] [10]

When declared atheist Alexander Aan wrote in February 2012 on Facebook that God does not exist, he was took into custody and initially charged with blasphemy. The police claimed that they were doing this to protect him from attackers, however, no charges have been levied against his attackers. He has been prosecuted under the blasphemy law, part of the country's Criminal Code. The Code’s Article 156(a) targets those who deliberately, in public, express feelings of hostility, hatred, or contempt against religions to prevent others from adhering to any religion, and targets those who disgrace a religion. The penalty for violating Article 156(a) is imprisonment, Presidential Decree No. 1/PNPS/1965 on the Prevention of Blasphemy and Abuse of Religions. [11] This incident raised a debate about the legality of atheism versus treating it as a genuine religion. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Blasphemy, as defined in some religions or religion-based laws, is an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religious crime, especially the Abrahamic religions, including insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, speaking the "sacred name" in Judaism, and the "eternal sin" in Christianity.

Irreligion is the neglect or active rejection of religion and, depending on the definition, a simple absence of religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secular state</span> State or country without a state religion

A secular state is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby a state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen based on their religious beliefs, affiliation or lack of either over those with other profiles.

Some movements or sects within traditionally monotheistic or polytheistic religions recognize that it is possible to practice religious faith, spirituality and adherence to tenets without a belief in deities. People with what would be considered religious or spiritual belief in a supernatural controlling power are defined by some as adherents to a religion; the argument that atheism is a religion has been described as a contradiction in terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Indonesia</span> Overview of religion in Indonesia

Several different religions are practised in Indonesia. Indonesia is officially a presidential republic and a unitary state without an established state religion. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and the first principle of Indonesia's philosophical foundation, Pancasila, requires its citizens to state the belief in "the one and almighty God". Although, as explained by the Constitutional Court, this first sila of Pancasila is an explicit recognition of divine substances and meant as a principle on how to live together in a religiously diverse society; it isn't an endorsement of a particular theological doctrine on how religions or beliefs should be practised. However, blasphemy is a punishable offence and the Indonesian government has a discriminatory attitude towards its numerous tribal religions, atheist and agnostic citizens. In addition, the Aceh province officially enforces Sharia law and is notorious for its oppressive practices towards religious and sexual minorities. There are also pro-Sharia and fundamentalist movements in several parts of the country with overwhelming Muslim majorities.

Discrimination against atheists, sometimes called atheophobia, atheistophobia, or anti-atheism, both at present and historically, includes persecution of and discrimination against people who are identified as atheists. Discrimination against atheists may be manifested by negative attitudes, prejudice, hostility, hatred, fear, or intolerance towards atheists and atheism or even the complete denial of atheists existence. It is often expressed in distrust regardless of its manifestation. The main mechanism behind anti-atheist prejudice is the projection of believers' repressed desires. Perceived atheist prevalence seems to be correlated with reduction in prejudice.

The Indonesian constitution provides some degree of freedom of religion. The government generally respects religious freedom for the six officially recognized religions and/or folk religion. All religions have equal rights according to the Indonesian laws.

Irreligion in New Zealand refers to atheism, agnosticism, deism, religious scepticism and secular humanism in New Zealand society. Post-war New Zealand has become a highly secular country, meaning that religion does not play a major role in the lives of many of the population.

Blasphemy law in Indonesia is the legislation, presidential decrees, and ministerial directives that prohibit blasphemy in Indonesia.

"Langit Makin Mendung" is a controversial Indonesian short story. Published in Sastra magazine under the pen name Kipandjikusmin in August 1968, it tells the story of Muhammad descending to Earth with the angel Gabriel to investigate the decreasing number of Muslims entering heaven, only to find that Muslims in Indonesia have begun fornicating, drinking alcohol, waging war on Muslims, and otherwise going against the tenets of Islam because of nasakom, a government policy during Sukarno's administration that combined nationalism, religion, and communism. Unable to do anything to stop the rampant sinning, Muhammad and Gabriel—having taken the form of eagles—watch the political maneuvering, crime, and famine in Jakarta.

Irreligion in the United Kingdom is more prevalent than in some parts of Europe, with about 8% indicating they were atheistic in 2018, and 52% listing their religion as "none". A third of Anglicans polled in a 2013 survey doubted the existence of God, while 15% of those with no religion believed in some higher power, and deemed themselves "spiritual" or even "religious".

