Protestantism in Indonesia explained

Protestantism (Indonesian: Protestanisme) is one of the six approved religions in Indonesia, the others being Islam, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It constitutes the bulk of Christianity in Indonesia, which is the second largest religion in the country after Islam.

According to CIA statistics, in 2000 5.7% of the population of Indonesia were Protestant.[1] A nationwide census of 2018 noted that 7.6% (20,250,000) of the population considering themselves Protestant, largest in Southeast Asia.[2]

Protestantism in Indonesia is largely a result of Calvinist (Reformed) and Lutheran missionary efforts during the country's colonial period.[3] The Dutch East India Company regulated the missionary work so it could serve its own interests and restricted it to the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago.[4] Although these two branches are the most common, a multitude of other denominations can be found elsewhere in Indonesia.[5] The Batak Protestant Christian Church, founded in 1861 by German Lutheran missionary Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen, is the largest one.[6]

History

Protestantism arrived in Indonesia during the Dutch East Indies colonization. By the mid-1700s a significant Lutheran presence was found in Jakarta, with a Lutheran church built by the Lutheran Governor General Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff in 1749. In 1817, the Dutch founded the Protestantsche Kerk in Nederlandsch-Indie ("Indische Kerk") as a union of Reformed, Lutheran, Baptists, Arminian and Mennonite denominations. In 1835, the Dutch king decreed that one church council would fuse and oversee the Protestant denominations in the Dutch colony.

Demographics

In 2018, Protestants made up 7.43% of the population.[7]

On the island of Sulawesi, 17% of the citizens are Protestant, particularly in Tana Toraja and North Sulawesi. Up to 65% of the Torajan population is Protestant. In some parts of the country, entire villages belong to a distinct denomination, such as Adventist, Lutheran, Presbyterian or Salvation Army. Two provinces have Protestant majorities: North Sulawesi (64%) and Papua (60%). Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa is the largest Protestant church in North Sulawesi. Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa is a Mennonite-related denomination. Huria Kristen Batak Protestant is a Lutheran denomination founded by Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen. It is the largest Protestant denomination in Indonesia and has over 4 million congregants.[8] The relatively large number of "denominations" per capita in Indonesia may be due to the significant number of different ethnic groups in Indonesia. Many Indonesian Protestants tend to congregate based more on ethnicity than liturgical differences.

Reformed denominations

The Reformed faith was brought by Dutch missionaries beginning in the 17th century. Many of these churches are members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches:[9]

Members of the International Conference of Reformed Churches

Members of World Reformed Fellowship

Lutheran denominations

Indonesian churches recognized by the Lutheran World Federation as Lutheran or affiliated with Lutheran are:

HKI, GMB, GKPS, GKPI, GKLI, GKPA, GPP, and GKPPD all split from HKBP. GKLI maintains a strong relationship with the Norwegian Lutheran Church. GKPM was founded by HKBP missionaries. Although the BNKP and HKBP have historically cooperated, no official relationship exists between those entities. AMIN split from BNKP and retains more of a Lutheran identity.

Gereja Lutheran Indonesia (GLI) is affiliated with the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference. GLI is closely associated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in the United States. GLI has offices in Jakarta and operates a seminary, Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Lutheran (STTL), in Yogyakarta. GLI has large congregations on Java and in West Timor, as well as posts in Papua and Kalimantan.[13] [14]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/indonesia/ CIA Factbook
  2. Web site: Statistik Umat Menurut Agama di Indonesia. Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. 15 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20200903221250/https://data.kemenag.go.id/agamadashboard/statistik/umat. 3 September 2020. 15 November 2020. id. Muslim 231.069.932 (86.7), Christian 20.246.267 (7.6), Catholic 8.325.339 (3.12), Hindu 4.646.357 (1.74), Buddhist 2.062.150 (0.77), Confucianism 117091 (0.03), Other 299617 (0.13), Not Stated 139582 (0.06), Not Asked 757118 (0.32), Total 266.534.836.
  3. Book: Goh, Robbie B.H. . Christianity in Southeast Asia . Institute of Southeast Asian Studies . 80 . 981-230-297-2 . 2005 .
  4. Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set by Hans J. Hillerbrand, chapter on Indonesia, p. 824
  5. Web site: Indonesia - (Asia) . Reformed Online . Reformed Online . 7 October 2006 .
  6. Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set by Hans J. Hillerbrand, chapter on Indonesia, p. 337
  7. Web site: Statistik Umat Menurut Agama di Indonesia. Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. 15 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20200903221250/https://data.kemenag.go.id/agamadashboard/statistik/umat. 3 September 2020. 15 November 2020. id. Muslim 231.069.932 (86.7), Christian 20.246.267 (7.6), Catholic 8.325.339 (3.12), Hindu 4.646.357 (1.74), Buddhist 2.062.150 (0.77), Confucianism 71.999 (0.03), Others/Traditional faiths 112.792 (0.04), Total 266.534.836.
  8. Web site: 2010 World Lutheran Membership Details . Colette . Muanda . January 2011 . LWF Statistics 2010 . [Lutheran World Federation] . Geneva, Switzerland . 7 . 15 July 2011 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110926215127/http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/LWF-Statistics-2010.pdf . 26 September 2011 .
  9. Web site: Member churches | Bringing together 80 million Reformed Christians worldwide . 2013-08-18 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120808192417/http://www.wcrc.ch/node/164 . 2012-08-08 .
  10. [International Conference of Reformed Churches]
  11. Web site: The International Conference of Reformed Churches . 2013-03-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140827004312/http://icrconline.com/members.html . 2014-08-27 . dead .
  12. Web site: The World Reformed Fellowship - Membership List . 2013-02-17 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120730014055/http://wrfnet.org/web/guest/aboutwrf/membershiplist . 2012-07-30 .
  13. Web site: Gereja Lutheran Indonesia . . Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference . 24 Oct 2014.
  14. Web site: Indonesia . . Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Syno . 24 Oct 2014.

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