Religious beliefs in Indonesia

Religion acts a major role in daily lives of Indonesians. There are unusual religions that are exercised in the country, which show an important influence in Indonesia ’s economical, political and cultural life. Officially, only 6 religions are recognized by the government, namely Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. The population is approximately 222 million as of 2000 and around 86.1% were Muslims, 5.7% Protestant, 3% are Catholic, 1.8% Hindu, 3.4% believes in other religions.

Islam was presented to the country in 14th century. It was expanded in the west coast of Sumatra and then evolves to the east in Java. During that time, kingdoms were established with Muslim influence, namely Banten, Demak, Mataram, and Pajang. Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese to the country, particularly in the island of Flores. In 16th century, Dutch introduced Protestantism with the influences of Calvinist and Lutheran. Protestant-majority provinces in the country are North Sulawesi (64%) and Papua (64%). Hindu and Buddhist influenced realms were built, such as Kutai, Majapahit, Srivijaya, and Sailendra. The largest Buddhist monument in the world is Borobudur. It was established by the Kingdom of Sailendra. Confucianism was introduced as early as the 3rd century AD which originated from China. Advocates of the said religion believe in the code of behavior, instead of well-coordinated community religion or social movement. An organization called Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan was formed by the Confucians in Jakarta.

However, the government is open-minded of other religions as well. Some of them are Animism (doesn’t believe in a particular god and belief in certain objects, like stones, tree and people) and Judaism (the only Jews temple in Indonesia is located in Surabaya).