Blog: 'The geniality with which faith is treated I did not expect'

Blog by Rieke Brouwer

Protestant, Johannes Calvin and Abraham Kuyper

That there is a Muslim majority is evident in the streets. Prayer calls echo through the streets several times a day, headscarves are widely worn, and pretty soon I began to recognise the Indonesian word for "prayer room, women". (Incidentally, the American had no right to speak as he was here for a cybersecurity conference--not something Indonesia is known for either). 

Interest in religion and diversity

The surprise that a Christian conference is happening here of all places is understandable, but the remarkable thing is that in the interactions I have had with locals, they don't share that surprise. At customs, the official asked me what I had come to Indonesia for. I said it was for a theology conference. He asked which theology, and I replied Protestant. He said "I am also Protestant, which kind?" Now you have to imagine that I had just finished a sixteen-hour flight and had already spent an hour in the queue, so my mind was mostly on getting to my bed as soon as possible. I mumbled something about Calvin and thought that if everyone in front of me had also had to explain their denomination I could understand why the queue was so long. Still, this was a good first introduction into how interested Indonesians are in religions and also the diversity that can nevertheless be found in this country.

Houses of worship

In the scant week I have been here, I have seen many different places of worship. What is striking is that all the different religions are so close together. On one side of the street is a 1901 cathedral built in neo-Gothic style and on the other sits the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. In another district, a Hindu temple sits on one side of the street and you can still smell the incense and candles on the other side, at the Santa Maria Church, built in oriental style. During prayer times, you can tell by the shoes standing at the threshold of the prayer rooms that people are inside, but the street is far from deserted. Traffic remains a relentlessly busy chaos, people are haggling at the food stalls on the street or quietly drinking coffee. The geniality with which faith is treated I did not expect. Yet that too is part of the Indonesian mindset.

Museum

I asked a barista at a coffee shop if she had any tips for what I could see in Jakarta. She recommended a museum a bit out of the city centre. I went there on good faith. It turned out to be most like a cross between Madurodam and the Open Air Museum in Arnhem. They had recreated traditional houses for the bourgeoisie and elite from each of the major Indonesian islands, as well as community centres and other distinctive buildings. Some sections also featured people in traditional dress. At the section of the museum on Bali, I was only allowed to see a small part because there was a Hindu ceremony going on which I was not allowed to disturb, but at the Sumatra section, I could quietly look at the temple. Separate from the section on the islands was also a sector with places of worship. In a row were a mosque, a Catholic church, a Hindu temple and a Protestant church. The buildings were simultaneously part of the museum but also still in active use by a religious community. The signboard of the Catholic church showed the mass times, every morning at 7 am. At the mosque, I was allowed inside if I took off my sandals.

Religions coexist

In the museum, I saw a version in miniature of what I had also seen on the streets in Jakarta itself: different religions coexisting. It is not that people of different religions come knocking down each others' doors, but different religions are visible on the streets and places of worship are close to each other. I think that makes this country a very appropriate place for the conference we are here for. A conference on peace and geopolitical conflicts in the light of reformed theology. Indonesia is an example of how, within one country, many people with different views on life can live together in peace. Today we are travelling by train from Jakarta to Jogjakarta, where the conference is taking place. In the coming days, you can read blogs here from the other students who are also joining the conference.