Approved Religions in Indonesia

Published on April 20, 2010

Who decides what religions are real religions? The Indonesian Supreme Court ruled in an 8 to 1 decision on Monday to uphold an old and contested law that bans all but six "official" religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism) and allows a sentence of up to 5 years in prison for those convicted of blasphemy or heresy.

Who decides what religions are real religions?  The Indonesian Supreme Court ruled in an 8 to 1 decision on Monday to uphold an old and contested law that bans all but six “official” religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism) and allows a sentence of up to 5 years in prison for those convicted of blasphemy or heresy. Peter Gelling writes for the New York Times that Uli Parulian Sihombing, a human rights lawyer who has been attacked by the Islamic Defenders Front and others for addressing the law, said of the ruling, “This is a setback for Indonesian democracy.”  Gelling also notes the separation between law and practice; it is most commonly used to prosecute/persecute “perceived offenses against mainstream Islam.”

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