Figure 1.-- This is the Van Dijk family . They were a Duch missionary family from Friesland province. The snapshot was taken during 1930 on Sumba Island in what was at the time the Dutch East Indies. |
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The Spanish (Magellan) and the Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach what is now Indonesaia. Portuguese Jesuits and Dominicans were active in the Malukus, southern Sulawesi, and Timor (16th century). The Durtch also reached the islands and defeated the Portuguese (1605P. The Durtch expelled the Catholic missionaries. The Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church became virtually the only Christian sect active in the islands for the next 300 years. Dutch policies did not lead to mass conversion. The United East Indies Company (VOC) was a business enterprise. It gave little attention to social efforts like education or religion. And the Calvinist dictrine was both austere and strict. Understanding it required Bible study and intellectual effort. Thus by the turn-of-the-19th century there were only small numbers of Indonesian Christians. A few small communities were established in Java, Maluku, northern Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara (primarily Roti and Timor). The Dutch dissolved the VOC during the Napoleoniv Wars (1799). They proceeded in the 19th century to implement a more comprehensive colonial policy in Indonesia. As part of the adoption of a colonial administration, more attention was given to religion. The Dutch opened the islands to proselytizing. Missionaries arrived from Europe. More tolerant German Lutherans began working among the Batak of Sumatra (1861) and by the Dutch Rhenish Mission in central Kalimantan and central Sulawesi. Jesuits established mission schools, and hospitals throughout the islands of Flores, Timor, and Alor. Many new Protestant missionary groups as well as Catholicism worked in Indonesaia in the early 20th cdntury befpre World War II. The missionary emphasis on education meant that a high proprtion of educated Indonesians were Christians Slightly under 10 percent of the Indonesian population at the time of independence were believed to be Christians. General Suharto seized control of Indonesia to prevent a Communist take over (1965). Large numbers of people believed sympathetic to the Communists were killed. The Chimese in particular were suspect. Many Chinese adopted Christianity to prove that they were not Communists. This caused problems with Islamicists. There are some small areas in Christian predominate in the Moluccas and on Kalimantan. The island of Flores is largely Christian.
Christianity was a European import. The Spanish (Magellan expedition) from the east and the Portuguese from the west were the first Europeans to reach what is now Indonesaia. Portuguese Jesuits and Dominicans were active in the Malukus, southern Sulawesi, and Timor (16th century). The Durtch also reached the islands and defeated the Portuguese (1605P. The Durtch expelled the Catholic missionaries. The Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church became virtually the only Christian sect active in the islands for the next 300 years. Dutch policies did not lead to mass conversion. The United East Indies Company (VOC) was a business enterprise. It gave little attention to social efforts like education or religion. And the Calvinist dictrine was both austere and strict. Understanding it required Bible study and intellectual effort. Thus by the turn-of-the-19th century there were only small numbers of Indonesian Christians. A few small communities were established in Java, Maluku, northern Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara (primarily Roti and Timor). The Dutch dissolved the VOC during the Napoleoniv Wars (1799). They proceeded in the 19th century to implement a more comprehensive colonial policy in Indonesia. As part of the adoption od a colonial administration, more attention was given to religion.
The Dutch in the 19th century opened the islands to proselytizing. Missionaries arrived from Europe. More tolerant German Lutherans began working among the Batak of Sumatra (1861) and by the Dutch Rhenish Mission in central Kalimantan and central Sulawesi. Jesuits established mission schools, and hospitals throughout the islands of Flores, Timor, and Alor. Many new Protestant missionary groups as well as Catholicism worked in Indonesaia in the early 20th cdntury befpre World War II. A reader writes, "It is true that the Dutch Colonial Government did not encourage native Indonesians to be converted to Christianity, even when the Reformed Church in Holland had a lot of influence. The Dutch were there for commerce and not to baptize people. I have been in the Batak area of Sumatra where especially the German Rheinische Mission has been working. This mission was not Dutch, but originated from Wuppertal in the Rhineland. It is interesting to learn that some Bataks have names like Kaiser and Bismarck. Only 200 years ago they still were cannibals. I have written articles in Dutch and German about my experiences in that part of the world." [Stueck]
The missionary emphasis on education meant that a high proprtion of educated Indonesians were Christians Slightly under 10 percent of the Indonesian population at the time of independence were believed to be Christians.
General Suharto seized control of Indonesia to prevent a Communist take over (1965). Large numbers of people believed sympathetic to the Communists were killed. Non-religious persons were labelled atheists and as a result, potentially vulnerable to accusations of Communist sympathies. Many Christian churches reported a growth in membership. Some Indonesians turned to Christianity because they were uncomfortable with the political orientation of many mosques and Islamic parties. The Chinese in particular were suspect because of China was a Communist power. Many Chinese adopted Christianity to prove that they were not Communists. The Indonesian Government required Indonesians to proclaim an approved religion. This signidicantly increased Chinese commitment to Christianity.
There was, however, a general reluctance to convert to Islam. We are not sure just why. A reader suggesrs, "The eastern Chinese religious tradition was Confucian which has at its core a search for the harmony and moderation. I think that the Chinese as a result are not attracted by a religion like Islam which has such extreme elements and often tolerates extremism." This has angered Islamicists who see it as another example of the Chinese as an alien people in their country." The Offical Census reported 35 percent of the Chinese community was Christian. [2000 Census] Some observers believe that the Chuinese were undercounted. Even so this Christian orientation has continued with Indonesia's Chinese population into the 21st century. Some speculate that as many as 70 percent of Indonesia's Chinese are Christian.
