Written by Athanasia Safitri

Challenges we face dealing with nature such as climate change and natural catastrophes have compelled us to reflect on ourselves and our position on Earth and toward nature. Karen Amstrong, a British author best known for her writings on comparative religion, has now invited us to take a moment to recognize nature’s central position in our spiritual life and to rediscover the sacredness of nature in these modern times. Her translated book Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World was launched and discussed on March 15, 2023 by Mizan in collaboration with Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana. read more

Written by Johanes Koraag

For International Women’s Day, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, ICRS and CRCS UGM invited a female comedian to perform and speak as part of the academic discussion. The guest speaker that day was Sakdiyah Ma’ruf, a woman of Arab descent from the batik city of Pekalongan. Diyah, as she is familiarly called, is the first female solo comedian to wear a hijab in Indonesia. At the beginning of the event themed “Our Voice Comedy for Change”, Diyah conveyed the situation of the comedy world in Indonesia which is still full of patriarchal values. When she became a participant in a stand-up comedy competition, out of hundreds of participants who registered, there were only seven women including herself. Diyah consistently raises issues of women, Islam, and extremism in Indonesia. Born into a family of Hadrami-Arab descent, she was raised in a society that cared deeply about her identity as an Arab descendant who felt she had a view of the “truest and purest teachings of Islam” compared to other ethnicities. read more

Written by  Maurisa Zinira

Research on religion calls for various ranges of novel subject material and methodology. According to the dynamics of religious cases across faith communities, attention to this variety is crucial. Religious issues frequently involve players from different social backgrounds with a variety of competing interests, making them sensitive and complex. Therefore, in hopes of fostering a thorough comprehension of the subject at hand, it is important to take into account the best approach to understand these problems. read more

The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) and the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) have conducted research in order to map and understand the perspectives of the youth in the discourse of Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB).

The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase was conducted in 2021, followed by the second phase in 2022. The first research focused on the perceptions of the Generation Z (Gen Z) towards Freedom of Religion and Belief cases in social media. The second research focused on a broader range of young people, namely Gen Z and Y (Millennials), in the age range of 18 to 34 years. read more

Satya Wacana Christian University (UKSW) officially established cooperation with the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS). Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday (20/03/2023) at the Indonesia Mini Campus of UKSW Salatiga. The MoU was signed by the Rector of UKSW, Prof. Dr. Intiyas Utami, S.E., M.Si., Ak. and the Director of ICRS, Zainal Abidin Bagir, Ph.D..

The signing of this memorandum of understanding is a legal form of  good relationship between the two parties, especially with the UKSW Faculty of Theology. This was emphasized by Zainal Abidin Bagir, Ph.D., in his speech. read more

Interfaith studies experts say diversity and pluralism of religions and ethnicities are part of “God’s sacred plan” for humanity, and should therefore be nurtured and promoted. They also argue that religious literacy needs to be promoted, especially because of the frequent politicization of religion and ethnicity for electoral politics.

Dicky Sofjan, Ph.D., teaches interfaith studies at the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), which is a collaboration between Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University and Duta Wacana Christian University based at the Graduate School, UGM. A lecturer and researcher who often travels the world and has various positions in international institutions that promote tolerance and peace between human beings, he said that he has conducted a lot of research on his field of interest. read more

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

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