On Friday, December 1, 2023, at the Aula of the Radboud University Nijmegen, Professor Emeritus Frans Wijsen delivered his farewell speech entitled “Exploring Man and Nature: Does the Supernatural Matter?” At Radboud University, Wijsen served for many years in the Department of Empirical and Practical Religious Studies. Since 2022, he has been an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).

He was honored with the Distinguished Lifelong Academic Achievements Award of the African Academics Network. He also received a copy of the book Beyond the Spirit of Bandung, edited by Frans Dokman and Antoinette Kankindi. The book, available open-access, is dedicated to him on the occasion of his retirement as professor at Radboud University Nijmegen. read more

Maurisa Zinira 

Democracy activists consistently predict polarization. While several groups argue that polarization is inevitable and may even serve as a catalyst for democratic development, uncontrolled polarization can undermine the fundamental principles of a functioning democracy. With the upcoming political year, there is a growing apprehension regarding the detrimental consequences of polarization. Furthermore, political elites may intentionally manufacture polarization to serve their partisan political objectives. read more

Johanes Koraag

Nowadays Indonesia is still experiencing a situation where there is still a gap between the national demand and availability of donated blood. Based on data from the 2022 PMI Central Blood Donor Unit Annual Report, the need for donated blood in 2022 is 5,515,476 bags of blood. Meanwhile, the blood that was collected from voluntary donors is as many as 3,796,698 bags of blood. The data shows that in 2022 Indonesia lacked 1,718,778 bags of blood. The insufficiency of blood needs certainly has an impact on patients who need these lifesaving blood donations. read more

Written by Rezza Prasetyo Setiawan

Within the Indonesian postcolonial democracy that is heavily influenced by religion-based identity politics, law and regulations have become the frontiers where interests are contested through the politics of policymaking. The new Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana, or KUHP), which was enacted in January 2023, was proposed to address these problems and, indeed, it has made progress. However, fundamental reconsiderations are still needed for it to better accommodate justice and to prevent interpretations that allow further marginalization of minority groups. Moreover, the public sphere has also expanded to the digital realm, which necessitates new operational definitions and understandings on freedom of expression, religious freedom, and on the nature of communication itself. read more

Johanes Koraag

The Intersectoral Collaboration for Indigenous Religions “Rumah Bersama” held  the 5th International Conference on Indigenous Religion at the Javanology Innovation Center of Sebelas Maret State University, Surakarta, Wednesday-Thursday (22-23/11/2023). The 5th ICIR raised the theme “Democracy of the Vulnerable” with the aim of revisiting the existence and determining the best position for the indigenous religions of the archipelago amid the turbulent dynamics of democracy in Indonesia. Often the existence of indigenous religions is overlooked because society in general prioritizes discourses related to elections and related trappings. The theme of the 5th ICIR is a response to the momentum of the 2024 General Election which shows that the discourse and space of democracy are still too dominated by various electoral narratives that focus on the interests of a handful of political and economic elites. read more

Johanes Koraag

Democracy, rooted in the Greek tradition of organizing society by electing representatives of the people to become public servants, has now become a system of government adopted by most modern countries. Democracy has become the main standard and indicator of a country’s progress. If a country desires to label itself a democratic society, it should consciously place respect and protection on human rights. The basic core of the democratic system is the recognition of individual rights in participating to determine who will be elected to be the leader of the country. The motto of democracy “of the people, by the people, and for the people” indicates that in a democratic state, it is the people who hold the supreme power. The leaders of the country are individuals who are elected directly or indirectly by the people for a certain period of time and are mandated by their voters to run the wheels of government. read more

Johanes Koraag

Before world religions entered and spread their teachings in the Nusantara Region, some beliefs grew in every ethnic and subethnic community that existed. To this day, indigenous religions are still alive and thriving in various corners of Indonesia. At one time, there was a forced attempt by the government to make these indigenous religions sublimate and merge with world religions, but through persistence to maintain their identity, some persevered and continue to develop.

The existence of these indigenous religions of the archipelago disturbed the hearts of believers and leaders of these imported religions. They unilaterally define people who embrace these beliefs as “irreligious” because religious standards are used as indicators. Java, as an island with a population density that exceeds other islands and a history of civilization whose roots can be traced back several thousand years, gave birth to many belief systems that grew along with the development of its society. This Javanese belief system is more familiarly called the Kejawen stream (Javanism). read more

Rezza Prasetyo Setiawan 

The customary law is the result of daily conversations held in coffee shops, in the verandas of mosques, schools, or village halls. That’s the living law of the people. … How is that going to be made into a regional regulation (Perda)? Sulistyowati Irianto — Commissioner of Komnas HAM

The inclusion of the Living Law in article 2 of Undang-undang No.1 Tahun 2023 tentang Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana (Criminal Code) has drawn a lot of criticism from academics and indigenous community activists. The inclusion of the “living law” was supposed to be a recognition for the Indonesian indigenous peoples, but is actually considered to be potentially detrimental in its implementation. read more

Athanasia Safitri

Focolare, an international organisation that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood, participated in the 12th International Graduate Students and Scholars’ Conference in Indonesia earlier this month. The theme of the conference was “Ethics and Accountability in Politics, Sciences, and Professions” and was held at Universitas Gadjah Mada on 7-8 November 2023. Focolare presented how its members live spirituality and reach for the goal of unity as a contribution of religion to common space in society. Sri Safitri Oktaviyanti of Focolare Indonesia, Crescencia Gabijan of Focolare Philippines, and Lawrence Chong of Focolare Singapore highlighted the experiences of the communities from the mentioned countries from their perspective in society. read more

Maurisa Zinira

Women frequently encounter complex circumstances in the realms of religion, culture, economy, and politics. The absence of appreciation of women’s roles results in their perpetual subordination. This phenomenon is not limited to private or personal spheres but also extends to the public domain where patriarchal ideologies form the foundation for societal norms, rules, legislation, and many forms of governmentalities that discriminate against women.

In her presentation at the Wednesday Forum on November 1, 2023, Yuyun Sriwahyuni from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) argued that the subordination and marginalization of women can be attributed not only to local culture and neoconservatism that are grounded in patriarchal norms but also to the utilization of these values by neoliberalism. For her, the intersection of the three pose challenges for women’s life and create problems of social reproduction. read more