An overview of the Church in Indonesia

By Lisa Zengarini

Christianity first arrived in Indonesia in the 7th century, but it took hold only in 16th century when several Catholic missionaries accompanying the Portuguese started preaching in the archipelago.

The Dutch, who expelled the Portuguese in 1605, introduced Calvinist Protestantism and Catholicism was banned from the territory until 1806.

Growth of Church in Indonesia in the 19th and 20th centuries

Catholic missionaries were able to return to Indonesia in 1807 when the first Apostolic Prefecture was created in then Batavia (now Jakarta). The Catholic Church expanded its presence during the 19th and 20th centuries when other missionaries from various religious congregations arrived. 

During the first two decades of the 20th century, other Apostolic Prefectures were set up. The eastern regions were entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC), Borneo and Sumatra to the Capuchins, and Nusa Teggara and Flores to the Verbite Missionaries.

In 1924, the bishops of Indonesia held their first five-yearly meeting. The meetings were suspended during the Japanese occupation (1942-45), which marked an abrupt setback for the Church with the internment of almost all the missionaries serving in the archipelago.

The year 1940 saw the ordination of the first Indonesian bishop, the Jesuit Albertus Soegijapranata. In 1955, following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the newly-established Indonesian Republic in 1950, the bishops of Indonesia resumed their plenary sessions, and created the Supreme Council of Indonesian Bishops (MAWI), the nucleus of the future Indonesian Episcopal Conference (Konferensi Waligereja Indonesia, KWI) established in 1987.

In 1961, Pope Saint John XXIII established the Catholic hierarchy by dividing the territory into six ecclesiastical provinces. In 1967, Bishop Justinus Darmowujono (1914-1994) became the first Indonesian Cardinal.

In 1970, after the Second Vatican Council, the Indonesian bishops issued their first directives on the conduct of Catholics in Indonesian society based on the Pancasila principles. The defence of the five constitutional principles on which the Indonesian state is founded has been since a constant feature of the Indonesian Church.

Visits of previous Popes’ to Indonesia

Pope Francis will be the third pontiff to visit Indonesia. The first Pope to travel there was Saint Paul VI, who stopped in Jakarta on 3 December 1970 during his Apostolic Journey to East Asia, Oceania, and Australia (25 November - 5 December 1970). He was received by Indonesian President Suharto and celebrated Mass at a stadium in the capital.

Saint John Paul II visited the country from 9 to 13 October 1989, as part of his 44th international Apostolic Journey, stopping in Jakarta, Java, Flores and East Timor (then part of Indonesia).

Religious context in Indonesia

With a population of around 276 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world: Islam is professed by almost 90% of the population.

Although Muslims are an overwhelming majority, Indonesia is not an Islamic confessional state, but is founded on the Pancasila, the five principles enshrined in the Constitution (faith in one supreme God; just and civil humanity; unity; democracy guided by wisdom; social justice), which guarantee freedom to all believers.

Indonesia is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society, so much so that the country's motto is "Unity in diversity", a peculiarity that has contributed to the historically tolerant character of Islam in the country.

The Catholic community has also benefited from this tolerance. The two Apostolic Journeys of Paul VI, in 1970, and John Paul II, in 1989, have contributed to cement the good relations between the Church and the Indonesian state, which have been further developed in more recent times through collaboration projects in the field of education and culture.

On the other hand, some provisions of the Indonesian legal system still penalize religious minorities, as in the case the law on blasphemy, laws regulating the construction of new places of worship, and the law on mixed marriages.

The main threat to peace and religious harmony in Indonesia is represented by the spread of radical Islam, which in recent decades has fomented sectarian conflicts in various parts of the archipelago and has given rise to local terrorist networks linked to Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State.

In recent years, some reports have noted an escalation of violence and discrimination against religious minorities, including Christians. Most of the violations were recorded in the province of West Java, Sumatra, the metropolitan area of Jakarta and the autonomous province of Aceh, where Sharia law is in force.

Incidents of Islamic fundamentalism were also recorded in the Moluccas during the bloody 2000-2001 conflict between the Christian (Protestant) and Muslim communities. 

However, these radical fringes are still a minority and there is a significant number of moderate Muslims, leaders and intellectuals open to dialogue. The Catholic Church shares this commitment.

A vibrant minority of 3% Catholics

The Catholic Church has grown steadily since the 19th century thanks to its ability to inculturate the Gospel in Indonesian society. Catholics today make up over 3% of the population and continue to grow.

Their presence is not homogeneous: on the one hand, there are the Dioceses of Ende, Ruteni, Atambua and Larantuka, which are have an overwhelming Catholic majority, and the other hand there are at least eight in which the Catholic community does not exceed 1% of the resident population.

Despite being small in number, the Church is a vibrant community in which the lay faithful have an active role in pastoral work, as well as actively participating in the social, economic and political life of the nation.

However, the last decade has seen a decline in religious vocations: compared to the 1980s, the novitiates of female and male religious houses have a much smaller number of postulants and novices.

The Catholic Church in Indonesian society

The Catholic Church is a widely recognized institution and is appreciated for its social, health, cultural and educational activities that respect the ethnic and cultural diversity of the country.

The Church is also present in the public debate and has voiced its position on several important issues, such as death penalty (still in force), abortion, social, issues, the environment and combating all forms of fundamentalism that undermine the fabric of Indonesian society.

Pastoral priorities

In the face of challenges posed by the religious, cultural and social changes taking place in Indonesian society, in the past decade the Indonesian bishops have focused their attention on the following pastoral priorities: renewing the Church’s evangelizing mission (also through the new media), along the lines indicated by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and heeding his call for an "outgoing Church"; valuing the riches of multiculturalism in the Church; strengthening interreligious dialogue; and promoting the Church’s charitable work.

In this perspective, the Church has paid particular attention to young people so that they may become protagonists in bringing the Gospel to the Indonesian society and "agents of change" for justice and peace in their country. In this spirit, the bishops launched the Indonesian Youth Day, which since 2012 has brought together young Catholics from all over Indonesia every 4 years.

The bishops also want to promote the protagonism of Catholic families in evangelizing Indonesia's plural society. This was one of the main indications that emerged from the 2015 National Conference of the Indonesian Catholic Church on Family (Sagki 2015), entitled “The Catholic Family, Gospel of Hope. Its Vocation and Mission in the Church and in Indonesian Plural Society."

Ecumenical dialogue in Indonesia

Ecumenical dialogue is well established in Indonesia, and is all the more important in a country a where Christians are a small minority of around 10 percent of the population, comprising Protestants of various denominations, Catholics, Orthodox and Evangelicals.

Christian Churches work together in different platforms. The oldest and most important one is the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) formed by traditional Protestant Churches, with which the Catholic bishops have been collaborating closely for some time.

Since 1980, the PGI and the KWI have been sending joint Christmas messages, and in 2019, they collaborated in the preparation of the subsidy for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (17-25 January).

Additionally, KWI and PGI work together as members of FUKRI, which also includes the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches and Institutions (PGLII), the Fellowship of Pentecostal Churches (PGPI), the Fellowship of Baptist Churches, Salvation Army, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Orthodox Church who meet regularly to discuss issues of common concern.