Alexander Aan is an Indonesian atheist and ex-Muslim of Minang descent. He was imprisoned in 2012 for posting comments and images to Facebook that were judged to be "disseminating information aimed at inciting religious hatred or hostility" by the Muaro Sijunjung district court. The sentence sparked national debate and caused Amnesty International to designate him a prisoner of conscience.

Irreligion is present among a minority of mainly young people in Pakistan. Atheists in Pakistan face discrimination, persecution, and prejudice in society. Pakistan is reported by some sources to be among the thirteen countries where atheism can attract capital punishment, but according to the Library of Congress of the United States, "there is no specific statutory law that criminalizes apostasy in Pakistan." On the other hand, the Pakistani government can impose the death penalty for blasphemy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Egypt</span> Lack of religious belief or religion by some of Egypts population

Irreligion in Egypt is controversial due to the prominence of conservative social traditions and the persecution by the religious institutions in the country. It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Egypt, as the stigma attached to being one makes it hard for irreligious Egyptians to publicly profess their views and beliefs.

Irreligion in Nigeria is measured at less than one percent of the population. As in many parts of Africa, there is a great amount of stigma attached to being an atheist.

Irreligion in Romania is rare. Romania is one of the most religious countries in Europe, with 92% of people saying that they believe in God. Levels of Irreligion are much lower than in most other European countries and are among the lowest in the world. At the 2011 census, only 0.11% of the population declared itself atheist, up from the 2002 census, while 0.10% do not belong to any religion. However, since early 2000, religion in Romania is in decline. This is mainly because changing generation, as newer generations tend to be less religious. Also, especially in urban areas, while many people declare themselves as Christian Orthodox at census, they mainly state it due to the fact that they are baptized under the Orthodox Church, although their knowledge about religion is low, also in particular many are saying that are not religious, not practicing, not praying, not going to church. While still one of the most religious countries in Europe, church attendance is quite low, and is mainly done by elderly people and mainly in rural areas, while in urban areas church attendance is much lower. In Romania, women tend to be more religious than men, especially those living in rural areas. However, the percentage of religious people over 90% is also debated, it is highly believed to be much lower in reality.

Capital punishment for offenses is allowed by law in some countries. Such offenses include adultery, apostasy, blasphemy, corruption, drug trafficking, espionage, fraud, homosexuality and sodomy, perjury, prostitution, sorcery and witchcraft, theft, and treason.

Diah Mutiara Sukmawati Sukarnoputri is the third daughter of Indonesia’s founding president Sukarno and his wife Fatmawati. Sukmawati is the younger sister of former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri and politician Rachmawati Sukarnoputri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pancasila (politics)</span> Indonesian political philosophy

Pancasila is the official, foundational philosophical theory of Indonesia. The name is made from two words originally derived from Sanskrit: "pañca" ("five") and "śīla".

References

  1. ↑ "Commentary: Is there room for atheists in Indonesia?". The Jakarta Globe . Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  2. ↑ "The Rise of Indonesian Atheism". The Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  3. 1 2 3 Schonhardt, Sara (2013-04-26). "For Indonesian Atheists, a Community of Support Amid Constant Fear". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  4. ↑ Sukarno (1960). Membangun Dunia Kembali (To Build the World Anew) (PDF). Departemen Penerangan RI. p. 17. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  5. ↑ Hodal, Kate (2012-05-03). "Indonesia's atheists face battle for religious freedom". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Benyamin Fleming Intan (2006). "Public Religion" and the Pancasila-Based State of Indonesia: An Ethical and Sociological Analysis. Peter Lang. p. 160. ISBN   978-0-8204-7603-2 . Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Isi Butir-Butir Pancasila Sila 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 dan Penjelasannya". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "Raising Kids Without God: Atheist Parents in Indonesia". The Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  9. ↑ "No Need to Believe: Indonesia's Atheists". The Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  10. ↑ "Commentary: Is there room for atheists in Indonesia?". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  11. ↑ "Commentary: Is there room for atheists in Indonesia?". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Wed, November 7, 2012". THE JAKARTA GLOBE. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.