Religion

Islam

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, with 88 percent of its citizens identifying as Muslim. Traditionally, Muslims have been concentrated in the more populous western islands of Indonesia such as Java and Sumatra. In less populous eastern islands, the Muslim population is proportionally lower. Most Indonesian Muslims are Sunnis. Around one million are Shias, who are concentrated around Jakarta while others are Sufi.

Christianity

The Government of Indonesia officially recognizes the two main Christian divisions in Indonesia, Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, as two separate religions.

Protestantism

Protestantism arrived in Indonesia during the Dutch East Indies (VOC) colonization, around the sixteenth century. VOC policy to ban Catholicism significantly increased the percentage of Protestant believers in Indonesia. Missionary efforts for the most part did not extend to Java or other already predominantly Muslim areas. The religion has expanded considerably in the 20th century, marked by the arrival of European missionaries in some parts of the country, such as Western New Guinea and Lesser Sunda Islands. Following the 1965 coup, all non-religious people were recognized as Atheist, and hence did not receive a balanced treatment compared to the rest of the citizens. As a result, Protestant churches experienced a significant growth of members, partly due to the uncomfortable feeling towards the political aspirations of Islamic parties.

Roman Catholicism

Catholicism arrived in Indonesia during the Portuguese arrival with spice trading. Many Portuguese had the goal of spreading Roman Catholicism in Indonesia, starting with Moluccas in 1534. Between 1546 and 1547, the pioneer Christian missionary, Saint Francis Xavier, visited the islands and baptized several thousand locals.

Hinduism

Hindu culture and religion arrived in the Indonesian archipelago in the first century, later coinciding with the arrival of Buddhism, resulting in a number of Hinduism-Buddhism empires such as Kutai, Mataram and Majapahit. The Prambanan Temple complex was built during the era of Hindu Mataram, during the Sanjaya dynasty. The greatest Hindu empire ever flourished in Indonesian archipelago was Majapahit empire. The age of Hindu-Buddhist empires lasted until the sixteenth century, when the archipelago's Islamic empires began to expand. This period, known as the Hindu-Indonesia period, lasted for sixteen full centuries. The influence of Hinduism and classical India remain defining traits of Indonesian culture; the Indian concept of the god-king still shapes Indonesian concepts of leadership and the use of Sanskrit in courtly literature and adaptations of Indian mythology such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Buddhism

Buddhism is the second oldest religion in Indonesia, arriving around the sixth century. The history of Buddhism in Indonesia is closely related to the history of Hinduism, as a number of empires based on Buddhist culture were established around the same period. Indonesian archipelago has witnessed the rise and fall of powerful Buddhist empires such as Sailendra dynasty, Srivijaya and Mataram Empires. The arrival of Buddhism was started with the trading activity that began in the early of first century on the Silk Road between Indonesia and India. According to some Chinese source, a Chinese traveler monk on his journey to India, has witnessed the powerful maritime empire of Srivijaya based on Sumatra. The empire also served as a Buddhist learning center in the region. A number of historical heritages can be found in Indonesia, including the Borobudur Temple in Yogyakarta and statues or prasasti (inscriptions) from the earlier history of Buddhist empires.

Confucianism

Confucianism originated from China mainland and brought by Chinese merchants and immigrants. It is estimated as late as the 3rd century AD that the Chinese arrived in Nusantara archipelago. Unlike other religions, Confucianism evolved more into loose individual practices and belief in the code of conduct, rather than a well-organized community religion, or way of life or social movement. It was not until the early of 1900s that Confucianists formed an organization, called Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan (THHK) in Batavia (now Jakarta).

*Other religions and belief

Animism

Animism has existed since Indonesia's earliest history, around the first century, just before Hindu culture arrived in Indonesia. Furthermore, two thousand years later, with the existence of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and other religion, Animism still exists in some parts of Indonesia. However, this belief is not accepted as Indonesia's official religion as the Pancasila states the belief in the supreme deity, or monotheism. Animism, on the other hand, does not believe in a particular god.

Judaism

There are small unrecognized Jewish communities in Jakarta and Surabaya. An early Jewish settlement in the archipelago was through the Dutch Jews who came along for the spice trade. In the 1850s, about 20 Jewish families of Dutch and German origins lived in Jakarta (then Batavia). Some lived in Semarang and Surabaya. Several Baghdadi Jews also settled in the island. Prior to 1945, there were about 2,000 Dutch Jews in Indonesia. In 1957, it was reported around 450 Jews remained, mainly Ashkenazim in Jakarta and Sephardim in Surabaya. The community has decreased to 50 in 1963. In 1997, there were only 20 Jews, some of them in Jakarta and a few Baghdadi families in Surabaya.