Religion in Indonesia

When it looked like I had to go to Semarang, I was quite excited because it would be my first time there. I googled Semarang's places of interests and found out that most of the places mentioned were places of worship (more on this in my next post). But to my surprise, unlike usual, where a city had either a famous mosque or church noted as worth seeing, in Semarang, all the major religions in Indonesia were in the list of "places of interests".

In Indonesia, it is uncommon for someone to not have a religion.

Please note though: although you identify yourself with a certain religion, it doesn't necessarily mean that you practise that religion. That is why some people may joke around and say that their religion is "Islam KTP" (KTP is an abbreviation of Kartu Tanda Penduduk = ID card...remember, Indonesians LOVE their abbreviations), which means that their Islamic practise is only limited to it being stated for ID purposes.

Having a religion is not only needed for your ID card, but it is intertwined in almost all of life's activities, for example, you are required to state your religion on your CV. Your religion may even affect your marriage plans since inter-religious marriage in Indonesia is not allowed.

So what are the major religions in Indonesia? Well, around 80% of Indonesians are Moslems, however besides Islam, I was taught in elementary school that there are 4 other main religions formally recognized in Indonesia: Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism & Buddhism. Nowadays, Confucianism is also recognized again as a formal religion in Indonesia (correct me if I'm wrong).