Written by Athanasia Safitri 

Dramatic societal changes took place during the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world. This included the ways in which religious activities were conducted, not to mention the limitation of attending public worship spaces. It forced many people of faith to adapt and invent a new way to practice their religious tradition, even with the help of technology and digital platforms. Dr. Leonard Epafras spoke of the challenges experienced by religious minorities at Wednesday Forum held by CRCS and ICRS Universitas Gadjah Mada on March 1, 2023. The event entitled “Enduring the Gimmick and Polemics: Digital Performances of Religious Minorities During the Pandemic” was a brief report of a project he did last year along with four other researchers: Hendrikus Paulus Kaunang, Ida Fitri Astuti, Irfan Syaifuddin, and David Akbar. The researchers looked at the digital performances of religious minorities during the pandemic. read more

Written by Johanes Koraag

The existence of ethnic Chinese in the archipelago is easily recognizable by the cultural traces they leave behind. We can find ethnic enclaves (i.e. Chinatowns) in almost all cities in Indonesia that have a history of trade. The Chinese ethnicity is indeed synonymous with the world of trade even though the Chinese are heavily involved in other industries. Many dishes that are now considered traditional food of a region are the result of acculturation between Chinese and local cultures: noodles, meatballs, tofu, and soy sauce among others. read more

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Special Edition of Wednesday Forum, 8 March 2023

Written by Athanasia Safitri 

The Church of England (C of E), also renowned as the Anglican Church, is an example of a state halfway between religious and secular in the plural society. The current British monarch, Charles III, is the supreme governor of the Church of England. On the other hand, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. As society grows secular in such a plurality today, some trends have affected the religious practice of the Anglicans and the rest of Britain. Professor (Rev). James Walters from the London School of Economics and Political Science shared his insight during the Wednesday Forum on 15 February 2023 entitled “British Religious Plurality in the Age of Charles III.” read more

Written by Johanes Koraag

Indonesia is a country, with more than 17.000 islands, spanning 5.000 kilometers -the same distance between London and New York. Hundreds ethnic groups and languages. Indonesia is also known as a democratic country with the world’s largest Muslim population.

Indonesia’s former president, Abdurrahman Wahid, believed that Islam entered the archipelago with strong influences of Persian and Indian culture emphasis on sufism. The existing Hindu-Javanese culture is more formerly rooted and mixed with trust local, no removed force, however, approached with tolerance. read more

The Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together Document (hereon as Human Fraternity Docu- ment), signed on 4 February 2019, is closely linked to the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra aetate (literally meaning “In Our Time”), proclaimed by His Holiness Pope Paul Vi on 28 October 1965. For the Catholic Church, the Nostra aetate is a major leap forward, allowing greater inclusivity and engagement with other religious communities. Endorsed by the Council, which comprises 2500 bishops from around the world, the Declaration has lived to see four Popes. The current Pope Francis at a meeting with fraternal delegates from other churches and religions on 20 March 2013 quoted once again Nostra aetate. Thus, in many ways, Nostra aetate is to do away with negative stereotypes that were usually given by Chris ians toward Jews and other religious communities. Although there was still much to be desired for in terms…. read more read more