Religion Conflicts in Indonesia Problems and Solutions

Abstract

Religious perspectives which place religion as a source of conflict have initiated various attempts to reinterpret and accordingly find some common ground at a certain level which hopefully may reduce conflicts among religious communities due to the existence of mutual tolerance. At the exoteric level, religions are different, but at the esoteric level, religions are not similar. All religions are viewed as equally valid paths toward God. However, in many ways, the reality shows that the tension among religious communities is closely related to the factors that are beyond the scope of religion. It is important for all religious believers to keep the peace among them. As far as the record of religious conflicts in Indonesia is concerned, it shows three major patterns: conflicts among adherents of different religions, conflicts between one religion with a group accused as heretical, and internal conflicts of the same people of faith with those who have different understanding of the religion. In any point of views, however, such conditions would be so detrimental to the human race in general, and society and the state of Indonesia in particular. This paper examines intensively about the issues and attempts to uncover the nature of the root-causes underlying them.