There are some small areas in Christian predominate in the Moluccas and on Kalimantan. The island of Flores is largely Christian. There are important concentrations of Protestants on Sumatra Utara, Irian Jaya, Maluku, Kalimantan Tengah, Sulawesi Tengah, and Sulawesi Utara. Roman Catholics were located in Kalimantan Barat, Irian Jaya, Nusa Tenggara Timur, and Timor Timur provinces.
The majority of Indonesian Christians are Protestants of various denominations. Both Protestantism and Catholocism are among the recognized religions. The Portuguese and Catholocism arrived first in Indonesia (16th century). The Portuguese after rounding the Cape of Good Hope arrived looking for spices and what is now Indonesia which they called the Spice Islands. The Dutch Dutch East Indies Company arrived soon after. The effort of the Spanish to suppress Protestantism in the Netherlands also brought conflict in Potugues resulted in the Durch War for indepencence and fighting in Portuguese colonies such as Brazil and Portugal. There were religious ramifications to this conflict. The result was ghat Brazil remained Potuguese and Cath\olic and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) became Dutch and Protestant. Most Dutch officials and businessmen were Protestants. A substantial Lutheran presence developed in Jakarta. Lutheran Governor General Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff built a Lutheran church (1749). The Dutch founded the Protestantsche Kerk in Nederlandsch-Indie ("Indische Kerk") as a union of Arminian, Baptists, Lutheran, Mennonite, and Reformed denominations (1814). The Dutch king decreed that one church council oversee a union of the Protestant denominations in the Dutch East Indies (1835). There are, however, a very large number of Protestant denominations active. Unlike the effort in most Portuguese and Spanish colonies, there was not a string emphasis on converying the local population. And there was a general resistance to conversion on the part of most Indonesian Muslims. Catholic congregations grew less rapidly than Protestants during the Dutch colonial era. They apparently focused more on Europeans than the Protestants. Christians are not evenly distributed in Indonesia. And the same is true of Protestant dmominations and Catholics. Many Indonesian Christians tend to congregate based more on ethnicity than liturgical differences. Because of missionary activity, there is a clustering of Christians among severl tribal groups and on smaller islands. East Nusa Tenggara is the only province with a mjority Catholic population. Some 90 percent of the East Nusa Tenggara population is Catholic. Catholics are also clustered Central Java, especially in and around Muntilan.
Europeans after indepenendence experienced Government restrictions on their missionary activities. The Muslim-dominated Department of Religious Affairs was especially concerned with European activity and prosletizing among Muslims. There are Koranic prohibitions on conversion. There are both Government restrictions at the nationl level and also governmnt level as well. Building permits are a particular issue.
As in other countries where Muslims are a majority, there are constant reoorts of descrininatin against Christians and other religiins in Indonesia. This includes both state actions and actions by Islamicists and other individuals. There are periodic reports of attacks on churches throughout the country. Muslim-Christian conflicts were reported on Maluku (1999-2002). Attacks on churches and individual Christians occurred. There were reports of forced circumcisions and conversions of Christians. The Indonesian Army and its special forces unit Kopassus, was accused of participating in the Maluku attacks. Christians were procecuted for attacks, but no Muslims. The Government executed three Catholic citizens in Sulawesi (2006). This was further evidence of how the judicial system in Indinesia is manimulated against non-Muslims. The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has been especially active in attacks on Christians. Rspecially shocking was the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls on (2005). [BBC News]
Reports of attacks on Christians continue. Muslims rioters during Ramadan attacked and burned three churches in Kuantan, Sengingi, Riau Province (2011). Police took no action, but suggested that the attacks were a way of keeping ramadan peacefully for Muslims. [Polda Riau] Despite repeated actions like this, many Muslims continue to beliece it is Islam that is under attack around the world.
Non-Muslims experience ongoing discrimination beyond violent attacks. Chrustians are descriminated against in university admissions and civil service appointments. And it reflect the prevailing attitude among Indonesians favoring such descrimination. A 2002 survey found that "Muslim Indonesians are becoming more devout and many
long for the their country to become an Islamic state." [Asmaran] Among thec findings, 80 percebt of respondents wanted relgions other than Islam prohinited by law. Some 73 percent wanted non-Muslims prohibited from teaching in state schools. Another 42 percebt objected to churches being buit near their residences. The Religious Affairs Ministry and Home Ministry issued a joint ministerial decree on house of worship (2006). The regulations require a religious group to obtain the approval of at least 60 households in the immediate vicinity before building a church or other places of worship. This decree has prevented the construction of non-Muslim religious facilities. The regulation has also been reffered to by Islamicists for various attacks on non-Muslims. [HKBP]
Asmaran, Devi. "Many Muslim Indonesians say they want an Islamic state," The Straits Times (Singapore) (January 2, 2002).
BBC News. "Indonesia beheadings trial opens," (November 8, 2006).
"HKBP followers demand revocation of controversial decree," The Jakarta Post (September 16, 2010).
Indonesian Government. 2000 Census.
"Polda Riau Tolak Beberkan Motif Pembakaran Gereja GPdI, GBKP dan GMI di Kuantan Sengingi," Kabar Gereja (August 13, 2011).
Stueck, Rudi. E-mail message, July 21, 2013.
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