‘NOT A RELIGIOUS STATE’ A study of three Indonesian religious leaders on the relation of state and religion

This article explores the concept of a ‘secular state’ offered by three Indonesian religious leaders: a Catholic priest, Nicolaus Driyarkara (1913–1967), and two Muslim intellectuals who were also state officials, Mukti Ali (1923–2004) and Munawir Sjadzali (1925–2004). All three, who represented the immediate generation after the revolution for Indonesian independence from the Dutch (1945), defended the legitimacy of a secular state for Indonesia based on the state ideology Pancasila (Five Principles of Indonesia). In doing so, they argued that a religious state, for example an Islamic state, is incompatible with a plural nation that has diverse cultures, faiths, and ethnicities. The three also argued that the state should remain neutral about its citizens’ faith and should not be dominated by a single religion, i.e. Islam. Instead, the state is obliged to protect all religions embraced by Indonesians. This argument becomes a vital foundation in the establishment of Indonesia’s trajectory of unique ‘secularisation’. Whilst these three intellectuals opposed the idea of establishing a religious or Islamic state in Indonesia, it was not because they envisioned the decline of the role of religion in politics and the public domain but rather that they regarded religiosity in Indonesia as vital in nation building within a multi-religious society. In particular, the two Muslim leaders used religious legitimacy to sustain the New Order’s political stability, and harnessed state authority to modernise the Indonesian Islamic community

Cekel Indralaya

112 p.; 21 cm

Driyarkarasi Jenthu : Napak tilas filsuf pendidik (1913-1967)

"Romo Drijarkara mungkin juga korban ketidakpedulian kita, yang oleh sistem pendidikan tak diajari membaca untuk bertanya tentang sesama manusia dan apa karyanya. Kita tak punya rasa penasaran akademis yang menggoda, untuk bertanya, apa yang dikerjakan orang lain, apa komitmen intelektual utamanya. Maka. filsuf terkemuka ini kita biarakan perti, tanpa kita ketahui jejaknya. buku ini berjasa menebus dosa kita."xxx + 252 hlm.; illus. 18,5 x 21 c

Kumpulan surat Romo Drijarka

Yogyakartaxiv, 244 p.; 21 c