RECENT WORKS

Ketegangan Kebebasan dan Kerukunan Beragama Di Indonesia: Telaah Sejarah, Politik, dan Hukum

31 October 2024

In Indonesian governance of religion, there are two main concepts: freedom (kebebasan/ kemerdekaan) and harmony (kerukunan). “Harmony” never explicitly appears in the Constitution, but it plays a central role. The idea of religious "freedom" was present in the 1945 Constitution, and further strengthened after the Constitutional Amendment in 2000. Yet it tends to play less of a role, or is even suspected as inconsistent with the so-called Indonesian national identity. 

This book discussess the tension between the concepts of “freedom” and “harmony” since the Indonesian constitutional debate in 1945, the New Order period, after the 1998 Reformasi, and their manifestation in several laws and regulations currently in force in Indonesia. The last chapter makes comparison with several Southeast Asian countries. Among the questions addressed are: How is the relationship between the ideas of freedom and harmony as models of governance of religion? Are the two competing, or can one imagine some kind of convergence between them in the future?

The book is published in Bahasa Indonesia as the result of a collaboration between ICRS, the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies of Universitas Gadjah Mada, PUSAD Paramadina, and the Indonesian Communion of Churches. It was launched and discussed during the 2024 International Conference on Indigenous Religions (ICIR) in Ambon. (Watch the video recording of the event here: https://www.youtube.com/live/jJgCVgzdDnU

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