To commemorate the International Day for Tolerance and serve as a policy brief for the Prabowo Subianto administration, SETARA Institute has produced a Policy Brief based on data regarding the Condition of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Indonesia (2014–2023). The policy brief is also disaggregated by province, with a particular focus on priority provinces, including Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Banten, North Sumatra, Bali, and South Sulawesi (see the attached Policy Brief for details). Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a constitutional right of every citizen. In this context, the Prabowo Subianto administration must adopt adequate policies and measures in response to the current vulnerable state of FoRB in Indonesia.
At the national level, FoRB has experienced stagnation that is trending toward regression. According to SETARA Institute’s latest 2023 FoRB report, the national FoRB situation has merely shifted from one form of stagnation to another. The data indicate that FoRB in Indonesia has essentially remained unchanged, with the number of incidents and violations consistently high, despite public expectations that the Joko Widodo administration would advance diversity and strengthen protections for religious minorities, who had previously been subjected to intolerance, discrimination, restrictions, and even persecution.
Considering the condition of FoRB over the past decade, SETARA Institute proposes the following policy recommendations as priority measures for the Prabowo Subianto administration to advance tolerance and strengthen Freedom of Religion or Belief.
- The new national leadership resulting from the 2024 General Election should ensure that the promotion of tolerance, social inclusion, Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the prevention of radicalism and violent extremism are explicitly incorporated into the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), including relevant policies, programs, and priority agendas in line with the eighth mission of the Asta Cita: “Strengthening harmony between society, nature, and culture while enhancing interfaith tolerance to achieve a just and prosperous society.”
- The Prabowo Subianto administration should strengthen leadership on tolerance and accelerate inclusive governance policies to promote coordinated government action from the national to the local level in addressing cases and challenges that hinder Freedom of Religion or Belief, based on the constitutional rights guaranteed under the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.
- The Prabowo administration should create the broadest possible space for meaningful public participation in reviewing, revoking, and/or revising discriminatory, intolerant, and restrictive national and regional regulations concerning Freedom of Religion or Belief, including: (1) the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Religious Affairs No. 9 and No. 8 of 2006, which is proposed to be elevated into a Presidential Regulation on the Maintenance of Religious Harmony; (2) the 2008 Joint Decree of the Minister of Religious Affairs, the Attorney General, and the Minister of Home Affairs (commonly known as the Three-Minister Decree) concerning Warnings and Orders to Members and Administrators of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation (JAI); (3) Law No. 16 of 2004 on the Attorney General’s Office, particularly Article 33(d) and (e), which institutionalizes the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Beliefs in Society (BAKORPAKEM), an institution that has long imposed restrictions on religious and belief communities, particularly Indigenous Belief adherents; and (4) other discriminatory and intolerant regulations, especially regional legal products that contradict Pancasila and undermine Indonesia’s diversity.
- The new administration should strengthen efforts to address discriminatory regulations by fulfilling the mandate of Law No. 15 of 2019 amending Law No. 12 of 2011 on Lawmaking, which requires the establishment of a National Regulatory Agency to ensure more systematic planning and harmonization of subordinate legislation.
- The Prabowo administration should accelerate the issuance of the Presidential Regulation on the Second Phase of the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism Leading to Terrorism (RAN PE 2025–2029), providing a strong legal foundation for mobilizing government institutions at both the national and local levels, as well as civil society, through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.
- The Minister of Religious Affairs should review the design and implementation of the Religious Moderation Program, which has been institutionalized through Presidential Regulation No. 58 of 2023 on Strengthening Religious Moderation, to ensure that its implementation does not generate counterproductive controversies affecting Freedom of Religion or Belief or trigger new tensions and conflicts among religious communities.
- The Minister of Home Affairs should ensure the mainstreaming of inclusive governance by provincial and district/city governments through the issuance of specific policies promoting inclusive governance in managing Indonesia’s social and religious diversity.
Contact Persons:
Halili Hasan, Executive Director, SETARA Institute
Harkirtan Kaur, Researcher, SETARA Institute