Like it or not, religion has become a controversial issue in Indonesian politics ahead of the legislative and presidential elections on April 17, 2019. Many people who care about the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), the 1945 Constitution, Pancasila and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity), are becoming increasingly concerned that the use and abuse of religion in the general election could cause conflicts that, if left unmanaged, could sow the seeds of national disintegration.
Why are religious topics being brought to the election table? This is linked to the assumption among the “perpetrators” that religion is a primordial matter that could prompt voter sentiments and their sense of attachment. Therefore, these “perpetrators” believe that religious teachings, regulations, institutions, and even up to religious leaders, must be used for political purposes.
The politicization of religion in the elections occurs not only in Indonesia, but also in many other democratic countries – even those that have embraced secularism. The separation or marginalization of religion from the state, under secularist principles in the United States or laïcité in France, in many ways can no longer be maintained.
Therefore, slowly but surely, religion returns to the public sphere, and then becomes part of the government\'s policies, both domestic and foreign. This phenomenon has been called "the return of religion to secular city" (1985), to quote theologian Harvey Cox, since the mid-1980s. The spirit of religious revivalism that has occurred among Protestants in the US has also occurred in other countries. The symptom of religious revival has also affected politics in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Algeria, Hindu countries like India, and Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Religious revival has also occurred in Indonesia, especially in the country’s majority religion of Islam. Under President Soeharto, a phenomenon started developing in the early 1990s in social, cultural and political life that a number of Indonesianists and observers dubbed ijo royo-royo (flourishing Islam).
Institutionally, this phenomenon can be seen in the establishment of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) and the first Islamic bank (Bank Muamalat Indonesia). Socio-religiously, this has become apparent in the widespread use of headscarves among Muslim women. All these symptoms reflect an increased closeness and love (attachment) to Islam.
However, religious enthusiasm has never risen in the political arena. Ever since the collapse of the New Order regime and its replacement by democracy – from the first democratic general election in 1999 and afterwards (2004, 2009, 2014) – ijo royo-royo politics has not occurred. None of the political parties that won the four general elections were Islamic parties; all were Pancasila-based parties: PDI-P in 1999, Golkar in 2004, the Democratic Party in 2009, and again PDI-P in 2014.
From this perspective, identity politics that politicizes religion, religious regulations, institutions and leaders has never been effective in Indonesia’s elections. No convincing signs have appeared to indicate that this trend will reverse in the 2019 general election.
Religious leadership
Religious leaders, whether their religious authority draws from formal ordination (as in the Christian, Protestant and Catholic traditions) or from social recognition (as in Islam), have a grave responsibility in preventing religion’s abuse in political contests. Religion is divine, holy and sacred, while power politics justifies all means of gaining power.
The problem is then that not all religious leaders can prevent the inclusion and abuse of religion in political contests. This concerns the nature of religious leadership: some religions determine their leadership through a centralistic system of ordination, as in the case of Christianity, especially Catholicism, which is tighter and more centralized. On the other hand, there are systems of religious leadership that are loose and divided among various institutions, as in the case of Islam.
Indonesia is fortunate because it has six religions with their respective religious assemblies. However, not all religious assemblies wield complete authority over their followers, congregations, institutions and mass organizations. Competition and dispersion is increasing with regard to religious authority, particularly with the rise of new “authorities” in cyberspace. Not infrequently, these new “authorities” disseminate religious and political ideas that are different from the paradigms and teachings that mainstream religious assemblies represent.
Looking at this situation, all religious assemblies need to consolidate their authority to play a constructive role in preventing religion’s abuse in the general election. Accelerating interreligious dialogue is thus necessary to formulate political guidance for the followers of each religion.
No less important is for all religious assemblies to provide guidance on political behavior that aligns with religious teachings as regards the elections, which would also provide insights into political power that is more likely to benefit the nation-state in its progress. Such guidance would greatly help the people. (AZYUMARDI AZRA, Culture and Humanities professor, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University)
