Indonesia is home to a number of different religious traditions. Examine this variety and suggest how and why they have developed in the manner in which they are found today. What general conclusions can be drawn about religion in Indonesia? Essay 2. 1,200 words. REL17 Religions of Asia. Credit.
Religion in Indonesia
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Indonesia has a melting pot of various different religious traditions, but as Welch (1997, p.170) states Indonesia also has the largest Muslim population. Johns states (1987, p.202) that there are over 130 million Muslims in Indonesia, while the remainder are Christians (6 million), Hindu Balinese (2.5 million), and smaller groups of adherents of Buddhism, local mystical cults, and primal religions. Indonesia is officially known as the Republic of Indonesia. Doogue & Kirkwood (2005, p.268) state that the Indonesian coat of arms is known for its words ‘Unity in diversity’ (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika). The name Indonesia is formed from two Greek words: Indos, which means “India,” and nesos, which means “islands” (Cassanos, 2005, p.13). This essay will explore Indonesia with its different religious traditions, how some religious traditions have developed and draw some conclusions about religion and tradition in Indonesia today.
The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta (Johns, 2006, p.4657). Indonesia comprises of more than 17,500 islands with thirty three provinces. The population of Indonesia is estimated to be over 238 million. Indonesia’s early people were animists, Hindus and Buddhists. Colless and Donovan (1997, p.551) state that in Indonesia the (primal) religious year revolves round the life-cycle of rice. One can quickly ascertain that cultural and primal religious traditions may have involved the sustenance of survival with rice. It wasn’t until Arab-Muslim traders entering Indonesia in the 13th -16th centuries that Islam was introduced. Gottschalk (2006, p.205) states that Muslims first appeared in South Asia at...