Conflict between Groups of Different Religion and Beliefs Posing as Threat to Heterogeneity in Indonesia

Abstract

After the 1998 political reform in Indonesia, conflicts between groups of different religions and beliefs continued to occur, regardless of the fact that attempts to bolster diversity have been carried out legally and formally by the government and the political elites. In view of such condition, this research attempts to disclose conflicts which increasingly pose dangers on national heterogeneity, various factors which create religious-based conflicts, the roles of government and political elites in handling such conflicts and the communication strategy adopted to establish a civilized heterogenous society. The research methodology is qualitative with its main focus on online data related with conflicts in Indonesia. Online data processing was performed to support the description of conflicts based on religions and beliefs in all its forms which potentially threat national unity in Indonesia. The findings of this research are as follows: Increasing frequency of conflicts, powerplay politics as fuel for conflicts, unoptimized roles of the government and political elites and lack of communication strategy substance between groups by those responsible for public security and welfare.